What is meant by spirituality
When we talk about spirituality we are referring to our inbuilt knowledge that we are more than just a biological entity. Deep within ourselves we know that there is more to life than our mundane existence.
Our spirituality leads us to discover our inner self and to find purpose in our life. We search for meaning and a higher supportive power. It is our inner spirit that connects us with God.
We all have beliefs
We all believe in something. Even those who say they don’t believe in God believe something. They believe that God can’t be real. The problem for them is that without God they have no all powerful being providing support in difficult times.
Without belief in a supreme being we can only hope for that support from another human being. Due to the nature of people, however, we cannot then have absolute confidence that things will work out in the end. We can only have that level of hope if we believe in a loving and all powerful God.
Original sin
God created the first beings (Adam and Eve) to be perfect and in his image. After being influenced by the devil they committed what is known as the original sin. By doing this they were disobedient to God and became familiar with evil things. This capacity for evil then passed on through subsequent generations of people.
It’s important to realise that we are all capable of sinful or evil behaviour. Our capacity for evil is not necessarily obvious to us, as we all see ourselves as being right or OK.
Christian behaviour
The word sin covers many things ranging from sarcasm to murder. It is essentially any behaviour that is non-Christian. I commented on Christian behaviour and values in my post titled “Christian Values”.
Christian behaviour is evident in the effects of the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Remember that the second commandment calls for us to love and care for others. So, an undue focus on self-interest where it is of detriment to others is clearly non-Christian.
The impact of self-focus
Remember that as we progress and swing in one direction we swing away from the opposite direction. Also we become focussed and seek out more of the same. So, as we focus on ourselves we lose focus on others. If others have not achieved the same as us we risk seeing them in bad light. We may view them as failures and not deserving because they have not worked as hard as we have.
How we change over a lifetime
As a child we have innocence and a belief in remarkable things. We are then much closer to God, as our human nature has not yet fully materialised.
Mark 9:42 – Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.
In my blog titled “Gaining wealth and power” I discussed our need for accumulation of wealth and assets. There is nothing wrong with that and it’s what we need as we progress through life. The problem arises when our needs become our primary focus and we ignore the impact of any unfair distribution of wealth.
Also, it’s only natural that we will seek to establish our own position and status. It seems odd to view our focus on our own well being as the wrong way to go. After all, we are only doing what is necessary for self-preservation. We then feel proud that we have achieved economic security for our family and ourselves.
Ultimately, however, we realise what’s important. It’s excessive focus on ourselves to the detriment of others that is wrong. Perhaps I have come to that realisation because I am closer to the end of my human life. I still have a spirit and that is what is becoming more prominent.
Matthew 18:3 – Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Important things in life
It’s now clear enough to me that love is what’s important in life. That can be summarised as family, friends and living in harmony with others. It calls for us to be loving, generous, caring, thoughtful, humble, calm and peaceful. We should try to avoid anger, jealousy, greed, lust and sarcasm. It means being supportive, building up others, having empathy and showing understanding.
The Holy Spirit
I am absolutely certain that the Holy Spirit is real. That is due to my epiphany and the impact of what happened to me. My conversion to Christianity was not something that occurred due to careful consideration on my part. It was something that happened automatically when I was exposed to the Holy Spirit. In fact, my immediate move away from prideful competitive behaviour with my photography was not wanted.
Ezekiel 36:26-27 – And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
The final reward
Christianity is all about doing what we know is right. It’s also about believing in Jesus Christ and his sacrifice that paid the penalty for our sins. By the grace of God the final reward is an everlasting life in heaven.
If you don’t believe in this then believe that you will feel much better doing something honourable in your life. At least do what is right.
Matthew 5:6 – Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
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