Our Stories
Whatever You Do
By Abigail Short | posted 07/31/2008
"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV)
Do anything spiritual this weekend? I did. I scrambled up Granite Mountain, I ate out with friends, I went to a bridal shower, I cooked a meal (if you count frozen lasagna as cooking), I went to church.
Okay, I admit it - when I asked myself that question, church was the first thing I thought of, and I had to think again before coming up with the rest of my answers. I suppose it's obvious why we all probably think of going to church, or going to a small group or having devotions, as being "more spiritual" than the rest of our lives, but that doesn't mean we have to settle for the obvious answer!
The only reason I thought of that question at all was because I experienced severe writer's block trying to compose this article. I just couldn't think of anything to write about. Nothing had caught my spiritual attention recently. Uh-oh! Could that mean I'm backsliding? Am I caught in one of those undesirable stopping points Mark talked about on Sunday? (If you don't know what I'm talking about, I highly recommend his sermon, which can be downloaded from the church website.) Is my relationship with God drying up?
Those are all possibilities - but probably none of them is accurate this time. It may be that I'm just living my life. I've written before about how life can seem so daily that it's hard to feel like we're even making a difference. Apparently, sometimes it's also so full that we forget to pay attention! We forget that because God wants to be involved in all parts of life, all of it is spiritual.
Hm. Let me amend that. All of life can be spiritual, but we don't always let it be. Even people who do lots of "spiritual things" can forget to integrate their lives. Our culture, in fact, encourages us to box up our lives into tidy, unconnected compartments. But doing that would be like me spending tons of time with my fiancé and never introducing him to my friends. Would you call that healthy? I hope not!
If you want to know what an integrated life looks like, I can give you an example that you won't soon forget (but you'll have to pardon me for doing so): Tom Cruise appears to have a spiritually integrated life. Now, you may think he's crazy - I certainly have some pretty firm opinions about that myself - but at least you know what he really thinks, and it's obvious that he believes it strongly. Please feel free to express yourself less flamboyantly, but I hope that you do let your beliefs affect what you say and how you live.
How did I experience God this weekend? I admired His marvelous creation - the view from the top of Granite Mountain really is amazing. I bemoaned the Fall Of Man (before which, I am convinced, bugs didn't bite, or at least bug bites didn't itch). I celebrated the beauty of two people finding happiness with each other. I prayed before my meals. You get the idea.
So, let me ask you again: Do anything spiritual this weekend?
Abigail can be reached at abigail@DaughterOfLight.com.
