Let me be blunt (again): I don’t understand the over-spiritualization in North America. To clarify: I don’t mean that I believe there are things related to spirituality and things unrelated to spirituality. I mean that we talk about things in a hyped-up manner, using what we call spiritual terms in a manner not found in the Bible.
Side note: I blame this on the so-called Second Great Awakening, my go-to scapegoat for all spiritual things wrong in the United States.
Side note 2: This over-spiritualization somehow combines with and emerged from a prevailing Deist view and value system in the foundations of our country.
To wit: talk about God’s will typically abrogates our lack of responsibility, smoothes over our egos, and undergirds our desires. For example, we say, "I’ll get that promotion if it’s God’s will." I don’t mean to take away from God’s sovereignty or his personal and intimate interaction in his creation, but let’s be honest here. We may not get that promotion because we drink in the gossip at the water cooler or because we turn in reports late or because we fail to work with excellence. Or we may not get that promotion because someone else is better for the job. (Our egos can take rejection better when it’s God’s will. To take this more personally, if I’m called to write, I can better accept the numerous rejections.) Or we say, "It’s God will that I move to Hawaii" or leave such-and-such ministry/job/relationship. Let me also say here that this doesn’t necessarily negate the legitimacy of moving to Hawaii or leaving a certain ministry/job/relationship. But who can argue our decision when it’s God’s will?
But that’s not why I’m here today. I’ve blogged about calling before and about wisdom here, here, here, and here (the series back at the Tapestry blog). Today, I want to externally process some thoughts about balancing ideas of God’s calling, human responsibility, and God’s divine intervention. By externally process, I mean, please addend your thoughts. (Note, at this point in time, I won’t reference the verses from which I glean my thoughts, but I’d be happy to in the comments if someone has questions. Also, some of these may overlap, but I included them for the nuances.) With that in mind . . .
We act
- in God’s grace
- in prayer
- with wisdom
- in service to God
- for his glory
- with love for our neighbor
- in freedom
- as his image bearers
- creatively
- in accordance to God’s desires for the world and humanity as revealed in Scripture
- doing the good works God has prepared for us
- with the gifts, talents and resources he’s given us
- with responsibility to our fellow man and to the earth
- despite and in our circumstances
- as we are transformed and becoming more like Christ (and seeking to have the mind of Christ)
- trusting God to use everything for our good and to his purpose
- displaying the fruit of the Spirit
- with faith, hope and love
- in the power of the Holy Spirit, depending on him
- and knowing we can’t control the outcome but trusting that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
