Thursday, October 7, 2010

Defining “Spirituality”

I guy I talked to on my mission in Uruguay told me that he wasn’t really interested in religion because he was “a very practical person.” My response was something along the lines of “So am I, which is why it’s important for me to know what God wants me to do so that I can qualify for His blessings in my life.” I don’t think he was the only person who has used the term “spirituality” in contrast to practicality or applicability to every day life. I think that’s a misguided usage, perhaps because people aren’t sure what it means. Admittedly, it’s hard to define in terms that everyone would agree with. One of the speakers in my church’s recent General Conference said something about spiritual health, which made me think about what that means. Here are my proposals for a few definitions, with the goal being to make it acceptable as broadly as possible:

  • Spirituality is the trait of letting one’s beliefs and values affect one’s decisions.
  • Spiritual Health is the extent to which one’s beliefs and values are conducive to long-term happiness

Note that it’s possible to be physically unhappy and spiritually healthy at the same time - such as if you’re poor, but a good work ethic motivates you to create opportunities for yourself. Likewise, it is possible to be happy at the moment but in spiritual danger – such as if you’re addicted to something that gives momentary pleasure but causes long-term damage. And of course the most long-term things happen beyond this life, so even someone who feels content taking advantage of other people, and never suffers consequences of it in this life, would be said to be in poor spiritual health because the consequences will catch up and outweigh any previous benefit.

The point is that it makes perfect logical, practical sense to care about one’s spiritual heath – to try to find out what’s God wants us to do – and to do those things. Because making the right choices has positive consequences. (That’s sort of the point of this whole life thing.)

No comments:

Post a Comment