Christian spirituality

Few concepts are as rich as that of spirituality. And so much exposed to confusion. If we were to ask about its meaning, the most diverse answers could be given, some of them generating problems in the faith of certain believers and even in the community life of more than one church. It is therefore convenient to clarify ideas, without renouncing the great benefits that authentic Christian spirituality entails.

It is worth noting, first of all, that concern for the spiritual dimension of life is not exclusive to Christianity. It distinguishes Eastern religions and ideologies which, in their conception and practice of spirituality, would make the Western world, dominated by the crudest materialism, blush. For Hindus, for example, prayer is the most important activity in life. And for the other great religions of the East (Buddhism, Zoroastrianism and others of China and Japan), asceticism and the contemplative life are essential. But at the same time we can affirm that in no human religion the sources of spirituality are as rich as in Christian faith and experience.

Biblical spirituality

According to biblical teaching, the true wealth of a human being does not depend on the abundance of material goods, but on being rich toward God (Luke 12:21 ESV). Food, drink, clothing are “additions” to the essentials of human life; the primary thing is the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33 ESV), since that kingdom is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17 ESV). Through the knowledge of Christ, the believer thinks that all other things can be considered loss, as worthless as rubbish (Phil. 3:8 ESV). In Christ they have been made adopted children of God, with whom they can live in joyful communion. This communion finds its forms of realization in the reading of the Word of God, in prayer, in worship, in fellowship with other believers and in the service that is born out of love. Christian spirituality essentially consists of all this, without excluding to a certain extent -within limits- the contemplative element and certain forms of asceticism. The mind, feelings and will participate in this way of living piety; understanding, heart and action are associated.

Spirituality understood in this way is an imperative for the Christian. It is equivalent to the maturity expected of the disciples of Christ (Heb. 6:1) and constitutes the best antidote to the evils caused by carnality. The fleshly Christian is self-centred -sometimes to the point of egoism- and this self-centredness breeds the most harmful sins, both in their own life and in that of the church. Keep in mind the pathetic picture described in 1 Corinthians 1:10-12 and 1 Corinthians 3:1-18. In no way can a believer be content with being a “carnal Christian”, as if authentic Christianity and carnality were compatible. Being a Christian implies full submission to the lordship of Christ, which is equivalent to a deep cut at the roots of one's own criteria, personal exaltation and self-complacency. Thus, spirituality ceases to be a voluntary option for first-class Christians. It is a duty for those who invoke Christ saying: “Lord, Lord”.

Let's return now to what was previously stated, the need for spirituality to be complete, in an adequate balance of understanding, feelings and action. When any of these elements disappear or becomes weak, spirituality is impoverished, making it unsatisfactory for many believers. This explains the healthy reactions that have occurred throughout history when spirituality has been emptied of vital content and has only preserved forms (dogmatic, liturgical, legalistic or any other type). The Pietist movement in Germany (17th century) can serve as an example with its denunciation of the spiritual sterility to which the cold orthodoxy of Lutheran Protestantism had reached. Or the Methodist movement in the Anglican church of the 18th century.

The dangers of super-spirituality

It has happened, however, that many Christians have not seemed to have enough with a “normal”, biblical, balanced spirituality. Not content with being spiritual, they have claimed to be “super-spiritual” and have insisted on being purer than others, more fervent, more faithful to the Word. We also find examples of these super-spirituality movements in history. Post-exilic Judaism knew some of them. The Hasideans (heb. Hasidim = saints or pious), determined to fight against the Hellenization of Judaism and maintain the observance of Jewish law, fell into a merely external religiosity, with little or no internal piety. From that group arose the sect of the Pharisees.

In the Christian church of the first centuries there were also those who reacted against quite widespread errors or weaknesses, but, in a pendulum movement, they fell into other no less deplorable errors. Remember Donatism and Montanism. In the Middle Ages, the movement of the Cathars (from the Greek = pure, perfect) had much that was positive, but, apparently, they fell into Gnostic and Manichean errors. In their desire for purity, they came to condemn the possession of earthly goods and sexual relationships even within marriage; only by renouncing the world could one join their church, outside of which there was no salvation. In the days of the Reformation, radical movements had many laudable aspects, but they also assumed extreme positions at some points that discredited Christian testimony. In more recent times, some “renewal” movements, despite the nobility of their aims and some of their emphases, have caused problems in many places by trying to impose their theology and forms of worship as superior in spirituality to those of the more traditional churches.

False spirituality can appear in various forms, but almost all of them can be grouped into four: asceticism, legalism, antinomianism and sentimentalism. Asceticism is as old as the Church itself. Already at the origins of Christianity, apostolic teaching warned against the errors of those who would try to subject the faithful to unjustified deprivation and to lifestyles that have nothing to do with true piety (Col. 2:16-23; 1 Tim. 4:1-3). Monasticism was born out of the inclination to asceticism in the first centuries of the Christian Church. Nowadays, there is no shortage of people who evaluate spirituality according to the ability to renounce legitimate goods or pleasures, be they material or even cultural (attending a play or concert hall, reading books other than the Bible, etc.).

Those who make spirituality depend on submission to certain practices fall into legalism, often determined more by human tradition than by biblical commandment. There are acts typical of every faithful believer, acts that are eminently edifying and necessary (reading the Bible, practising prayer, attending services, participating in some form of evangelization or work in the church, etc.); but to make them the measure of our piety and the quality of our Christianity is to confuse the shell of the nut with the nut itself.

At the opposite pole there is antinomianism, the rejection of any norm or principle that regulates ethical behaviour, the replacement of theonomy with individual autonomy. If true spirituality flows from the grace of God, it is said, it does not matter what we do. This was the theological postulate of some of Paul's contemporaries, where sin increased, grace abounded all the more (Rom. 5:20 ESV); Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? (Rom. 6:1 ESV). But that Rasputinian concept of grace is a malignant corruption of biblical teaching. It is an exaltation of the “cheap grace” that Bonhoeffer so sharply described. It does not denote greater knowledge of Christian freedom or higher spirituality, but rather total incomprehension of the Gospel and slavery under the tyranny of the flesh.

Sentimentality. Fourthly and finally, we must refer to the “sentimental version” of spirituality, in which emotions occupy a high –sometimes exclusive– place. It can include the contemplative element with a certain tendency towards mysticism. Of course, the sentimental factor should not be excluded; but if it predominates to the point of excluding the function of understanding in the experience of faith, the result can be superficiality and spiritual instability.

Hidden motives in false spirituality

Whatever the forms of super-spirituality, there is one trait common to all: the obsessive, almost morbid, longing for perfection, both in personal and community life. Ignoring the whole of the biblical teaching on sanctification, with its tension between the already and the not yet, they dream of a spiritual utopia that will only come true the day when Christ will glorify his Church in His “parousia”. When they fail to achieve perfection in its deep, fully biblical sense, they often resort to the subterfuge of increasing the practice of an external, legalistic piety, with the same scrupulousness of that Russian peasant who, taking literally the verse that says pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17 ESV), he repeated the publican's prayer God, be merciful to me, a sinner (Luke 18:13 ESV) seven thousand times a day. In the end, the perfectionist's experience is usually one of disappointment and subsequent spiritual prostration.

No less serious is another trait frequently observed in the “champions” of spirituality: pride, even if it is unconscious. They look down on the poor second-rate Christians who have not reached the spiritual heights they have reached. They think that surely, they are destined to be few, but they see in their small number a sign of spiritual quality: “The fewer, the better”. Possibly even some pastors, following these ideas, would be happy if quite a number of members would leave the church, since “they are the unspiritual ones, a hindrance to the faithful remnant”. Losing sight of their responsibility over the entire flock, including the weak and broken sheep, they have set themselves up as judges over their brothers and have condemned them without mercy. They seem to have forgotten texts such as a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench (Matt. 12:20 ESV) or mercy triumphs over judgment (Jas. 2:13 ESV). We must add to this the possibility that believers labelled as “unspiritual” are living on a healthier level of spirituality than the supposed leaders of piety and we will realize how ridiculous a wrong concept of spirituality can be. On the other hand, attitudes of spiritual superiority contribute not a little to the split of churches and plunge many of their members into discouragement and frustration.

On one occasion, Luther, due to the problems caused by some defenders of the Reformation, offered a singular prayer to God: “Keep me, O Lord, from my friends, for I keep myself from my enemies”. It is desirable, and hopefully it will be so, that we will not have to face the day when we must paraphrase that supplication by saying: “From the spiritual ones, keep us, O God!” True spirituality is born of the Holy Spirit, whose fruit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Gal. 5:22-23 ESV). It is the fruit what validates the authenticity of our Christianity within the Church and in the eyes of society.

Rev. José M. Martínez