Faith Venture

“You are what you repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.” The Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote that 350 years before Jesus.

I started thinking about this thought in relation to Spiritual practices. Part of the idea of learning the different practices (study, prayer, meditation, service, celebration, worship and so forth) is to bring them into your life and make the practice of them a habit. Something you do regularly without stopping to wonder what you do next.

One of my small groups has been studying the letter to the Hebrews. That writer is most concerned about people who join the fellowship and then gradually slip away. The Willow Creek Association conducted a massive research project (we live in the scientific age, after all) that discovered that people get themselves out of the spiritual doldrums through developing an intentional Spiritual practice–most often beginning with immersing themselves in the study of the Word.

The writer of Hebrews said, “Do not, therefore, abandon that confidence of yours; it brings a great reward. For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.”

What habits have you slipped into this year, so far? Have you begun getting up a little earlier so that you can read and meditate? Have you been intentional looking for ways to serve? Is it time to develop a new habit?

I think Aristotle assumed that we would develop good habits that lead to excellence. I keep working on mine.

Structure is very important to how I live. I organize myself around it. That’s why I appreciate the Spiritual Disciplines (or Spiritual Practices). That’s why I practice rising early every morning and encourage others to do the same.

I often discuss structure in the life of kids. Beginning from just days old, kids need structure. They need to know boundaries. They need to know “yes” from “no”. They need a certain regularity. My daughter is a therapist who works with kids. She deals with the result of lack of structure many times a day.

Here is another TED Talk. Chris Anderson, the founder of the TED Talks, calls them “Ideas worth sharing.” I agree, so I’m sharing this talk from Colin Powell, “Kids Need Structure.” He’s the retired Army general and former US Secretary of State. He rose from rebellious kid to the top of his profession. Worth 10 minutes of your time. And if it causes you to help a kid grow, then it’s priceless.

What makes you happy? Big house? Expensive car? Large income? In the United States we have achieved this. Yet, there seems to be worry, fear, anxiety–everything but happiness.

Ancient wisdom taught that we are best when we live in the moment. We neither fret over what we did yesterday, nor worry about what may happen tomorrow.

Athletes report that when they are in “The Zone” they are exceedingly happy. When their entire focus is on the next  play, on just the moment, neither replaying the last play or thinking three plays ahead. They are just at one with the game, teammates, competitors and the game flows.

Jesus taught (see Matthew 6 for example) that we should not worry. It does us no good. I can’t think of anyone else I’ve ever read about who lived as much in the moment as Jesus.

I am trained in science and the scientific method. I have no conflict within me about science and religion. I do not thing they are separate spheres, either. But often they study different things. I also believe the ancients were scientists, too. They observed, thought about it, observed some more, and wrote what they learned.

But they didn’t have iPhones and a ubiquitous connection called the Internet with the Web to study things. Matt Killingsworth did. He set up a study with many thousands of people checking in with their iPhones so that he could study what people were doing when they were happy or unhappy at the moment.

He defined focus on the present and mind-wandering as the two variables to study. He found a significant correlation between mind wandering and unhappiness–or the other way around, a correlation of focus on the moment to happiness.

Ah, science, always there to prove ancient wisdom is correct.

I picked this up on a TED Talk. Here is his presentation:

Matt Killingsworth Be Happier Stay in the Moment

” ‘Tis a gift to be simple, ’tis a gift to be free.”

That’s a line from an old Shaker hymn known as “Simple Gifts.”

One spiritual practice that doesn’t always land on the charts up there with prayer and study is the practice of simplicity.

Clutter in your environment is a distraction. It impedes or prevents focus on what’s important. It is good in the beginning of a new year to take the time to clear out the accumulated clutter of the past year.

Some of that clutter may be physical. You may have too much stuff. We tend to buy things and add them to a room. It becomes like the metaphor of boiling a frog–if the water temperature is raised a little at a time the frog won’t notice when danger is upon it. Just so, a little at a time we add clutter until our living space is no longer simple and pure.

We can also clutter our minds and souls with clutter. Memories that need to be released. Poisonous relationships that need to be purged. Too much thinking, not enough doing. Focus and clarity must be our guides.

Matthew reports that Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Pure means not mixed. Not an alloy. Nothing added. This can be related to simplicity. Unadorned. Uncluttered. Focused.

Jesus was most concerned about the state of our hearts. Keep it simple and pure. You shall see God. Maintaining simplicity as a practice helps us on our way to God.