Traditions in Relationships Q&A: 01: Bringing God into the relationship

How do you bring God / Higher Power into your relationship? Do you have examples?

My other half is atheist, so someone else will have to address how to bring God / the Higher Power into the relationship in an overt, verbalised way, e.g. through joint professions of faith or prayer sessions.

Tradition Two suggests, however, that God preside over the group conscience. How does that work if one person involved in the decision-making process is atheist? To have God preside is to have self set aside in discussion, vote, and the attainment of substantial unanimity (Concept Twelve, Warranty Four) and to be actively seeking God's will. For someone who believes in God, that's easily done, in principle at least, through a personal commitment to this ideal followed up by prayer. For someone who does not believe in God but who nonetheless is capable of setting aside self to look for the common welfare (Tradition One) and the application of sound principles thereto, the essence of Tradition Two suffuses their contribution, regardless of their overt faith or lack thereof.

As with any aspect of the Traditions, it is the substance not the form that matters. I'd rather make decisions with someone who is atheist but can set aside self than someone who is devoutly religious but still contaminated with self at the time of the decision-making process. In fact, the devoutly religious can be disconcertingly sure that God happens to agree with them on everything, which is very convenient for them but decidedly inconvenient for others.

Good decisions are made when peace is prevailing. To have God speak through the relationship, timing is everything: when the two or more of you are both at peace, the right decision almost invariably gets made. The mistake is to try to force the decision when one or other is uncertain or not at peace. This is how bad decisions get made.

Footnote: I spoke at the 2024 SETA (South-East Texas Area) Conference on Traditions in Relationships. This included a Q&A session, but there was not time to cover all of the questions. This series addresses the questions not covered at the Conference.