People use words, but words also use people. One of the marks of spiritual maturity is the keen awareness of this reciprocal relationship between who we are and the things we say.
Spiritual growth is about learning how to listen past the sensationalism and the inflammatory hype that dominates most religious and political discourse. It’s about hungering for nuance and being okay from time to time with a little uncertainty. To be formed in the likeness of Jesus Christ is to recognize abusive, absolutist language for what it is, and to push on towards wholeness and peace – all the while never forgetting that every word, every deed, every context and every situation has the potential to profoundly impact your spiritual growth.
Remember – spiritual formation is the process of becoming the people God is calling us to be. Words and actions are not always as independent of each other as some suggest, but keep in mind there’s simply no such thing as a causal connection between the two either. Your faith lives and breathes within a broader ecology that shapes you as much as you shape it.
If you want to grow, study your contexts.
Leave a Reply