Take God Out and What's Left Is Still Good

I saw a post on Facebook that is very God-centered. It was a list of objectives to start the first month of the new year. They were simple and quippy and easy to digest quickly.

My typical approach to these kinds of posts is to scroll past. Not every post needs a reaction. Not every piece of religious content requires a response.

But if I'm learning anything from my Tonglen practice, it's that the things that find you and make an impact are telling you something you need to know about yourself.

And this post found me.

So instead of scrolling, I decided to do what I often do: take God out and secularize it.

Because here's what I've learned: there are often nuggets of useful information or advice in religious posts. The framework might be supernatural, but the wisdom underneath? That's usually just about being human.

Take out the fluff, and what's left is still good.

Let me show you what I mean.

"Begin Your Day With Prayer and Gratitude"

Secular translation: "Begin your day with meditation and gratitude."

It only requires a small alteration. Instead of communing with a deity, I commune with myself.

After all, I know that I'm there and that I'm listening. This doesn't require faith.

Here's what that looks like for me:

I do a mental check-in. I ask myself: How am I doing? What am I feeling? Is there anything I need to address with myself?

Are there unprocessed moments I need to spend time with? Is there pain I've experienced or caused that I can help alleviate?

What joys or sorrows am I carrying? What can I release back into the world? What do I need to take in?

That's not prayer. That's presence.

And the gratitude part? I don't think there's anything wrong with gratitude. It's universal.

There are things we're grateful for that transcend religious frameworks: relationships, experiences, moments of beauty or connection.

No doubt the root of gratitude is appreciation for the people in our lives who make ours better.

As I grow my self-compassion, maybe I can extend that compassion outward. Maybe I can see people I refused to look at previously, for whatever reason.

I actually have a personal experience to tie in with this. I went to my first protest. These protests occur weekly, but in light of what happened to Renee Good, I felt the drive to attend this particluar protest at the city hall for the town I live in.

After the protest we moved to holding a vigil for Renee and others that have been affected by ICE over the course of the past year.

One woman that spoke was a hispanic woman. She was very emotional and understandbly so. She expressed gratitude for those that came out to show solidarity not just for Renee, but for those that are opposed to the overreach of ICE.

I was grateful to have an experience that showed me that people really are scared that they might be next. One of this woman's children told her as she left the house, "Don't get taken." That simple statement opened my eyes to the reality of this situation that many are living.

I'm not grateful that there are actions of horrible people that are indiscriminately targeting immigrants. But I am grateful to have a different perspective now that I never had before.

Gratitude doesn't need God. It just needs awareness.

"Listen for God's Voice in Scripture Daily"

Secular translation: "Listen to voices you trust."

Who those voices are is very much up to you.

But rather than putting your reliance on something nebulous and indefinable, put it in people who are here and now.

Listen to your partner. Listen to your children. Listen to friends to the degree you trust them.

Listen to reliable sources of information. Listen to those who base their claims on evidence, who acknowledge uncertainty, who change their minds when new information emerges.

But always carry a note of skepticism when it comes to extraordinary claims.

There's a huge difference between saying "my neighbor has a new pet dog" and "the universe came into existence from nothing."

One requires ordinary evidence. The other requires extraordinary evidence.

And scripture? Scripture is just ancient voices claiming authority they never proved.

I'd rather listen to living voices I can verify and question.

"Let Go of Worries, Trusting in God's Plan"

Secular translation: "Listen to your emotions, regardless of what they are. They're telling you important things."

Anxiety can have a purpose. It alerts you to threats, to patterns you need to notice, to boundaries you need to set.

Fear can be a reasonable reaction to a myriad of situations. Sometimes fear is protecting you.

Anger and passion are wonderful motivating emotions. They tell you something matters enough to fight for.

Happiness, joy, or peace tell you that you're safe and experiencing something preferred or wonderfully unexpected.

All of it matters. Take it all in.

And then send the good back out into the world.

The religious framework says "let go of worries" by outsourcing them to God. By trusting that someone else has a plan.

But your emotions aren't worries to be dismissed or handed over. They're data to be processed.

You don't need to let go of anxiety by pretending God will fix it. You need to listen to what the anxiety is telling you and respond appropriately.

That's not faith. That's emotional intelligence.

"Show Kindness Even When It's Not Easy"

Secular translation: "Show kindness to those in need of it and who are not liable to punish you for it."

This sounds selfish on the surface. But hear me out.

They say no good deed goes unpunished. So show discretion with those to whom you extend kindness.

You may not get it back.

And that's fine if you're choosing to extend kindness anyway. If you're doing it because it aligns with your values, because you want to, because it feels right.

But you don't owe unlimited kindness to people who will weaponize it against you.

Saving your most positive energy for those who deserve it isn't selfish. It's sustainable.

You can still show compassion toward others. But kindness, the kind that costs you something, should be reserved but given freely when the right situation presents itself.

The religious framework makes kindness obligatory regardless of context. But boundaries matter.

You're allowed to protect your energy. You're allowed to limit kindness to those who reciprocate or at least don't harm you for offering it.

"Be Present With Those God Placed in Your Day"

Secular translation: "Be present with those you choose to spend time with in your day."

Keep the people. Remove the God.

Because not everyone you encounter in your day deserves a greater measure of time and attention than you see fit to extend them.

God didn't "place" people in your day. Circumstances did. Choices did. Proximity did.

And you get to decide how much presence to offer.

If you need to limit toxic relationships, limit them.

If you want to spend more time with a loved one, spend time with them.

If a friend needs a listening ear, set aside the cell phone and listen. Hear them. See them. Be with them.

Don't just be physically present. Bring the rest of yourself as well.

But you don't owe that level of presence to everyone. You get to choose.

"Speak Words That Inspire and Build Up"

Secular translation: "Speak the truth, even if it might cause others discomfort."

It's important not to needlessly tear other people down. You can speak the truth without being overly harsh.

But not everyone will react well to truth. And that's okay.

At least you'll have been true to yourself. And that's more important than managing someone else's feelings.

Be encouraging and motivating to the extent you're able. But don't be afraid to say:

• No
• Not now
• I have other plans
• That doesn't work for me
• I disagree

The religious framework prioritizes building people up, which often means not challenging them. Not disagreeing. Not setting boundaries.

But real relationship requires honesty. And honesty sometimes causes discomfort.

That's not cruelty. That's respect.

You're respecting the other person enough to tell them the truth instead of managing their emotions with platitudes.

"Take Each Step in Faith, Even When Uncertain"

Secular translation: "Do your best with what you know."

We won't always know everything in life. But we have a lifetime of experiences we can draw from and take instruction from.

We don't need to walk blindly.

Faith says: trust the process even when you can't see where it's going.

But secular wisdom says: use what you know. Ask questions. Gather information. Make the best decision you can with the data available.

We are free to question. We are free to challenge. We can push back.

If you're going in a direction you didn't want to go, challenge the path that brought you there, especially if someone else put you on it.

Faith asks you to keep walking even when the path looks wrong.

Wisdom asks you to stop, reassess, and choose a different direction if needed.

"Give Thanks and Reflect on God's Goodness Each Night"

Secular translation: "Reflect on the events of the day and let go."

Whatever good or bad happened that day, take ownership for the role you played.

The past is in the past. All you have is the current moment.

You don't need to thank God for the good things. You can just acknowledge them. Appreciate them. Notice them.

You don't need to ask God to fix the bad things. You can just process them. Learn from them. Let them go.

Reflection doesn't require a deity. It just requires honesty.

What went well? What didn't? What did I learn? What would I do differently?

That's not prayer. That's self-awareness.

And self-awareness doesn't need divine validation to be valuable.

What's Left When You Take God Out

Here's what I've learned from this exercise:

Almost everything useful in religious advice remains useful without God.

• Meditation and gratitude ground you in the present
• Listening to trustworthy voices gives you perspective
• Processing emotions helps you respond wisely
• Discretionary kindness protects your energy
• Chosen presence deepens real relationships
• Speaking truth maintains integrity
• Using what you know beats blind faith
• Daily reflection builds self-awareness

None of that requires supernatural belief.

It just requires being human. Being present. Being honest.

The religious framework adds God as the reason, the authority, the motivation.

But the practices themselves? They work because they're about being fully alive, not because they're divinely mandated.

Why I Do This Exercise

Some people might see this as unnecessarily combative. Why can't I just let religious people have their posts?

Because I spent decades thinking the good advice only worked if it came with God attached.

I thought gratitude required thanking a deity. That reflection required prayer. That wisdom required scripture.

And when I lost faith in God, I almost lost access to all of it—because I'd been taught it was a package deal.

But it's not.

The practices that help you be more present, more compassionate, more self-aware—those aren't religious. They're human.

And secularizing these posts reminds me: I don't need God to access the good parts.

I can meditate without praying.

I can be grateful without thanking a deity.

I can reflect without confessing.

I can be kind without believing it's commanded.

I can be fully human without needing supernatural validation.

And that? That's liberating.

The Invitation

If you're still religious and these posts work for you as written, that's fine. Keep them.

But if you're like me and you've left faith but still see value in the practices, know this:

You don't have to throw out the wisdom with the theology.

You can keep the parts that work. You can translate the rest.

Take God out. See what's left. You might be surprised how much remains.

And what remains? It's still good.

Maybe even better. Because now it's yours, not something you're doing because you're supposed to.

You're doing it because it works. Because it helps. Because it makes you more fully human.

And you don't need God's permission for that.

You just need to choose it.