When did faith become so pragmatic? Faith deals with God. And God in turns deals with our spirits. Therefore, faith is a spiritual pursuit. Why then do so many faithful approach their faith in such a non-spiritual way? They accept their faith as truth without ever searching and questioning and really trying to find their own spirituality. They pray little. They meditate little. They search little. And they ask little. All of these are spiritual paths that people ignore or even worse, mechanize. Well, you may ask, how can you mechanize prayer? The answer is simple. Praying in a way that reassures you that you are right and that you have the divine figured out and by not praying in a way where you are open for change.
But the problem goes beyond that. I think the problem comes down to our society's view on...well...just about everything. Our society is based on a fast paced, goal oriented life. Where 40 hours a week at work is no longer enough if you want to get ahead. This environment does not easily breed people who are interested in pursuing a spiritual life; which takes time, patience, and dedication to cultivate. One of the major culprits is that many of us are told what to believe growing up and that that belief system is the only truth out there. So there is no need to even search. The path of a spiritual faith, based in spiritual pursuits is cut out at the beginning. Another problem is that we are so comfortable in our society. Many of us have no real needs that we can't provide for ourselves. Therefore, we have no need to have faith in anything other than our paychecks. Which means, we have no need for any kind of day to day spirituality.
We approach our faith like we approach our science. People treat God, like God is gravity. Here's what it looks like: oh yea God, He's there. Yea I know what he does and what he looks like. Yup...time to go to work. Science is for our heads, God is for our hearts. And approaching God from such a sterile, non-spiritual point of view will only yield the same.
As I said earlier pursuing an honest spiritual faith takes time, patience, and dedication to cultivate, so maybe a good first step is to simply be still.
2 comments:
Excellent post!
really good stuff!!!
i really dig this quote
"Well, you may ask, how can you mechanize prayer? The answer is simple. Praying in a way that reassures you that you are right and that you have the divine figured out and by not praying in a way where you are open for change. "
I think that is the thorn in many a believer is that we want to form God in our image and not have God form us in his image. To do so requires that commitment to the long haul and not the cheap thrill. It's something that requires a daily investment in not only plugging into the spirit of God but also being willing to look at the things in your own life and realising that you are not top dog. It's something I am learning about all the time. It's mad humbling but I am the better for it.
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