Because God Doesn't Want to Help?

A question from a middle schooler

by Jamelle Zablow-Moloney @barerootsenergy 10/26/25

"The Sound of Silence: came on YouTube Music this morning, and my 12-year-old daughter said that she thought the song was about slavery. I told her that in a way, it was because the song was about the silence of good men who stand by and do nothing while bad things happen in the world. Her response took me back.

She said, "Yeah, the same way God doesn't want to help?"

At that point, I knew I hadn't been doing my job as a parent. She thought God was an all-powerful pain that was going to come and save us. I had to set this right so she could live with more peace in her life. I told my daughter that God exists with every one of us. But the way God comes onto this planet to help is through each one of us, through godly acts like helping each other. I told her that that's where she can find God, and if she just takes a moment to look around, she'll see it everywhere, even within her own actions.

We are not a religiously spiritual family. If we went to church, we would go to a Catholic Church, because that is where our roots lay. However, we are not practicing traditionally here at home, but more so in a spiritual way through our collective awareness of our blessings and the thanks we give for them. Yet, the comment made by my daughter this morning made me starkly aware that we are not practicing enough. We help with our family members every way we can, and with our friends. But aside from my daily work as a professional, my family hadn't been taking time, as a group, to acknowledge the awe and blessings our etheric and Godly awareness could be gracing us with.

Mr. Moloney contemplating living in the wilderness. Circa 2023, Los Angeles, CA

This realization led me to embark on an adventure of motivating the three individuals in my household to begin to see their world in a different way- through the eyes we were meant to see through- through the eyes of love. I really had no idea where to start. I'm a pro at helping my clients get through their roadblocks and energetic bridges, but these humans I live with would rather perish in a fire than listen to anything I have to say. So...

I moved slowly.

I began to settle myself down so that, on the drop of a hat, I would be able to calmly see what was happening in front of me at home without anything but neutral clarity. Once I accomplished this, the floodgates opened! I was able to see little acts of God everywhere amongst ourselves, as we did favors and created surprises, and strived to help our friends when they needed things. I was also able to see how our voice tone and volume impacted our moods and our peace. I was able to see how words shaped our reactions and responses, and how a lack of speaking our truth to each other impacted each of our self-esteem centers.

Armed with this knowledge, I was motivated. I knew what to do! This was all behavior shaping, just like my days as a teacher for the emotional-behavior classrooms I ran! I knew I had this in the bag... but still...

I moved slowly.

I knew that my presence in my home would not be appreciated if I engaged in behavior protocols with my husband, my senior in high school, or my middle schooler. They had to begin to see the impact of their own behavior on the ones that they love, and learn it themselves, just as I had done. So instead, when someone had an impatient tone, I paused, took a breath, and instead of snapping back, I looked at my youngest daughter and said nothing. This tactic started working. I caused her to pause and think about the situation we were in, and it also gave us time to take a break and calm down before moving forward.

The Harmonious future we work to build every day, and their cousins. Circa 2022, Somewhere in Kansas

This tactic worked so well that my husband started using it, and then we started using it with each other. Then, as we all began to become more aware of our behaviors and our own preferences for how we wanted to be treated, things became more peaceful, clear, and harmonious in the house. So what does all of this have to do with God?

We see God through each other. Every one of us. Just as we are mirrors for each other in our actions and words when we behave disharmoniously, we are also mirrors of God when we are acting harmoniously. Every time someone in the house takes a deep breath before they answer, I see God. Every time my husband takes something off my plate so that I can finish other things, I see God. Each time my oldest daughter stops her art to talk to her sister about school, I see God. Every time I see my youngest daughter move forward with a chore rather than an argument, I see God, and I remind them of that daily.

This is how we practice God inside our home, so that we can continue to practice it outside of our home. How are you practicing a God mindset today?