SPIRITUAL, BUT NOT RELIGIOUS

 

 

 

RELIGIOUS, BUT NOT SPIRITUAL

 

 

Many people who do not go to church say that they are "spiritual, but not religious". Many people who do go to church take offense at this statement, calling it a poor excuse to justify a selfish and lazy attitude toward life. But many people who do not attend church feel that church is often "religious, but not spiritual". They feel that church folk focus more on rules than on souls, and get more excited about their building than their people. Is it possible, for example, for you to know the number of Boards we have AND the names of our newest members?

 

 

This situation reminds me of a story: One evening, an old Cherokee Indian told his grandson about a battle that is always raging. He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all. One wolf is called Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, gossip, resentment, inferiority, lies, false-pride, superiority, and ego. The other wolf is called Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, hospitality and faith." The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?" The grandfather paused a moment and said, "The one you feed."

 

There are many wonderful ministries happening in and through our church that are inherently spiritual but not religious: the Workers Without Wheels project; the soup kitchen; the spaghetti dinner fundraiser for the Smith family on January 19th; the "Music Sets the Table" fundraiser for the food pantry on February 12th. And there are people working on bylaw revisions that appear, on the surface, to be religious, but not spiritual because they pertain to the governance of the church.

 

The challenge for us, as I see it, is to be religious and spiritual. We can do all the wonderful and spiritual things we want, but we must remember the context in which we do so: the gathered church functioning in accordance with tradition and decree. And we can draft, adopt, and change all the wonderful and religious rules and decisions we want, but we must remember the context in which we do so: we exist under the guidance of the Holy Spirit that, prayerfully, leads us to fulfill God's will above our own.

 

Jesus said that humankind is not meant to serve the Sabbath, but that the Sabbath is meant to serve us. I interpret that to mean that our rules are meant to blossom and bend like the branches and leaves of a tree. The branches that refuse to bend in the wind will snap. And the tree that stands for nothing will fall for anything when a strong enough wind comes along. Everything we do ~ from music to sermon to fellowship to service to bylaw revisions and more ~ should be done with worship at its core. Like our God who withholds nothing from us, let us exhibit outrageous hospitality and extravagant welcome to those who are propelled our way by fate or circumstance. And may our faith, words and deeds feed both those who are spiritually religious and religiously spiritual.

 

Blessings & Health,

Pastor Dwight