 Spiritual: June 27, 2007 Issue [#1796] |
  Spiritual
This week: Edited by: Becky Simpson  
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Have you ever just not had enough time to be spiritual? I know I have especially in the last few weeks as I try to work my way through some business dealings that threaten my sanity. These are the days where I find myself so tired when I get home that my only desire is to throw myself at the bed, sometimes missing entirely and ending up making myself comfortable on the floor (you think I jest?). Then, I wake up in the morning with aches in places I wasn’t aware could ache and will myself to get moving without a thought to anything but that blessed hot shower awaiting me.
I think we have all had those days and for me it means the day never feels right. Today is one of those days for me, if you haven’t guessed. So I am wondering: What are some ways to combat a busy life style and feed our spiritual side without forfeiting our need to make a living? I would really be interested in your ideas but, as we are not able to have a two-way conversation, and I know you are sitting on the edge of your seat, wondering what I will come up with, I will go first. Becky Simpson
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I was lucky once this week to get home around 8:00 in the evening; my day had started at 5:00 am. As I climbed the stairs to my bedroom, I realized I was in imminent danger of not making it. I was just too tired to go any further, so I sat down on the stairs and was near tears. The day hadn’t really been horrible; it had just been intense, and I was feeling drained. That vampire called life had sucked all my “goody” out, leaving me lifeless. For you people not from the south, “goody” is energy. Eventually I regained enough strength to pick myself up and finish the walk to bed. It was Wednesday, and I had missed church for the first time in a very long time.
As I drifted off to sleep, I promised myself I would not allow myself to go another night without doing my reading. I try to read every night as it helps to end the day on a good note. The following night, I opened my Bible to read and was aghast at the verse I found myself reading.
2 Corinthians 5
1For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven,
3inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked.
4For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.
5Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.
6Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord--
I surely fall into the description of struggling to clothe myself and am preoccupied with the things of this world. It only makes sense that I feel disconnected from my spiritual side. The reading helped, but it was not the answer to the daily battle. So I went looking for answers in “my” answer book. We all have an answer book of sorts, and we find those things that make us feel connected spiritually in them. Mine of course is the Bible, what’s yours?
The first thing I came upon as I tried to find my answer was this verse - Ephesians 5:19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; Now I know it applies to singing during the worship service but it also applies to my case as is pointed out in this: James 5:13
Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. So I have become determined that as I scurry about from meeting to meeting, I will either sing, or maybe if it isn’t appropriate to sing, I will just hum a song. Either way it helps me to feel a little closer to God. I even tune the radio to a local Christian station when there is nobody else in the car.
I guess that begs a question as to why I worry about who is in the car? Basically the answer is two-fold: First I do not want to make passengers uncomfortable. Sometimes Christian music is interpreted as trying to push your religion on someone else. Second: I am a little embarrassed to sing along with someone in the car.
My commute is definitely not one of my blessings; being forty five minutes one way it often seems indeterminably long. Psalm 77:12 I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds. There is not much you can do to improve your attitude when you are stuck in rush hour traffic or worse yet, are getting home very late. Even worse still is leaving the house at 5:00 AM, yuck. It takes a pretty good stretch of the imagination to turn this into a blessing, but I am beginning to see it as such. In the morning as I drive to work, I am often given a glorious sunrise that is simply too beautiful to ignore. On Saturdays, the day I work the least, I get to head home during the daylight hours. There is still traffic, but I have found a couple of new routes. Both have some enticing landscapes to be wowed by.
Then if I step out of my car late at night before I go into the house, I get to be blessed as I remember this passage: Psalm 8:3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place. I would encourage you to find something in nature that you can easily see the beauty of and use that to improve your daily struggle to just make it through the day. Obviously this is not the total answer to finding yourself closer to God, but if you try it, I think you will find it helps. Then as I read a little further I came across another pearl of wisdom in the Bible. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 pray without ceasing.
I have probably commented on this before, isn’t this simply impossible? Perhaps it is if your heart is attached to the things of this world, but if you long for something better, something comforting, then you can lose yourself in prayer. It might not be verbal but often I see something that reminds me how lucky I am and I just have to stop mentally and silently thank God. The latest thing I saw that made me feel this way was a little girl who was smiling at me.
Along with this we can always acknowledge the many blessings we are given every day. I actually could count them if I wanted, but mostly it is enough to remember I have been blessed. Like that bed I mentioned, I am lucky enough to have a bed, some do not. Matthew 7:11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! We have the assurance of God that he will give us good things.
One more verse and I will let you good people enjoy your day. Psalm 23: 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul. These last few days I have been getting up five minutes earlier, and I sit and listen in my bed. There usually isn’t much sound; maybe a dove will coo, or it may be raining, or the wind may rustle some leaves. The thing is, somewhere among the whispering sounds I can almost hear God speak. In those moments I feel a great deal of peace, and I know I will find something during the day to make the struggle worth while, even if it is no more than saying hi to someone I love.
One last thing I do to help make life better is to write; most of the time lately it is just this newsletter, but when things are quiet I love to write poetry, and mine leans toward spiritual works. Yet, the one place I truly feel at home is in church
I am always at your service.
Becky L Simpson
…being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord…
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The following members of Writing.Com are some of my favorite poets on Writing.Com. They exhibit and understanding and skill that, simply put, amaze me. I hope those I have forgotten will forgive me, but as time goes on and my memory prods, me this list will change.
Vivian 
reblackwell
Stormy Lady 
Theday 
Tornado Day
wittyvixen
daycare
SUGGESTED READINGS:
I call these selections works of the week. Some will be by cases of all colors, as skill is not determined by your case color. Just five or six works I think you might enjoy.
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Questions and comments from last week, my thanks to those who wrote in:
Submitted By: Marcia Landa
Submitted Comment:
Becky,
You did an impressive chunk of work bringing together all the different religions under one topic in you letter from the editor for the Spiritual Newsletter (May 29, 2007). Some version of the Golden Rule does appear to be a feature of all the major religions, as you point out. Never-the-less, (and I believe you meant no offense) I think you made some unsupported statements and misinterpretations concerning Jews and Judaism.
I want to apologize in advance for the straight forwardness of my critique. As you will see, you have touched a raw nerve with me. Even so, I don’t take what you have written personally, and I don’t mean anything personal against you. Like you, I don’t mean to offend.
1. Referring to biblical times you wrote that the Jewish people "were the chosen people of God." Yes, that's what it says in the Bible and that's what some Jews and Christians believe, but that doesn't make it true. It's a religious belief that is not shared by everyone. As I see it, a religious belief is an opinion, not a fact.
2. You said, "the majority of Jewish people feel they are still God’s chosen people." That may be true, but do you have any evidence to support this statement? If you have seen polls that indicate this, please cite them. I am Jewish and I don't know what the majority of Jews think on the subject. I don't hear it talked about much one way or another.
3. You continue, "Yet many (Jews) have trouble following such a clear and loving command of God." You make it sound like Jews are unique in this way. You may not have intended to say that Jews break the Golden Rule more often than non-Jews, but if you didn’t, please don't single out Jews in this way.
4. You say, "The depth of the teaching of Jesus is explored throughout the New Testament. It seems so clear to us, yet for the Jewish people it still was misunderstood. I think you have used the word “us” incorrectly. In an editorial of this type “us” should refer to readers of this newsletter, unless you have clearly stated you are writing from a Christian perspective.
Your assumption that Judaism is wrong is not a fact. Like other non-Christians, Jews do not believe that Jesus is the son of God, or the messiah, or that he said anything of great importance that was not already said by others. This is not a misunderstanding but a different understanding of the truth.
5. You say, "For the Jewish people, neighbor was interpreted to mean kinsman, or if you wish, clansman. In other words those related to you." I don't know whether this statement is true or not for biblical times. Could you cite any biblical statements or rabbinical interpretations that support what you've written?
As I've been taught it, Judaism teaches that kind and just behavior applies to relatives and non-relatives, alike. As you point out, this belief is stated throughout the Hebrew Bible. The great Pharisee sage, Hillel, whose life preceded and overlapped that of Jesus is quoted as having said "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn." It seems pretty clear to me that the instruction does not exclude my gentile neighbors.
6. You say, "It is well known that during the time of Jesus the Jewish people had become a litigious society." Again, you could be right, but this is not a well known fact to me. Is this what it says in the Gospels or are you taking this from Old Testement sources?
7. You say, “I have never and never will insist that someone follow God’s will the exact same way I do”, yet you end your editorial with a poem by FunnyFace which says, "Be a good soldier and fight towards/ People coming to know our Blessed Lord."
You and FunnyFace are entitled to your opinion, but these lines [i}do seem to me to be insisting that we all follow and even fight towards people coming to know your Blessed Lord." I find this an unfortunate way to end a piece that is supposed to "allow those of diverse faiths to see clearly that we are not so different.”
Since you did not mean to offend, I am not offended. However, I am disappointed that you did not provide a more even-handed approach in an article that is about all major religions. In order to reach all people I suggest you not use the Spiritual Newsletter to promote one religion or criticize another. That's not to say you can't describe why you believe in your religion, just that you should probably leave that to another newsletter and avoid making judgmental comparisons to other religions.
I look forward to hearing what you and others have to say about my opinions. I hope that this can become the basis for a lively, informative conversation about religion. If you can provide any evidence for the statements that I describe as unfounded, I hope you will share them.
Respectfully,
Marcia
Marcia, I felt your email should be included here as we started a private conversation about this. I am sincerely sorry you were offended and as I pointed out to you in our conversation most of the reference material was taken from Josephus a Roman who spent some time writing about the Jewish people. In addition I spent some time on the Internet reviewing various websites for information about the Golden Rule. As I said in my letter, I must tell you, I do feel badly if I have inadvertently used language offensive to others. - Becky
Submitted ByLexi
Submitted Comment:
Very thorough newsletter, Becs! I learned a lot of new information
LEXI!,
HI! And thank you, for reading the newsletter. I have not heard from you in a long time (it seems forever). I do try to get enough facts to make the newsletter useful and it is nice to know when someone sees it. Of course I often leave things out like the fact that most ethical teachings also have a version of the Golden Rule including the Romans. Thanks, for writing. – hugs Becky
Submitted By: Come Fly with Me--Kiter
Submitted Comment:
I enjoyed this treatice on the Golden Rule in its many forms. To follow its precepts would certainly solve many of our problems. Good job.
Hi, and thank you, for your very kind comments. I must say I respect your work very much and that being so wonder what you think about doing some comparative studies for each of the major religions. Condensing it down to a paragraph for each, highlighting the philosophical (I can never “say that word”) mainstream ideas of each? Let me know what you think, please. – Hugs Becky
Submitted By: Vivian
Submitted Comment:
Thank you, Becky, for such a wonderful lesson on the Golden Rule. I hope I always practice it; at least I try to always practice it.
Hi, Mom, I don’t know how wonderful it was, but you are always trying to practice this one and you are always edifying those around you. Truly you are my Christian example. – Love Becky
Submitted By: Kåre เลียม Enga  
Submitted Comment:
Well, as a Baha'i, I'd say that it is an independent faith , but other than that, thanks for the quotes. More can be found at: http://reference.bahai.org/en
I firmly believe that we-all can acknowledge these "rules" and strive to live by them. I particularly love the following quote:
O CHILDREN OF DUST! Tell the rich of the midnight sighing of the poor, lest heedlessness lead them into the path of destruction, and deprive them of the Tree of Wealth. To give and to be generous are attributes of Mine; well is it with him that adorneth himself with My virtues.
Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah, Persian #49.
To me it speaks to the concept that we are to do right by others not out of pity, but for our own soul's enlightenment.
Thanks for this edition of this newsletter. The Golden Rule is for everyone.
Hi,
You could not be more right about doing it not out of pity, but for our own enlightenment. Thank you, for the additional information and link I hope we all take a bit of time to look at other religions with eyes wide, and open minds. You never know exactly what you may learn. One thing is for sure you will learn to respect others. – Hugs Becky
To the rest of you kind readers who made comments about May’s newsletter; thank you. If it were not for your kind words I would be inclined to find another way to spend the time I spend here.
If you have a question, comment or just an observation concerning this edition of the Spiritual Newsletter please feel free to send it to me. I would also like our Spiritual newsletter readers to send me their favorite text from their spiritual guide. Please include the author’s name.
Next weeks editor:
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