SPIRITUAL OR RELIGIOUS
John 15:15
I no longer call you servants, because a
servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you
friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
I often hear people say, “I’m spiritual, but not
religious”. It is a popular and cloudy expression. Although the meaning is
unclear, what is clear is that the speaker has in mind a clear distinction
between being “spiritual” and being “religious”. To this person it is good to
be spiritual and not so good to be religious. One is to be embraced and the
other to be avoided. The distinction is quite prevalent today in our society.
What we do not hear from people are the words, “I’m
religious, but not spiritual”. It is possible that a religious person does not
see anything wrong with being spiritual. They may even see themselves as
spiritual because they are religious.
The word ‘religious’ is from a Latin root word
meaning “to bind”. Religious practices are what bind their beliefs to God and
to others. The religious unite their spiritual quest with practices that
together bind the heart, soul and body to God and others in love. To be
“spiritual” without being “religious” does not tie you to anything. It leaves
you flapping in the wind like an un-tethered flag on a pole. God intends that
we be complete human beings grounded in Christ and sensitive to His work in us
through the Holy Spirit. In love we are obedient (religious) and faithful
(spiritual).
Jericho Road
Ministries Chapel, 2011.