God’s existence. A child-like enigma or a concrete truth? God Himself, an ambiguous but crucial character in the book of life and in the realm of Christianity, is one of the most misunderstood and arguable subjects of all time. From early life to the current era there have been constant debates on whether or not, there is in fact a higher power. I come to assure you that this answer is quite simple, by that I mean there is none. Not one concrete answer exists, nor will there be one. Respecting the fact that not everyone shares the same views and adopts the same understandings, the purpose of this paper is not to try and tackle the impossible task of proving the existence of God. But rather show that believing in God is beneficial and helpful to improving your overall well-being. Having a belief in God, is beneficial to your emotional, mental, and relational health and can even play a role in self betterment.

Emotional health plays an important role to one's overall wellbeing. Properly managing emotions is crucial to being able to function appropriately in society. Emotions are a key factor in what drives us to act on certain behaviors. Someone who may lack emotional health can have trouble controlling their behaviors which can be detrimental when building positive relationships and trying to live a normal life. In a study explained in (familydoctor.org), research shows a direct link to emotional health and physical health, and it is a known fact that when someone is physically healthy their mental and emotional health are also well.  So how does believing in God help improve one's emotional health? Life is full of stressors and challenges and a belief in God offers strength to cope with and overcome those challenges.  Believing in God brings security to an individual's life and without security one is unable reach their full potential and function properly in this society. This is better explained through the well-respected psychologist, Abraham Maslow's motivational human-needs model. Maslow created a pyramid of which divides the needs of the human race into a five tiered pyramid which begins with the most important and basic needs, physiological then follows with  psychological, and ends with self-fulfillment needs. The structure of this model is set to explain  that the basic needs must be met prior to higher needs. Once an individual has achived the first tier of basic needs like food, water, and rest, they are now able to move on to the second tier. The second tier is the need  for humans to have safety and security. Without these two things we would be incapable of moving up the pyramid and living normal lives. God gives you security and safety which is crucial need that has to be filled. In a world with an abundance of turmoil, chaos, brokenness, pain and failure, having a sense of security is a necessity. Gods security is one that will remain present throughout and individuals whole life and beyond. Security in the future and afterlife bring ease to the worries that one may develope if they do not believe in God. A common curiosity shared by a multitude of  individuals is the idea of an afterlife. What happens when we die? Where do we go when we die? Believing in God secures your ticket to a new beginning. Heaven. Believing in God is beneficial to having good emotional health and  allows you to reach your full potential, deal with stressors and build positive relationships.       Having good mental health is crucial to live a healthy and high functioning life. “M. Scott Peck said however, “Mental health requires that the human will submit itself to something higher than itself. To function decently in this world we must submit ourselves to some principle that takes precedence over what we want at any given moment.” The People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil, (Simon and Schuster, 1983)  Having dealt with mental illness within my family and myself and experiencing first hand its detrimental effects, I know how valuable it is to have good mental health.  When you believe in God you receive reassurance, which is a beneficial thing to have. Reassurance and hope are essential in times of hardships and struggles. “Christianity provides deep resources for facing suffering with hope and courage rather than bitterness and despair.” (Keller, 28) God ensures His followers that He is far more powerful than any struggle they are facing. Having struggled with major depression, anxiety and abuse for a majority of my life, this has been extremely helpful. Knowing that God has control and power over all my hardships is relieving. With this reassurance, we gain hope and courage. The reassurance that follows with believing in God of is uplifting and beneficial in more ways than one. Less worry, anxiety, and stress contribute to a healthier lifestyle. I also know how valuable reassurance is and how helpful and easier life is when you are able to put your faith and worries into something bigger than yourself. Finding myself in the worst shape both mentally and physically was when I abandoned my belief and decided to try and fight on my own. The result of this was failure, missed opportunities and eventually attempted suicide. Believing in God has improved my mental health tremendously and I know that I wouldn’t be here today without it. Dick Fosbury, arguably the most inspirational athlete of all time, attests to the influential role mental health plays in success. “When you reach that elite level, 90 percent is mental and 10 percent is physical. You are competing against yourself. Not against the other athlete”. This idea does not only apply to athletics but is also true for many aspects of life. Considering the  importance that good mental health is to your overall well-being and the fact that believing in God is not only harmless but beneficial, how could it not be reasonable? This is just important in mental illness has physical illness. In an interview done by USA today, Mark Bloomston, a surgical oncologist, expresses the important role that mentality plays for both him and his patience fighting and recovering from cancer. “The power of the mind can help heal the body (Bloomston).” Mentioned in the Psycho-Oncology journal, a group of researchers performed a study on the relationship between cancer patient’s recovery and their spiritual beliefs. The study proves that the patients in recovery who practiced spirituality were healthier emotionally, which resulted in a more positive recovery. However, this does not specifically apply to Christianity but it adds to the proof that a belief system is very beneficial.Believing in God is also helpful in relational wellness by giving someone a community and security in their relationships.  After security on Maslow's pyramid comes the human need for belongingness and relationship. Humans cannot function properly without a sense of belongingness or relationship. According to Maslow, the first most important psychological need is the sense of belongingness and love, which includes relationships. An example of someone without this comes from the documentary called “ Secret of the Wild Child”. This documentary focuses on a young girl in the 1970’s named Genie, who was imprisoned and put in near-total isolation from infancy to early adulthood. Genies lack of relationship starting at an early age let her to lack almost every developmental skill even the simplest and the earliest learned like walking and talking. She even had trouble chewing and swallowing.Through lots of therapy doctors were able to improve these things but no much. She had reached the learning point where she was unable to make up for the lost time during the early nurturing years.  Like said previously, God offers security which is highly necessary to living a good life. Security in relationships is another big thing that comes with believing in God. My church has become a huge part of my life. My church has given me a sense of belonging because of the community it has created. I have met some of my closest friends and most influential people in my life through the use of my church.Lastly by believing in God you are setting yourself up for a possible path that can lead you down to bettering your overall self. Since becoming a christian I have had many opportunities that have helped me become a better person. Through services offered at my church I have been able to meet, help and learn through many service events. I recently blessed with the chance to go to Honduras for a mission trip, which was life changing. There I was able to experiencing a life unlike my own. To them my parents there was very beneficial to them but what they were unable to realize is that to me, they were beneficial to myself. There are many examples of christian positive impact on the world, and how through that they were not only able to better themselves but they were able to better the world. From missionaries risking their lives in the dangers of the world or to the simplest like a child helping prepare operation christmas boxes at their local church.In chapter 3 of Tim Kellers book, A Reason for God, he brings up a points on why many people may think that believing in God may not be beneficial, He compares christianity to a straight jacket and explains the arguments stating that by the act of  believing in God takes away your freedom. Freedom is a valued concept. It has been this way since the beginning of time and has become quite popular in today's society. Freedom often acting as an excuse to disobey the rules and laws that keep society together. A myth made against christian would be that they are unable to think for  themselves therefore they live limited lives. “Christianity looks like an enemy of social cohesion, cultural adaptability, and even authentic personhood” (pg. 37), “but that’s really because of misconceptions and mistakes about what truth, community, Christianity and even liberty really are all about.”  The concept of freedom isn't simple. Freedom is often defined or thought of as the lack of constraint or confinement. However, Keller in the second half of chapter 3 makes a good argument against the idea that believing in God restricts freedom. He starts the argument with the statement that constarite and confinement are actually a means to liberation and how “ discipline and contrainte is only liberating when it fits the reality of our nature and capacities”. He concludes this with an example of a fish and how it is only free when it is limited and restricted to water. Now think of this. Love. Love a very important part of human life, falls under the belongingness and relationship category in Maslow's pyramid. Love can often be referred to as the  “ ultimate freedom”. However, love is quite the opposite. One of the principles of love – either love for a friend or romantic love – is that you have to lose independence to attain greater intimacy.” (pg. 47, 48)  Therefore making love the most “liberating freedom loss of all”. In conclusion “Christianity is not a straightjacket. It is liberating, because through His Word, the Lord enables us to understand what reality is so we can adapt to it, instead of ignoring it or fighting against it. “

 Through the belief and practice of believing in God can be very beneficial to your improvement of life. God gives security, reassurance, community and through the acts of worship and belief you are even able to better yourself and the whole world. The affirmations that come with believing in God are very helpful.

 