We live in a culture unlike any before us. We are the most connected, educated, productive, and technologically advanced society this world has ever seen. The electricity that we have access to keeps our lights on, our computers running, our TV’s blaring, and our phones connected to our social media accounts for the whole world to see. While we are the most advanced culture to date, we’re missing something.
On average, we spend 6 hours a day playing video games,[1] 5 hours a day watching TV, add in Netflix or Amazon and that average goes up to almost 11 hours a day,[2] all while staying connected to our Social Media accounts for about 9 hours a day![3] These statistics show us that we are consumed by content, but not our Creator. We are missing something that goes deeper than a social account, binge watching a show, or a new video game could ever allow us to go. We are missing the ability to grow deep. In his amazing book, Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster says, “The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people.”
The average American is not living a deep life. The average American is living a distracted, relationally disconnected, and shallow life because he is allowing himself to be consumed by inferior things. Instead of developing a deep life, we are settling for more likes, more retweets, and more superficiality all while losing our ability to connect with our own souls, our Creator, and the community around us. It’s time for us to get growing.
Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against binge watching shows, playing video games, or having an active social account. Those are not bad things. We just need to make sure that we are giving ourselves the proper space, time, and chance to grow up spiritually by deepen our relationship with God.
Healthy things grow. There is no denying this principle. Healthy things will always grow. We see this physically, when babies grow into adults. We see this economically, when early investments grow into retirement funds. We also see this spiritually, when we allow God, through the Holy Spirit, to have the ability to shape us and grow us to be like His Son, Jesus.
So how do we do this? How do we deepen our relationship with God? How do we change our adolescent culture into a healthy one? How do we grow into the type of men and women that Jesus died for us to become? How do we grow spiritually?
Losing weight, building muscle, learning an instrument, or building a relationship, we have to establish healthy habits in order to achieve the goals we set for ourselves. The same is true when it comes to our spiritual lives. I like to call these methods, Spiritual Habits. You may have heard them called something else, like Spiritual Disciplines, Growth Tracks, or the Disciplines. I like calling them Spiritual Habits because that title conveys a better understanding of what these methods truly are: helping you hear and obediently follow the heart of God. Spiritual habits help you hear and obediently follow the heart of God.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing, and perfect will. – Romans 12:1-2
If you want to hear and obediently follow the heart of God, then you have to prepare yourself to do so. If you truly what to change and no longer continue following the dead end paths that this world offers, then you have to stop conforming to the pattern of this world. If you really want to grow up spiritually, then you have to allow the Holy Spirit to transform you and renew your mind. The only way for this to happen is if you start putting healthy Spiritual Habits in place in your life.
Like any healthy and growing relationship, you have to invest quality time and a quantity of time soaking in each others presence and familiarizing yourself with the other person’s voice, likes and dislikes, standards and desires, in order to truly understand them and build your relationship well. It is the same with God. If you want to get to know Him better, you have to spend quality time and a quantity of time with Him. If you want to know what His will is, then you have to allow Him to transform your mind by soaking in His Word, worshiping Him alone, and surrounding yourself with a community of fellow Christ-followers that are all striving to seek Him and grow their relationships with Him.
In this blog series, we will discover what Spiritual Habits are, how we can put them into practice in our lives, and how they build off one another in order for us to get growing. We will be focusing on 6 Spiritual Habits, which are: Bible Reading, Prayer, Worship, Community, Fasting, and Giving.
Welcome to 2018! Let’s get growing!
[1] http://time.com/120476/nielsen-video-games/
[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/01/business/media/nielsen-survey-media-viewing.html
[3] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/11/03/teens-spend-nearly-nine-hours-every-day-consuming-media/?utm_term=.c321390db5fe
pastorjohnprice.wordpress.com 