Yes. There is a spiritual side to life. There are things we cannot see, understand, or even fathom from this side of the curtain that happen on the other side.
I would argue that the spiritual side is more real than the reality we understand in our world.
If you have difficulty thinking about it, I’d recommend a set of fictional books to you. Frank Peretti’s This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness. It is obvious fiction but helps you consider that there is a spiritual world right outside of our natural vision and that there is an enemy of our soul that seeks to steal, kill, and destroy us.
But back to what prompted me to write this article. One of the other members of our merry band of believers is also a (much better, professional) drummer. So, from time to time, I share memes, videos, etc. about drummers with him.
I came across one meme where it was the sound man telling the drummer that his snare drum was too loud. I shared it with my drummer friend. (As drummers, we’re regularly told by the sound man that we’re playing too loud.) He noted that he had a great story about being told that he was too loud that he would tell me. I was suddenly reminded of one of the main times that I had been told by a sound man that my drumming was too loud and that it was somehow connected to my spirituality. . .that if only I had achieved his level of spirituality the acoustics of the room would somehow become perfect and my drumming wouldn’t be too loud. In other words, the problem wasn’t mic placement, room acoustics, or volume balance—it was apparently my sanctification level.
As I said at the start, there is a spiritual side to life. However, when everything is spiritualized, we can miss the point. God is right here with us, for sure. God established both spiritual realities and natural laws. The same God who sends angels to watch over us also authored gravity. Faith does not suspend physics by default. If all your friends jump off a bridge and you follow, gravity will still apply. There may be spiritual influences in the decision—but the impact with the water (or the rocks) is not primarily a spiritual defect. It’s a natural consequence.
I grew up hearing the phrase, “so heavenly minded that you’re no earthly good.” It is apparently attributed to Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. and popularized more recently by Johnny Cash. It was a good reminder to me growing up that we should not ignore that there is a world of people around us that God put us on the planet to love and serve. (Mind you, I didn’t always get the balance right or love and serve others well.)
In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis points out that those who are focused on the next life are the ones that do the most for this world. So, it’s not that you shouldn’t focus on heaven and the things of God. However, you shouldn’t ignore what God would have you do that affects this life. How does focusing on the spiritual world and your personal relationship with God help you to love others and serve them in line with God’s love for them? Being heavenly minded is not the same as being detached from reality. In fact, genuine heavenly focus sharpens earthly responsibility. When spirituality becomes an escape from practical obedience, something has gone wrong.
When I think of hyperspiritualizing things, for me, it’s a picture of priorities out of whack mixed with a heavy dose of spiritual pride. Ah, yes. Pride rears its ugly head. It’s an ingredient that most often distorts things that are right and good. It shouldn’t be confused with pride of workmanship of a job well done that keeps you doing quality work. Rather, spiritual pride and other aspects of self-centeredness, attempt to point out how good the person is instead of pointing to the grace we receive from a loving God who sacrificed Himself for us. The arrogance of the “I know better” and “I’m more advanced than you are” is at the center of hyperspiritualization.
A helpful diagnostic question might be this: Does my spirituality make me more humble, patient, and kind—or more dismissive and superior? The fruit reveals the root.
Hyperspiritualization is not that someone is in tune with what God is doing or hearing from Him. When someone hears from God and is walking in tune with His directives to them, that doesn’t show up as arrogant. It shows up as loving towards those around them. Scripture tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness…not superiority, correction, and condescension. If the Holy Spirit is at work in the situation, these fruit should be in place as well. Or, at least, when someone claims spiritual insight but lacks spiritual fruit, caution is warranted.
. . .and, for sure, don’t insinuate that the drummer is less spiritual because the drums are loud. ;-D
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