tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204664686568393114.post7491417425643409603..comments2023-11-02T01:43:20.189-07:00Comments on At Wisdom's End: The Benefit of Mandatory SpiritualitySamuel C Bunchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931395216787784171noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204664686568393114.post-83398510800134498842016-04-29T18:13:01.401-07:002016-04-29T18:13:01.401-07:00Good points, Jack. I completely agree with you th...Good points, Jack. I completely agree with you that spirituality should not be solely at the level of mandatory practice. For more on how I think we can move beyond mandatory practice, you can read my post entitled, "The Benefit of Arbitrary Spirituality" and the post I'm currently still writing entitled, "The Benefit of Supererogatory Spirituality" as well.Samuel C Bunchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13931395216787784171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204664686568393114.post-40186919675842529862016-04-28T18:13:53.996-07:002016-04-28T18:13:53.996-07:00We all follow a great number of rules in our human...We all follow a great number of rules in our human relationships, more often than not, without even realizing it. Take the relationship between a parent and child:<br />1. Clothe your child with clean clothes daily<br />2. Feed your child multiple times daily.<br />3. Wash your child daily<br />4. Give your child shelter from the elements and extremes in temperature.<br />5. Don't beat your child.<br />6. Give your child the opportunity for an education.<br />7. Don't expose your child to sexual situations.<br />8. Supervise your child adequately so that the child does not expose himself/herself to danger.<br />9. Correct your child when he/she does wrong.<br />10. Give your child adequate freedom of movement and expression<br /><br />I could go on and on, but there are a set of rules that dictate how we treat children. In fact, failing to follow some of these rules can land you in jail. <br /><br />That being said, few parents frame their relationships with their children in terms of following rules. Parents who have achieved emotional maturity will do these things automatically, because they love their children. The rules exist to help us along in those situations when fatigue, anger, fear, or other emotions get the best of us...they remind us what to do when we don't feel like doing it. But if your relationship with your child is only about following the rules, then the personal element is missing--that's a bad sign, in my opinion.<br /><br />Our relationship with God is the same way. Spiritual practices that are "mandatory" give us some good guideposts to follow, a good minimum standard to follow, but "Our God is a consuming fire." He's not as impressed with what we do as with our inner motives...if I give alms to earn myself a place in Heaven, I'm still at a very egotistical place far from the heart of Jesus, as opposed to giving alms out of a motive to glorify Christ. That doesn't give us an excuse to fail to do good "because I don't feel like it," but it does mean that we must constantly analyze our motives. The Sermon on the Mount is all about motives, which is why it was (and is) so hard to accept. Modern secularists scoff, for example, at Jesus' statement that looking at someone with lust is tantamount to committing adultery in one's heart. They think that the commandment will just make people uptight about sex, but they miss the point that our intentions and motives are the root of our sin.Jack DisPennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01999955744311475772noreply@blogger.com