For many, faith is an uneasy concept to grasp. In business it is rarely a topic for discussion. For the prejudiced and uninformed, faith has been used as an antagonist agent. Take for example what I recently found at a quote website I visited. The quote read, “The alleged short-cut to knowledge, which is faith, is only a short circuit destroying the mind.” There were an enormous amount of positive quotes about faith that out numbered the few like this one which neither educated nor edified. I pondered the words and reflected for a moment on the poor soul who anonymously left the quote. I felt sorry for this person for if they only understood the real intent of the concept “faith” they would instead be so inspired, so encouraged, so filled with hope, and empowered.

Consider “faith” outside the context of religion for just a few moments if you can. My selected quote today is from one of the 66 books found in the bible. It is believed to be written by the apostle Paul. A secular reading of it says: “Faith is the assured expectations of things hoped for, the evident demonstrations of realities though not beheld.” - Hebrews 11:1. There is no mystique here for me, no magical, mystical convoluted words to be easily misrepresented. It is a clear and simple definition. One that could be, and should be put in our secular dictionaries.

However for those that may be stuck with this wrong-faith-concept let me de-mystify it for you. Saying it another way, knowing for sure that the thing(s) hoped for will happen is faith. Entire businesses are built on this concept. For example, a metal paint shop such as one I worked in when I was 18 years of age assembles painted fuse boxes. At one end of the line is the finished fuse box; at the beginning of the line is a flat sheet of stamped metal that has to look like a fuse box when it is finished. When I worked there the boss had faith that his sheet metal was going to look like a fuse box at the end after the workers applied their skills and labor to that box that passed through the moving conveyor belt. It always came out a fuse box at the end. I know it because I was there and I witnessed it. I did my part by applying the paint to the surface of that box.

Faith is the “assured expectation of things hoped for”… did that not happen in the case of the painted fuse boxes? Was faith needed to build those fuse boxes? Yes at first definitely. Well perhaps there were some doubters, but the boss knew it would happen for a certainty, and so did the linemen I worked with. Now let me throw some confusion into it. The day I started the job, it took faith for me to believe that a few men and women along with me, were going to turn that sheet metal into a painted fuse box outside of a few minutes. But, as I got used to the job, I had proof certain that we would produce such an object, and so knowledge did away with faith. I no longer needed faith as certain knowledge continued to grow and replaced faith.

The greater the proposed invisible object to build, the greater the faith required. Imagine walking onto a submarine base where they actually build the nuclear class attack subs, or imagine walking into a jet airplane manufacturing company like Pratt

About the author of this article:

john cyr is a retired workforce development trainer and motivational consultant who writes articles and editorials under the pen-name johnny cyreous, or cyreous. he maintains a website of quotes by famous people and advocates his method of teaching at www.cyreousquotes.com