The Inward and Outward Tracks of the Spiritual Disciplines

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Jesus was known as a rabbi, a teacher of the Law. Someone once asked Him which was the greatest of God’s commandments. In His answer He laid out the inward and outward orientations of love, the two tracks of the spiritual disciplines: love for God and love for my neighbor.

He began not with one of the famous Ten Commandments but with words taken from the Book of Deuteronomy: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deut 6:5).

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said I can turn the spiritual disciplines into performance art. He mentioned religious people calling attention to their holy deeds in public. (We do the same thing when we post pictures of our good deeds on social media.)

I have discovered that I don’t need to be in public to turn spiritual discipline into perform art. When I am reading the Scripture by myself, I can perform for myself. I can soak in self-congratulation that I am the kind of man who can read his Bible and pray even when no one is looking, and I can check that box of Bible-reading for today. Jesus warned that if that is my approach to the disciplines, I may well get what I hope for – impressing my friends or achieving my goals – but God has no interest in that sort of display.

Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matt 6:1-6).

If I turn my spirituality into performance, my activity is bent in on myself. I am not serving God but my own self-interests. The spiritual disciplines must always be understood as a means to the greater end: loving God holistically, with all that I have and am. This is the motive that will carry me through the dry spells. Because I desire to know God, I persevere, even when I don’t feel motivated, even though no one sees. And the God who sees what is done in secret is worthy of my highest effort.

But my spiritual life is much more than my private moments with God.

In His answer about the greatest commandment, Jesus answered an unasked question: What is the second greatest commandment? He said that we must also love (that is, care for) our neighbor to the same degree that we love (care for) ourselves.

It is distressingly easy to turn a select set of the spiritual disciplines – the ones that I can do on my own – into a kind of sanctified navel-gazing: dedicating myself to the practice of the solitary disciplines and forgetting God’s heart for other people. But if I really am pursuing the heart of God, He will give me a love for people outside my circle, outside the faith.

Neighbor-love is not a matter of scoring extra credit by serving at a soup kitchen or mowing my elderly neighbor’s lawn. Like Scripture engagement and prayer, neighbor-love is also a spiritual discipline, incumbent on all Christ-followers. As I get to know God better, I will find myself dissatisfied with merely building up an impressive inventory of spiritual insights and holy habits. God’s Spirit will prompt me to look for people around me who need what I have to offer: my assistance, my prayers, my encouragement, and especially the Good News about Jesus.

So the spiritual disciplines encompass not only my heart (drawing near to God in love) but also my hands (caring for the needs of my neighbor). May God give us the grace and desire to persevere along both tracks: loving God comprehensively and loving our neighbors well.

Persevere,
Paul Pyle
Pastor of Discipleship