I was on the highway one weekend and decided that day was the day to wake my radio up from its lengthy hibernation. It took me no more than 3 seconds to realize what I was suddenly listening to. The Christian radio had come on.
The wheels on my car went round and round, and Air1 blasted on the stereo. I didn't mind the music. I didn't mind the intermittent ads and pleas for donations (they were listener-funded). But one particular ad struck me in a really wrong way...
"Catch our daily reminders of God's love, right here on Air1! 60 Seconds of Hope..."
I knew what they meant. 60-second audio recordings to inspire faith and hope. I get it. But still. "60 seconds of hope" sounds really wrong. I'd like my hope to last longer than 60 seconds, thank you very much. They need to fire their copywriter.
But it also got me thinking about something else. Why should religious content be treated like a McMuffin breakfast with a side of ketchup and a cup of scalding black coffee to-go? I know I sound petty and nit-picky, but "60 seconds of hope" ... ain't no hope.
I call it bite-sized spirituality.
I get it. With our busy schedules, sometimes the best thing we can do is sprinkle spirituality throughout our day, wherever we can fit it, as refreshing reminders of who we are and our relationship with the divine. But if you want to get anything significant out of your faith, that can't be the prevailing pattern. And yet it often is.
Sixty seconds of mindfulness can be beneficial; it's not nearly enough time to get anything significant out of meditation.
We want everything to be easy. We want everything to be convenient. If we can get it in a drive-thru, the better. (Have you heard of drive-thru churches?)
But easy religion is not better religion. Some things are meant to be hard. Some things are supposed to take time.
Spirituality is an archeological work, an excavation into the soul. It's the untangling of the mess inside you and the healing of brokenness in your relationship to others. It's painful, often confusing, and humbling work. Spiritual growth is likened to the labor of a birthing mother. It's not pretty, and it involves some amount of waiting. But that's the only way new life is born.
The moment it becomes an over-the-counter anti-depressant pill you pop every morning with your coffee, it's no better than an Oprah pep talk.
So, what then?
Rather than cookie-cutting spirituality to fit our lifestyle, we must reshape our lifestyle in the direction of our spiritual growth.
This means two things:
- We intentionally carve out space in our lives to allow the soul to speak. These aren't McScripture-nuggets-to-go moments in the car. These are times you put aside work, play, and your phone to dive deep. These are anchor points.
- Faith, connection with divinity, peace, or whatever these moments are meant to give us, is not a switch we turn on at certain moments in the day. It's supposed to be holistically formational, permeating every part of our being.
Anything else completely misses the point.
Stay purposeful.
– Nathanael
|
Know someone who will enjoy this essay too? Share it with them!
|
Other essays you might like
