Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Seven Principles of the Truly Spiritual Person - Introduction (draft)
Seven Principles of the Truly Spiritual Person
Introduction (draft)
For the purpose of full disclosure, I share with you now that I am a Christian. What that means for me, however, is far from being symbiotic with what is taught and promoted in many Christian churches in America today.
I do try to follow what I believe are the true teachings of Jesus Christ. In that sense, I am a Christian – A follower of Christ.
How Jesus is defined; who Jesus was; what Jesus said and did; what the core message of Jesus was or is; in these, in whole or in part, is where I find some disagreement. Some of these disagreements are considered major.
I am writing this book to share openly what I believe are truths, some absolute and some malleable within limited parameters. For more than three decades I have pondered and searched for a truth that felt right. Yes, I said felt right. With zero doubt and one-hundred percent confidence (I will explain deeper in later chapters), I believe when your heart sincerely seeks truth, your instincts should be trusted. Therefore, you will feel it; you will sense the truth when you discover it, or find the entry point to its path.
God gave us this ability. God’s desire is for us to search. Many, however, have discarded this ability and chosen instead the ease of being fed by others week in and week out. As a social gathering of like-minded persons, Church is fine. In my many years of attending churches, pastoring, leading in several capacities, and struggling to apply what I will finally lay out in this book, I have yet to find a church, or church group, who seeks to discover and share a deeper meaning than what their doctrines lay out (which differ greatly from denomination to denomination). This has always confounded me. At times, this common attribute has flat out confused and frustrated me.
Through the years, I have entered into personal study, entered into Bible College, served in leadership with many churches, lead studies of varying topics, and so on. Additionally, I have explored principals in the work place with those who were under my charge (I will share more on this later in the book). I have raised three amazing children, all of which have my complete heart and love, each teaching me life lessons no other could have taught me. I am married to the woman of my dreams, who supports my craziness and walks with me unconditionally on this journey.
I do not want to make this my biography. I will say my life has been enormously full, colorful, and memorable. To a large degree, my life has been defined and driven by a search for truth.
I have found there to be seven primary principles a truly spiritual person lives by. These principles will vary in degree of intensity and impact, but each is held by truly spiritual persons. Some strive to maintain them, while others live them effortlessly, knowing no other way of life. Each of these, and every degree in between, is changing the world around them, mostly with no realization. They do not look back on what they have changed, who they have changed, or why; they simply live each day with these seven principles guiding their lives.
This is not how many claiming Christianity live. Over the years I have found the opposite to be true. There is little social change between the churched population and non-churched population. Divorce rates, affairs, adultery (infidelity or cheating; in essence lying about it. (More about adultery is found later)), abuse, envy, gossip, and more, run at nearly the same levels within each group.
To be clear, I do not believe any of this behavior should be judged – by anyone. Each person has his or her own path in life to walk. We each are blessed with imperfections. And, we should walk hand in hand with others on their journey of growth – not condemn them. My point of contention is the hypocrisy. The one group Jesus consistently had issue with, whether you look in today’s bible, or the excluded gospels, was the religious leaders of the day who claimed to be righteous but were spiritually empty inside.
It is my deep hope and desire that by writing this book, some eyes will be opened and lives will be changed; even if just one. The world is full of people who expend a lifetime’s gift of energy on judging and condemning others, rather than taking the much easier and more fulfilling road towards their own spiritual growth and enlightenment.
My truth; the truth I choose, is that this can and will change, making the world we live in a more enlightened, peaceful, and beautiful place for all.
April 19, 2011
In the process of seeking your own completeness, give thought to how you may help in completing others.
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