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Four Spiritual Truths on my mind today…

1.  Attitude is at the heart of everything.  This is something that I’ve been struck by lately.  I find it interesting that people who feel enlightened by some new “truth” they have found or by some new “way” that is so much better than an old way, feel as if they have really hit gold.  But strangely when they talk about the past and the way they felt dead spiritually or because of where they were, it seems as if much of what I’m hearing is their attitude in the situation.  Perhaps then, being new and enlightened really has nothing to do with what you know but the attitude with which you color your world.  It makes my heart sad when I hear of people who have rejected those who at one time they respected or they considered as brothers in the faith, but because they have reached a new plateau of understanding, there is no need to be around those of seemingly lesser enlightenment.  I find it even more sad that we, self included, are continually judging the spirituality or spiritual rightness of those around us by what we feel or what we see or what we believe must be the best course of action.  For anyone who has lived any length of time knows how faulty man’s reasoning and judgments can be, which is why we must be careful of listening to merely our own hearts, our own feelings and our own opinions of what God would have us to do.  We should humbly come before His throne and His Word seeking direction and asking what we can do to be right before Him.

2.  Giving to the poor and afflicted is not merely a suggestion.  Luke 12:33 stood out to me today.  It is a command and not just a lovely, utopic suggestion.  Sell your possessions and give to those in need.  It doesn’t say if you feel like it or if you happen to get rich.  We should work toward giving excess we have to others who have nothing.  

3.  We are all connected in the great big scheme of life. 1 Corinthians 11:12 shows me that we are all in all together.  “For as woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all things are from God.” Woman came to earth through a man’s rib and man comes to earth as a child through a woman.  It reminds me of Walt Whitman poetry how I am you and you are me.  There is so much rebirth and life imagery in his stuff.  It’s really amazing and also terrifying that all of us are so interconnected.  This is felt every day and in crisis situations.  We feel the impact of new life, of a death, of troubles of our friends and the ebb and flow of various relationships.

4.  God’s concepts on things are really different than ours.  For example, In 1 Corinthians 12:24, after Paul is talking about the non-honorable parts needing more modesty, he says “But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it.”  God then gives honor to things that we as humans would think are dishonorable.  It makes me think about how we would see serving others as lowly and without honor.  But God tells us that in humbling ourselves, we will be exalted.  His ways of doing things are sometimes contrary to what ours would be.  Let us all remember that at times when we arrogantly think we know what is best.

~lme