Spiritual, Not Religious?

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness… – 2 Peter 1:5-6

We now reach a critical junction. Anyone who pays attention to the religious climate of the West will probably understand why this next one is so huge.

There is a sort of secularized spirituality working its way through our society. It’s the idea that one can be “spiritual but not religious.” In the name of religious tolerance and understanding, people will pick, choose, and blend whatever they like from the various world religions.

A little prayer here. A little service over there. Some inspirational quotes from this book. Top it all off with the gravy of love, and you’ve got a dinner plate of religious comfort that anyone could scarf down.

Faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, and perseverance are all well-respected virtues for anyone who claims to be a “spiritual.”

But now we come to godliness. Dictionary.com defines “godly” as an adjective meaning, “conforming to the laws and wishes of God; devout; pious.”

The problem with the buffet line spirituality is that you only pick the things you like. If it bothers you, just don’t put it on your plate. But to kick things up a level from spiritual to godly, you’ve gotta go all in.

Jesus himself said (in other context, but the principle is well applied) that no one can serve two masters. You can’t serve God and Buddha. You can’t serve God and Krishna. You can’t serve the God of the Bible and Allah of the Qur’an. To try and serve them all is to slap every one of them in the face.

Religious syncretism in the name of tolerance is really just intolerance at its ugliest because you are essentially saying that no one God is good enough. Every God or religion is lacking, and it’s up to you, human, to correct God.

Check out what Paul tells Timothy:
For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present lifeand the life to come. – 1 Timothy 4:8

There’s no doubt that being “spiritual” has it’s benefits in this life. Prayer, meditation, and charity all have positive affects on a person’s life. But true godliness – which encapsulates all these practices and more – has benefits in this life and in the life to come

So, the time has come. I’m not going to be content with being a “faithful” person, a “spiritual” person, or a “good” person. I want to be a godly person. Which one are you going to be?

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