Spirituality and the Christian

1. Spiritualityand the Christian– 4th
July 2016
“Noone can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and lovethe other, or you will be devoted
to the one and despisethe other. Youcannot serve both Godand money.” (Matthew6:24)
Whenwe come across the wordSpirituality,one maywanttoknow is itreligionbecause thiswordisnot
foundinthe bible. Spiritualityisdefinedasthe qualityorstate of beingconcernedwithreligionor
religiousmatters:the qualityorstate of beingspiritual.But Spiritualityextendsbeyondanexpressionof
religionorpractice of religion.There isapursuitfora spiritual dimensionthatnotonlyinspires,but
createsharmonywiththe universe.Thatrelationshipbetweenourselvesandsomethinggreater
compelsusto seekanswersaboutthe infinite.Duringtimesof intense emotional,mental,orphysical
stress,mansearchesfortranscendentmeaning,oftentimesthroughnature,music,the arts,ora set of
philosophical beliefs.Thisoftenresultsinabroad setof principlesthattranscendsall religions.
While spiritualityandreligionremaindifferent,sometimesthe termsare usedinterchangeably.Thislack
of clarityintheirdefinitionsfrequentlyleadstodebates.Suppose one’sspiritualityleadstothe
formationof a religion?Isitnecessaryforaspiritual persontobe religious?Throughcertainactions,an
individualmayappearoutwardlyreligious,andyetlackanyunderlyingprinciplesof spirituality.Inits
broadestsense,spiritualitymayincludereligionforsome,butstill standsalone withoutaconnectionto
any specificfaith.
For the Christian,spiritualityinvolvesadailytrustinthe One that createdus. We can learnfrom
Colossians1:15–17, “The Son isthe exact likenessof God,whocan’t be seen. The Son isfirst, andhe is
over all creation.16
All thingswere created inhim. He created everythingin heaven andon earth. He
created everythingthat can be seen and everything that can’tbe seen. He created kings,powers,
rulers and authorities.All thingshave been created by him andfor him. 17
Before anythingwas
created, he wasalready there. He holdseverything together.” It is clearthat spirituality is nota
religionthatholdsustoa setof rulesortraditions.Itisnot attainedthroughanyhumanworthiness. Itis
about a relationshipthat Godoffersus, an eternal life withHim.
SpiritualityInformationcanbe foundina varietyof sources,some credible andsome notsocredible.
Recognizingthe rootwordas being spirit, let’slookatits definitionfirst.The Englishword spiritcomes
fromthe Greekword pneuma andthe Latin word spiritus, both meaning“breath,”or“of wind.”The
spiritisvital ingivinglife ashumankindismade upof mind,body,andspirit.The Merriam-Webster
Dictionarysaysit thisway“the force withinhumansbeingthoughttogive the bodylife,energy,and
power.”Whenone is searchingforSpirituality,he orshe may be seekingagreaterunderstandingforthe
purpose of theirlife,the make-upof ahumanbeing,or a deeperunderstandingof God.Spiritualityis
usuallyrelatedtotheologyandreligiousstudies.Itisthatpart of usthroughwhichwe are connectedto
divinity.
A FrenchpoetnamedCharlesBaudelairesays,“There are ineveryman,always,twosimultaneous
allegiances,one toGod,the otherto Satan. Invocationof God,or Spirituality,isadesire toclimb higher,
that of Satan, or animality,isdelightindescent.”Everyonehasa beliefsystemof some sort. Some
Christianswho are acquaintedwiththe verse inMatthew 6 where Jesussays, “Noonecanserve two

2. masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one anddespise
the other. Youcannotserve both Godandmoney.” (Matthew6:24). Here the reference to‘money’is
mainlyasthe causative factor forevil.
Christiansmaywantto knowas to how as to how spiritualitycanhelpthem.We canknow that delving
intoan understandingof spiritualityshouldbringusintodivine spiritualwisdomwhile growingcloser
intorelationshipwithGod.Religionissaidtobe man’sway of reachingGod.But God sent Jesus as the
wayto reach man through Him sothat man may be savedfrometernal damnation.Ourspiritual
consciousnesswill helpustodevelopa personal relationship withGod thatin turn will enableusto
seeksalvation…andthatcan be receivedonlythroughHim. If one isseekingspiritual wisdomand
understanding,youmustdecidetogoafterit. It isa dailyprocessof choosingbetweenthe two
paths…Godswayor Satan’sway!