Saturday, 16 May 2009

• Spiritual Obesity: Do We Need a Workout Plan?

  Observing people's meal choices at a restaurant never fails to amuse me.  It's common to see patrons order a cheeseburger deluxe, followed by a chocolate fudge brownie...and to top it all off, their beverage of choice is a diet coke.  I can't help but ask myself - what's the point of the diet coke? 

  At first, it was easy for me to be judgmental of these people.  But then I realized -- WOW --  my spiritual life is just like this. 

  I've regularly attended Church on Sunday for my whole life.  During my childhood and teenage years, I believed that was all I really needed to achieve a solid, acceptable Christian lifestyle.  Like a sponge, I often absorbed the words of the priest's homily and believed them to be true.  However, I rarely stopped to ask myself, "So, Amanda, how do these words fit into your own life journey?"
  

  Growing up in the Catholic Church, my faith was never really a challenge for me.  It was all about knowledge.  I memorized the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Act of Contrition because it was considered "a shame" if I didn't.  I was always attentive in religious education classes, able to regurgitate the information the teacher fed me.   And I was satisfied with this.  I believed that because I had a sufficient supply of knowledge about my faith, I didn't need to grow anymore. This attitude dug me deeper and deeper into a trench of complacency that I am still trying to navigate my way out of.

  In hindsight, I now realize that the deeper I fall into the trench of complacency, the more "spiritually fat" I became.  I was no better than the people in the restaurant who order high calorie-meals, and then hope to make up for it by drinking a diet coke.  My life was not exactly an emulation of everything I had learned about my Christian faith, but I attempted to "make up for it" by regularly attending Church and absorbing everything my religious education teachers had taught me. 

  As soon as my conscience started kicking in, and I discovered the trench I got myself into, I simply brushed it off.  Nobody's perfect, I thought to myself.  And I'm sure God doesn't expect me to be.  I know enough about my faith.

  Not too long ago, I encountered a Bible verse that proved my former mentality wrong: "...We know that we all possess knowledge.  Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know" - 1 Corinthians 8:1-2.

  In this letter, Paul expressed exactly what was holding me back in my spiritual journey. My knowledge about my faith was all well and good, but it wasn't doing anything to bring me closer to God.  Rather, it was puffing me up, making me "spiritually obese."  Spiritual obesity can be defined in one word --  lukewarmness.  St. Thomas Aquinas describes spiritual obesity as a  “slippery inclined plane.” Every step that a person takes forward is actually two steps backward. It stems from a deep sense of pride that prevents one's soul from being more generous with God. This is because one is already satisfied with his or her relationship with God and becomes  too self-assured about the virtues he or she possesses.

  Remaining "spiritually fit" and avoiding "spiritual obesity" takes a lot of discipline.  But it's not impossible.  As soon as I came to know how dangerous my spiritual obesity was, I set for myself a spiritual workout plan:

  1) Avoid merely absorbing the information your priest/pastor feeds you in his or her sermon.  Really delve deep into it and ask yourself the question, "How does this apply to my life?"

  2) Get involved in your local church/parish.  I became involved in the worship ministry at my church.  Singing often helps me to release the excess spiritual fat that I possess and share my joy and hope with others.  Find the ministry that's right for you.

  3) GIVE BACK! I couldn't emphasize this more.  If you've read my earlier blogs, you know that I believe it's important for us to evangelize through actions.  I've taken part in a few service projects throughout the last couple of years.  Participating in Alternative Spring Break with the Newman Center Catholic campus ministry at my university has enabled me to put my passion for my faith into action by helping the less fortunate.  These are the people who need Christ's message of love the most. 

  and last but not least...

  4) PRAY! Talk to God and ask Him what He would like you to do to further His Kingdom here on Earth.  He has plans for you to be an active, energetic Christian -- not an obese, complacent one.

  Do you think that it's possible to be spiritually obese? Do you feel that way sometimes? If so, what does your spiritual workout plan consist of?
  

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