FACTS, FAITH or FEELINGS ... What are the foundations of YOUR life? These three things are absolutely vital in determining the quality of our lives. It’s hugely important that we know something about each of them, but it is even more important that we get them in the right order and keep them there. Most people will generally put their feelings first and in turn make the quality of their feelings provide a basis for the quality of their life, but that's like trying to build the roof of a house before laying the foundation. It just won't work that way! The right order is facts, faith and then feelings. Facts form the foundation on which you build your life; your faith rests upon these facts; and your feelings will come last and come as a result of getting the first two in order. Let's look at these, one at a time. First, facts. What is a fact? A fact is something that is true. For example, two plus two equals four. This is a simple mathematical fact. It is true in the United States, in Russia, or anywhere else in the world. It was true thousands of years ago, and it will still be true thousands of years from now. Your believing it does not make it true. It is true even if no one in the world believes it. A fact is true in and out of itself, regardless of faith or feelings. If it is not true, it is not a fact! Now let's think about faith. Whether you have any religious beliefs or whether you don’t, everyone has a certain degree of faith for something in life. But what is faith? Faith is a belief in something. Notice that faith must have an object. In one respect, faith is like eyesight - it must have an object, which can be somehow seen. The way you know you have eyesight is that you see something. True value depends upon its object, not upon itself. It is not the amount of faith that is important but the worthiness of the object. Suppose you are walking through the woods, and you come to a stream. A single plank spans the stream. As you look at the plank, you must decide if you will risk walking across it. You notice that apparently others have crossed safely, so you decide to trust it. The moment you step out on the plank, you are exercising faith. This is fine, but whether you get across safely or not now depends upon the plank. You may have a lot of faith, but if the plank is rotten, you will land in the water! On the other hand, your faith may not be so great, but if you have a good plank under you, you will get across safely. From this, we see that the real value of faith depends upon its object. This is why faith must rest on facts. What about feelings? Where do they come into the picture? Feelings are emotions inside us. Unlike facts, feelings can be very changeable. We may feel good one day and be downcast the next. But regardless of how fickle our feelings are, they do not change facts. For example, suppose you receive a letter from a reputable law firm informing you that your uncle Joe has died and left you two hundred thousand dollars. You might say, "But I don't feel like I have all that money." Perhaps you don't, but, nevertheless, you do have it. It is a fact that the money was left to you, and it is yours regardless of how you feel. Perhaps you go a doctor for an examination, and he tells you that you have cancer. You may say, "But I don't feel like I have cancer." Nevertheless, you do have it. Facts are facts, regardless of how you feel. Now, let's see how facts, faith, and feelings relate to your day-to-day life.