Not Just for Monks (cover story vol 40:1, Feb-March 2008, page 8-9) PDF Print E-mail

When asked what was the heart of spirituality, Jesus summarised the Ten Commandments into two simple instructions: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Love your neighbour as yourself” (Mark 12:30-31).

How much do we love God and our neighbours? Isn’t this the ultimate yardstick by which we measure spirituality?

Control freaks

However, loving God and our neighbours are not things we do naturally. All of us have problems loving God simply because we find giving up control of our lives to God repulsive. All of us are ‘control freaks.’ Loving our neighbours, too, is difficult because, basically, we are selfcentred. Behind every good deed, we ask ourselves, “what’s in it for me?”

Since it is unnatural for us to love God and others, we have to learn how to do that. The process of learning to love God and our neighbours is often termed spiritual formation. When we re-programme our lives, develop new habits and disciplines, we gradually become more godly. Donald S. Whitney explains in Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, “The spiritual disciplines are the God-given means we are to use in the Spirit-fi lled pursuit of godliness.”

We often balk at the idea of spiritual disciplines. Exotic names like lectio divina (spiritual reading) sound archaic—they remind us of a monastic lifestyle. We think these practices only belong to the Roman Catholic Church. Nothing could be further from the truth. Spiritual disciplines are the means by which we retrain our wayward nature in godliness.

Demystified

Richard Foster helps to demystify spiritual disciplines in his now classic book, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth. There are many different types of spiritual disciplines, each discipline dealing with a specific aspect of our spiritual life.

Foster has helpfully categorized the various spiritual disciplines into the inward, outward and the corporate disciplines. The inward disciplines include meditation, prayer, fasting and study. When we do our quiet time, we utilise these disciplines: meditation, prayer and study. These disciplines help us to know God, develop our character and grow in godliness. Foster’s list is not exhaustive. There are also the inner disciplines of personal worship lectio divina, journalling, meditative prayer, contemplative prayer, centring prayer, spiritual retreat, silent retreat, and the list goes on.

 

 

Loving others

 

The outward disciplines, according to Foster, include simplicity, solitude, submission, and service. These practices help us develop spiritual habits for Christian living in the world. Simplicity includes simplicity of lifestyle, being less consumeroriented and more environmentallyconscious. Other outward disciplines, not mentioned by Foster, include stewardship, social activism, caring for the sick and protecting the weak.

 

Control freaks

However, loving God and our neighbours are not things we do naturally. All of us have problems loving God simply because we find giving up control of our lives to God repulsive. All of us are ‘control freaks.’ Loving our neighbours, too, is difficult because, basically, we are selfcentred. Behind every good deed, we ask ourselves, “what’s in it for me?”

Since it is unnatural for us to love God and others, we have to learn how to do that. The process of learning to love God and our neighbours is often termed spiritual formation. When we re-programme our lives, develop new habits and disciplines, we gradually become more godly. Donald S. Whitney explains in Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, “The spiritual disciplines are the God-given means we are to use in the Spirit-fi lled pursuit of godliness.”

We often balk at the idea of spiritual disciplines. Exotic names like lectio divina (spiritual reading) sound archaic—they remind us of a monastic lifestyle. We think these practices only belong to the Roman Catholic Church. Nothing could be further from the truth. Spiritual disciplines are the means by which we retrain our wayward nature in godliness.

Demystified

Richard Foster helps to demystify spiritual disciplines in his now classic book, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth. There are many different types of spiritual disciplines, each discipline dealing with a specific aspect of our spiritual life.

Foster has helpfully categorized the various spiritual disciplines into the inward, outward and the corporate disciplines. The inward disciplines include meditation, prayer, fasting and study. When we do our quiet time, we utilise these disciplines: meditation, prayer and study. These disciplines help us to know God, develop our character and grow in godliness. Foster’s list is not exhaustive. There are also the inner disciplines of personal worship lectio divina, journalling, meditative prayer, contemplative prayer, centring prayer, spiritual retreat, silent retreat, and the list goes on.

Loving others

The outward disciplines, according to Foster, include simplicity, solitude, submission, and service. These practices help us develop spiritual habits for Christian living in the world. Simplicity includes simplicity of lifestyle, being less consumeroriented and more environmentallyconscious. Other outward disciplines, not mentioned by Foster, include stewardship, social activism, caring for the sick and protecting the weak.

Thus, while the inward disciplines help us to love God more, the outward disciplines help us increase in our love for others.

As Christians, we journey in spiritual formation, both personally and as a community. Foster cites corporate disciplines such as confession, worship, guidance and celebration. Dorothy Bass, writing in Practising Our Faith, includes corporate disciplines such as honouring the body, hospitality, household economics, when to say ‘yes’ and ‘no’, keeping the Sabbath and testimony. When these spiritual disciplines are practised together by the whole church, everyone can learn how to love God and others.

However, we need to make a commitment to intentionally learn and practise the inward, outward and corporate disciplines before their benefi ts can be realised. The spiritual disciplines, previously mentioned, are within our control —we can decide whether we want to practise them or not. However, another group of spiritual disciplines is not under our control but is allowed by God to happen in our lives—circumstantial spiritual disciplines.

The Imitation of Christ

Thomas à Kempis writes in The Imitation of Christ, “There is no person on this earth without some trouble or affliction. Who is it then who is most at ease in the midst of suffering? He who is willing to suffer some affliction for God’s sake.” In a sense, the circumstantial spiritual disciplines overlap the inward, outward and corporate spiritual disciplines. However, unlike the earlier list, they involve our response to external circumstances which are not our choice.

The list of inward, outward, corporate and circumstantial spiritual disciplines seems daunting at first. However, closer scrutiny reveals we would have been practising at least some of them in our personal devotion, small groups and congregation.

Christian community

The key to practising spiritual disciplines is not how, but with whom, you work them out. The Holy Spirit, the key to spiritual disciplines, is the One who will teach, guide and nurture you as you practise them. Learn to discern his voice amid all the noise that clamours for your attention.  Spiritual disciplines are meant to be practised in the context of a Christian community. We need to encourage and strengthen one another. You’ll fi nd it easier to learn these disciplines if you have company, others who are doing the same thing. You may also share new discoveries with them.

Spiritual pilgrimage

How do you begin? By seeking out and doing one spiritual discipline at a time. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you discern what is most needful in your spiritual life at this moment. Master that particular discipline and only then move on. Source for books or seek someone who is experienced in that discipline to teach you.

The believer’s spiritual pilgrimage is a long and arduous one. Spiritual disciplines help to hasten and smoothen the journey towards godliness. By developing life-long habits which help in spiritual formation, we will begin to love God and others more and more.

 

EXAMPLES OF CIRCUMSTANTIAL SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES

Waiting (Ps 130:5-6): We serve a God whose calendar moves by millennia, not minutes, and who thinks in terms of generations, not seasons.

Suffering (Rom 5:3-5): Spiritual growth occurs when we learn to persevere through suffering, responding with biblical hope. Suffering is God’s tool to expose our false belief, and the mess is intended to drive us back to the only sure hope we can have.

Persecution (2 Tim 3:12): Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Tertullian, a third century theologian observes, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”

Social Mercy (Jer 22:16): Ambrose of Milan wrote, “If thou clothe the naked, thou clothest thyself with righteousness, if thou bring the stranger under thy roof, if thou support the needy, he procures for
thee the friendship of saints and eternal habitations. There is no small recompense. Thou sowest earthly
things and receive heavenly.”

Mourning: A.W. Tozer noted, “The Bible is written in tears, and to tears it yield its best treasures.” Religious sorrow, mourning, and brokenness of heart are often mentioned in reference to spiritual growth.

Contentment (Prov 30:7-9): Gary Thomas comments in Authentic Faith, “Contentment is nothing more than soul rest. It is satisfaction, peace, assurance, and a sense of well-being cultivated by pursuing the right things.”

Sacrifice: Christianity was birthed in sacrifice – Jesus died on the cross, crying out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt 27:46). And He is the model for how life is to be lived. Paul tells us to offer ourselves as living sacrifices (Rom 12:1): On a personal level, sacrifice means this: All of us will eventually come across something we want that is contrary to the will of God. Here is the crossroads of sacrifice: Will we follow our heart, or will we, in childlike faith, surrender and choose to walk in obedience?

 

From the archives...

  • Recycled (vol 40:2, April-May 2008, page 18-20)
    We arrive at David Chong’s house, bearing gifts of plastic, glass, cardboard and the like. Quite an unconventional buah tangan, but this “junk” was like gold to David and his…
  • Learning How to Fish (vol 40:1, Feb-March 2008, page 28-29)
    Skilfully, he guided his boat across the river. As the monotonous sputter of the outboard motor ceased, acrid diesel fumes assailed the nostrils. The schoolchildren began to disembark, while Rusnik,…
  • When Sickness Strikes

    “But why me?”  she gasped  between sobs.The tone was one of anger and sorrow. When the doctor told Susan that she had cancer, she was shattered.
    Like others,    …