Spiritual Ponderings

Independence. It is so ingrained into our American way of thinking that one of our most popular holidays is Independence Day. We celebrate the fact, not only of our ancestors winning the war to become free from under the control of England well over 200 years ago, but also that in America people value the idea of being able to support ourselves free of undo control or interference by outside forces. Unfortunately much of that is now quickly evaporating, but that is a different topic. Independence is generally understood to mean depending on one's own efforts and resources to make a living for ourselves and to do things the way we want to do them within reason. Independence is part of human nature but our particular culture has amplified this natural tendency more acutely than many other cultures who function more connectedly in tight-knit clans or religions when making decisions. We often think of independence as a positive trait to be honored and applauded. Capitali...

Religion has stripped the spirit out of spirituality and insisted that the crusty shell of doctrines left over is all there is left to reality. But we were designed by our Creator – who is a Spirit according to Jesus – to live primarily in relationship with Him, not a life of external, desperate, performance-oriented searching for approval and worth. Doctrines and/or religious emotional highs are alike almost pointless without the engagement of our own spirit in direct connection with the Spirit of God. This is the channel whereby we are to receive life and worth and identity and hope. God is love; and to live without His kind of love – an agape, selfless, passionate love without any agenda of a return on its investment – is to live a fake life, a life without satisfaction of the deepest cravings we were designed to fulfill. Satan has largely succeeded in keeping religious people unbalanced, either with an obsession with being doctrinally 'correct' or satisfied with we...