"Remember, we are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." - Steven Covey
Phil was a financial controller for a real estate firm. It was a great job, lots of money, lots of perks and lots of brownie points in his CV.
It was also at times a difficult position to be in as some of the company policies and practices stretched the truth from time to time and certainly favoured company more than client. Phil knew about these practices and sometimes was expected to ignore the fact that they were happening as papers went across his desk.
It was Monday morning, early. Phil was a keen Christian, a man of strong character and firm discipline. He had been taught from earliest Christian life to start the day with God and so this morning, when the alarm went, he rolled out of bed, grabbed a cup of coffee to wake him up and settled into his favourite chair in the lounge to read and pray.
However as he picked up the latest copy of the devotional guide he always used something strange happened.
He looked at the cover, a tranquil New Zealand scene of mountain and bush. He read the passage, one of the more violent of the psalms and then the comments which soothed the violence down into a gentle murmur.
Then he thought of his day. Included was an interview with a sales rep who had pushed through a dubious deal, a check on the advertising budget which was under strain and a meeting with the CEO to express concerns about a new marketing strategy that was strong on sex appeal and weak on fact.
The devotional for the day nothing for him! Its themes were rural, tranquil and its comments simply explained the background of a world thousands of years and thousands of miles from where Phil sat.
It left him feeling confused, angry, guilty and let down. Surely there was more to his spiritual life than this!
So what is appropriate spirituality?
Appropriate spirituality, I believe, is that form of spiritual life that shapes a believer in a way that enables them to translate their relationship with God into effective daily living in all settings in which they find themselves.
It is not appropriate:
- If it sets us up for Sunday but not Monday
- If it works amongst Christians and not amongst non- Christians
- If it works at home but not at work
- If it works at work but not at home
- If it can be switched on and switched off
- If people who know us find they don’t really know us
- If it can be set to one side in the hard decisions and the ethical dilemmas we face
- If it makes it harder for other people to see Jesus
- If I am just at the same level of spirituality I was five years ago
- If I am not getting closer to my Lord
That’s a tough test right there! I suggest that you take some time out and see how many of the above statements that reflect your spiritual life…
The purpose of this exercise is not to make us feel bad but to make us reconsider the way we build up our spiritual lives. A lot of what we thought was simply the ‘norm’, standard practice, what "everybody else" does is simply not up to the job in a complex modern world.
To give ‘some’ shape to this study that we’ll be embarking on, let’s consider (for future reference);
- Why a narrow view of devotional life may not meet all our spiritual needs
- The rediscovery of the spiritual disciplines
- Spirituality and our support systems
- Spirituality and personality
This is a rough idea as to where this study might end up going. But there is always flexibility in terms of what needs to be discussed and worked through.
This is all for now, I’ll give some time to digest and rethink maybe some of the things you’ve thought had to be certain way?
So, that’s just another confession from me… A Jesus Freak!
-AndyC
