Bo Burnham Helps Me Speak About Religion

Most people know I'm not religious. That's the extent of my label though. I have mixed feelings about religion. It, as well as those against it, have brought both joy and pain to so many lives.I see it's worth, but that will never change my lack of faith.
This is not really the message for today though.
I had been veering off of this topic for a few days now, despite it being on my mind. I hate offending people, but really, anyone who truly reads my writing with an open mind will see that I am not being intolerant and hopefully they will not take my thoughts harshly.
It is actually thanks to Bo Burnham that I am finally writing this out. His song in his what. show about God, while silly, is honest and beautiful.

So! To my real message.

I understand prayer and thanking the Lord. Don't get me wrong. Despite being a non-believer, I fully understand that drive to plead with someone to help you when you feel like an ant on this giant Earth.
In the same way, I can understand that wonderful feeling you get when things go right. You want to thank the protector you believe in and this is okay. The problem though  is people only thanking God. I realize this is probably a devout cycle. God made me, God gave me this gift, so God alone is to thank.
 Constantly, I am seeing people thank God when they pass a really hard test and say they are blessed, but never giving themselves credit for the hours of studying they did. Or when a child defeats cancer and everyone thanks God, but no one thanks the doctors or the child himself for being so strong. This is when I get irritated.

I personally think, if there is a God, he would want us to be thankful of the hard working and kind people that we are and that are in our lives. A part of Bo's song is about being a good person. That when you have in fact earned God's love you won't need it because you have followed his teachings to true kindness and happiness. His song is about the fact that God isn't some celebrity idol obsessed with being worshiped. He just wants his children to be good to their fellow man.

I realize that personally I have zero idea what Bo's intentions were with his song. I can't begin to imagine what that man is thinking. But for me, it drove me to finally say what has been upsetting me for years. Thank your God, praise him, but remember to praise the beautiful and brilliant people around you.


On a lighter note...That's seriously not a religion slam...I just really liked his Dad joke.