A third practical reason some people go to church in our day is to find a healthy life style.
This is new. In the past, spirituality prepared for life after death and often even meant a self-denial that included self flagellation. It could destroy rather than promote physical well-being.
Today spirituality has become a way to the healthy life that brings body and spirit back in touch with the natural rhythms of life. It offers wholeness in our artificial technological world.
Many traditionalists claim this new spirituality makes faith a means for getting what I want rather than what God wills. They advocate returning to absolute natural laws that supposedly represent God’s Word in all stages of history, failing to acknowledge that these supposedly absolute laws constantly change throughout the scriptures as they are adapted to changing conditions and situations.
Sometimes it seems that some believers think all Christian practices have to be uncomfortable. I’ve even heard some claim in all seriousness that sermons are best when they are boring, because it enables people to suffer for their faith.
This approach makes all faith irrelevant to real life situations and certainly ignores Jesus’ promise that God’s law is made for people not people for the law (Mark 2: 27). It misses many passages in Wisdom literature, such as: “A heart at peace gives life to body” (Proverbs 14:30); “A cheerful heart is good medicine” (Proverbs 17: 22); and, “Our spirit sustains us in sickness.” (Proverbs 18:14) This certainly bypasses the history of the Church beginning with Jesus himself that has made praying for, visiting, and healing the sick a primary form of Christian care.
I am also convinced we all use this kind of approach to divert ourselves from what is really hard in our faith: Jesus calling us to deny ourselves in order to serve others, give up our own goods to share with others, and forgo our privilege to be a servant to others.
The new spirituality is based on the Word becoming flesh and living among us so we might have the fullness of life. Modern cognitive science seems to support the notion that observing a Sabbath, forgiving those who sin against us, being thankful for our blessings, and practicing co-operation based on compassion are supported by evolution.
We’ll take a deeper look at the practical value of observing the Sabbath, forgiving sins, and leading grateful lives in the coming weeks.
