Yes, Christians Are Spiritual – Part 1
“I’m not religious; I’m spiritual.”
“I don’t go to church, but I’m spiritual.”
“I’m woke.”
You’ve probably heard or said these things before, but I want to take this moment to challenge the spiritual perspective we commonly see in the world today. If you want to be “woke”, if you truly desire to live a life that is spiritual and you don’t believe in Jesus, then you’re far from woke, you’re very much asleep (Psalm 13:3). Although I had grown up in church, I was aware that there was a spiritual aspect to Christianity (i.e. the Holy Spirit), but operating spiritually in a physical world was something I didn’t truly know or understand. Now, before I go any further, let me be clear that being a spiritual Christian is different from being a spiritual person. One is built on truth, the other is built on finite perspective, selfish desires, and can be affiliated with spiritual realms that are quite dangerous when you’re not protected. Don’t worry, I’m gonna break it down for you!
As someone who started one way, and with lack of teaching and understanding, deviated to the other end of the spectrum, then to have found myself back in the arms of God (and stayed there), I’ve come to learn some things as it pertains to spirituality. Spirituality in the sense that culture approaches it, is directly connected to what made Eve eat that fruit (Gen. 3). Deception. Waaaay back in the day, Eve was led to believe that God was withholding something good from her; she was deceived by the enemy to stop trusting God and see what this fruit could give her access to. This deception led to her putting her faith in herself and seeking the knowledge of good and evil for herself. And the funny part is that she knew that death would come if she ate it, and she was still deceived into eating it. Deception made her blind to the fact that she was literally living in paradise.
This twisting of the mind and blindness to reality is the same when it comes to seeking spiritual alternatives that aren’t godly. This is when we start getting this whole salvation thing wrong. That feeling of being good is something that we think is based on our efforts (Psalm 118:8; 146:3). How much you affirm yourself in the mirror and meditate. How often you seek the “truth” in cards and other “spiritual guidance”. And although that all sounds good, remember that when Eve ate of this fruit, she became aware of the knowledge of good AND evil. She was already living in what was good; she wasn’t exposed to anything outside of goodness, because God was protecting her from it. Because if it’s not good, it’s not from God (Luke 11:11-13). Deception led Eve to believe that being aware of evil would benefit her, as if it’s harmless… now y’all know that ain’t true. And don’t be too quick to throw hands with Eve, fruit looks good to everybody. What I want you to understand is that spirituality, although it may be well presented, can be led by what and who is good or evil. This means that not all spirituality is endorsed or inspired by God, some of it, dare I say, most of it is, inspired by the devil.
If you’ve been led to believe that your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual success is solely driven by your own efforts, you’re being deceived into a slippery slope of pride and spiritual blindness.
If you are led to somehow walk in “your own divine power”, you are walking in a perversion of the Holy Spirit. You’ve been deceived into thinking that what God has given us – by grace, through Jesus – is something you have on your own.
The truth is that we do have power, but it doesn’t come from our own efforts or nature as created beings, it came from the One who created us, in order for us to get close to Him, to grow in truth, live in purity, and stand strong spiritually.
The Apostle Paul said that although we walk in the flesh, we don’t war according to the flesh, because the weapons of our warfare are not carnal (2 Cor. 10:1-6). This is a battle between the Lord and the enemy, and Satan has roped us into it. This is why we face situations that can make us doubt God or weaken our faith because we’ve been created to be with God. But now, because of The Fall, we’re called to battle with God, and Satan knows that he will always lose when God is his opponent. But as long as you don’t know that, the enemy is gonna have a field day, leading you in a life of confusion, ending in eternal separation from your Heavenly Father, which is his ultimate goal. As a Christian, thanks to the Holy Spirit, you begin to understand this, and through that same Spirit, you can put on the Full Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-17) and prepare for battle. And in part two, I’ll dive into why we must walk in the Spirit daily, as well as the spiritual reality of the daily challenges we face.
