Are you spiritually fit?

This morning at the Stone Church in Toronto, Pastor Don Noble in his characteristic no-nonsense way preached on the subject of temptations. One of the interesting ideas from his sermon is that we give power to our temptations, if we ignore or deny our own weaknesses. Then he drove home the point that "It is very hard to be objective about ourselves."

I would want to emphasize that it is even harder to be objective about our own spiritual condition for two reasons: (1) Our self-rigtheousness prevents us from seeing our own brokenness and sinfulness, (2) Our judgmental attitude towards others makes us feel that we are somehow superior to others spiritually.

That is why Jesus asks: "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" (Matt.7:3, NIV).

That is why Jesus warns us: "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." (Matt.16:6, NIV).

What makes Pharisees and Sadducees dangerous is that their knowledge and devotion to religion have turned them into legalistic and mean-spirited monsters. Too much theology or too much religion can take away one's humanity!

The temptation, as conceptualized by Pastor Noble, is real -- it is lurking there to trap individuals who spend a lifetime studying the Bible and theology and serving God as pastors and seminary professors without awareness of their own vulnerability to self-righteousness and spiritual hubris. The only way to prevent the tragedy of yielding to this kind of "holier-than-thou temptation" is to undergo regular spiritual fitness checkups.

Spiritual fitness test

Yesterday, I had Dr. Paul Magnus, R.J. Bernardo Family Chair of the Tyndale Center of Christian Leadership, his lovely wife Jane, and Dr. Barbara Haycraft, Dean of Student Life at Tyndale Univeristy over to my house (which is just a stone's throw away from the campus) for a cup of tea. Our conversation naturally drifted to the issue of how to measure spirituality in our students and Chrstian leaders.

I proposed a "lie detector test" and "the love test". Some Christian leaders are so used to lying that they no longer realize it when that they are lying. Out of expedience, they would say one thing to A and another thing to B, and when confronted about the contradiction, they would easily deny that they have never said such thing to A or B, depending on which one is more powerful. Such pathological liars desperately need help and healing!

The love test has to do with whether a person is habitually rude and unkind to people and or shows genuine compassion and love to others in all situations. Even little children can spot a kind person when they see one.

It would not be difficult to collect data on both the "lie detector" and the "love test". If a Christian leader scores poorly on both of these tests, than his or her spiritual problem needs to be fixed.

Paul Magnus said that he has routinely asked his students to rate themselves on the the fruit of the Spirit as recorded in Galatians (5:22-23); they also need to ask those who know them well to rate them. Any big discrepancy between self-rating and 360-degree rating would be an indicator of spiritual blindness.

Ultimately, our spiritualtiy can not be measured by Bible knowledge or sophistication in theology, but by how we live our daily lives and how we treat others.

The urgency of spiritual fitness test

I was planning to put off this blog entry until after my surgery, but last night I had a dream warning me not to delay. That is why I am rushing this entry out today.

My dream impressed on me the need to sound an alarm about spiritual sickness. Sin, like cancer, is a slient killer. If I do not do regular annual checkup, I would not have known about my aggressive type of prostate cancer. It could have killed me, if I do not receive proper diagnosis and treatment.

The danger of sin is even more serious. If a Christian leader is not aware of his weaknesses and sins, he will not only ruin his own life and his own ministsry, but also inflicts pains on all those to whom he ministers. Christian leaders with serious spiritual problems can and do cause a great deal of damage to God's church.

Yes, it is hard to be objective about our own spiriutal condition. That's why we need others to give us feedback and point out our blindspots. We need mentors, spiritual directors and peer review. We also need to humble ourselves before God each day and examine our own behaviors and thoughts to make sure that they are pleasing to God.

Once we realize our weaknesses and vulnerability to sin, then we will follow the spiritual path of saying "No" to temptation and "Yes" to God's spiritual power.

My readers will find soon find out that the fivefold path to practical spirituality serves both protective and enhancing functions. It wil protect us against our own self-righteousness and spiritual blindness, and at the same time, it will enhance our capacity to love and serve.

The fivefold path to practical spirituality and total fitness

How do we develop practical spirituality and total fitness? This is the question I have been wrestling with in the past few years. Today’s blog entry represents a brief introduction to my discoveries in this search.

I propose that total fitness will result, when we totally immerse ourselves in the following five spiritual laws:

1. Worshipping God - our ABBA Father
2. Serving & surrendering to the Lord Jesus
3. Loving our neighbors
4. Walking by faith in the Spirit
5. Meditating on God's Word

Together, these spiritual laws represent five intricately connected channels of divine power. Together, these spiritual laws help create a warm-blooded and full-bodied spirituality that can stand the test of the worst storms of life.

The secrets of true success

The secret of the fivefold path is that it flows from the Trinity (Father, Son and the Holy Spirit), builds upon the foundation of God’s Word, and engages the basic spiritual capacities of all human beings.

The secret of the fivefold path is that it emphasizes practicality more than theology, and biblical efficacy more than biblical literacy. To put into daily practice a few biblical truths will yield far greater benefits than having a huge bank of knowledge of the Bible stored away in one's head.

Research has shown that some health benefit accrues from the practice of each of the above spiritual laws by itself. Just image what kind of total fitness will ensue from integrating all five spiritual laws with physical exercises and daily activities!

The power of synergy and consistency of applying the fivefold path is yet to be measured scientifically, but such power can be experienced individually.

The secret of synergy is that the whole is much more than the sum of its parts. When synergy includes God’s participation, the resulting energy can be miraculous.

Synergy is not a precise, mathematically concept – it is mystical.

The secret of consistency is that it can result in something much more precious than perfect performance through practice. Consistency in spiritual discipline means that one continually plugs into God's spiritual power, not only in times of crisis. When spiritual practice becomes as natural and regular as breathing, we will experience a magical transformation from inside out.

Consistency is not a precise, mathematical concept – it is mystical.

So, we are on a mystical journey together to discover and experience the secrets of spiritual transformation and optimal well-being.

I invite you to contribute to the development of the fivefold path. Please do share with us your insights and experiences through the “comment” section.

How is spirituality related to health?

There are now literally tons of scientific publications linking spirituality to both mental and physical health. But how is spirituality related to health? In what ways are the spiritual and physical realms connected?
This morning, Dr. Brian Stiller, President of Tyndale University College, invited a small group of faculty and staff to his office to pray for me before my surgery. They prayed that God would guide the hands of the surgeon so that he will succeed in removing all the cancer cells from my body. They also prayed that God will facilitate healing and recovery.
We pray, because we believe that God answers prayers and God can directly intervene in human affairs. He is also the Great Physician who can cure us with or without the help of a skilled medical doctor.

The spirituality-health connection
But there are also scientific explanations about the connection between spirituality and health. Here are just a few of the scientific findings:
Prayer increases our hope, which strengthens of immune system and leads to health-enhancing actions.
A religious life style reduces risks factors and increases protective factors.
Faith contributes to our sense of meaning and purpose, which is important for optimal functioning, physiologically and psychologically.
Meditation is capable of reducing stress and alternating our neural structures.
Given the strong scientific support of a faith-health connection, it makes sense that we practice spirituality on a daily basis.

The exercise of Christian faith and health benefits
“Faith without works is dead,” (James 2:20, KJV) says James, and faith is work. To live by faith is to practice our faith-life daily. The Christian faith is a practical faith, because Christ is alive today and forever and he lives out his life in and through us. Not only is there no Christian without Christ, there is no Christianity without Christ living in us daily.
Authentic faith permeates everything we do and propels us beyond our comfort zone. By its very nature, faith reaches up and reaches out. But like any living thing, this kind of dynamic faith must be nurtured, cultivated and exercised. Daily.
It is a mistake to over-emphasize the importance of attending Sunday service as a means of achieving spiritual growth. Even the traditional prescription of daily devotions and weekly prayer meeting may not be enough to reap the full health benefits of Christian faith.
I believe that there are at least five time-tested biblical principles for total fitness: (1) worshipping the Father through His Son, (2) serving and surrendering to the Lord Jesus, (3) walking by faith in the Holy Spirit, (4) sharing God’s love in words and deeds, and (5) meditating on God’s Word.
This fivefold path to total health can be translated into a simple set of spiritual and physical exercises. I will introduce these exercises in this blog over the next few months. Something magical will happen, when we engage in spiritual-physical exercises over and over again. It is the daily cultivation of faith practice that enables us to attain high levels of spiritual, psychological and physical health.
There is hope for total fitness even for cancer patients like myself.

What is practical spirituality?

Right now, too many things are happening in my life and not all of them are pleasant. I am getting ready for a major surgery and I don’t know how that will turn out. At the same time, I am being buried by tons of work related to my teaching, research and writing. I also have to carry the burdens and cares for my family, friends and students. Then there are the ubiquitous political battles which I can ignore only at my own peril.

Does my Christian faith provide an answer to all the stresses and problems of human existence?
Can I incorporate God into my daily living so that I can experience His presence and grace in all of life’s circumstances?

Can the Bible give me the guidance, wisdom and inspiration I need so that I will always do the right thing with courage and compassion?
Is there a genuine spiritual transformation in my life that empowers me to overcome and transcend all the trials and tribulations?
Do I have a sense of the sacred in spite of my busyness?
In short, does my Christian faith work in real life?

All the above questions have to do with practical spirituality, which can be defined as the intertwining and integration of spirituality with practicality in a continuous and seamless manner. Thus, our religious belief or spiritual faith should play a vital role in how we live. The practice of spirituality is no longer relegated to Sunday worship service and there should no longer be a wide gap between what we believe and how we behave throughout the week.

In this blog, I want to share with all my readers my journey in the quest for practical spirituality. I also interested in hearing from you about your struggles and discoveries.

What is total fitness?

Before moving back from British Columbia to Toronto last year, I used to work out at the Fitness World in Coquitlam regularly. While there, it was uplifting to see men and women taking their physical exercises seriously – sweating, grunting and straining themselves with gusto. They don’t mind the price they pay, because they know the reward they get. The benefits of regular physical exercises can be experienced immediately.

Each time I went to the Fitness World, I asked myself: Why can’t we have spiritual fitness? Why can’t we have psychological fitness? Why not total fitness?

The idea of total fitness has been percolating in my mind for several years. Instinctively, everyone can appreciate the need for total fitness that encompasses physical, psychological and spiritual well-being. But I did not know how to combine the three in some form of exercises.

Eastern religions and physical exercises

During the same period, I made several trips to Taiwan to give lectures and workshops on meaning-centered counselling, mostly at Buddhist universities and organizations. These trips gave me some opportunity to learn from the Buddhist masters on mindful meditation.

It was particularly instructive for me to learn a particular style of active mindful meditation, which includes a set of physical exercise as well as regular practice of mindful meditation. While learning this exercise, it dawned on me that active mindful medication was actually a promising way to achieve total fitness.

Since then, I began to do some research on how Eastern religions are related to physical exercises and the various schools of martial arts (Wu Shu). Here are some examples of religion-exercise connections:

Buddhism – Shaolin Kung and Mindful meditation
Taoism – Tai-Chi Chuan and Qi-Gong
Hinduism – Yoga
Shintosim – Aikido and Kendo

All the above exercises are designed to benefit practitioners physically, psychologically and spiritually, but it is possible for individuals not to get involved in the religious root of their preferred exercise.

Western religions and physical fitness

When I survey Western religions, I don’t see any clear connection between religious faith and physical exercises.

The Bible recognizes the value of physical exercises, but priority is given to spiritual exercise. For example, 1 Timothy 4:8 says, “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”

The Bible rarely encourages sports, but frequently refers to athletic metaphors for spiritual training. Here are some examples:

“Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”(1 Corinthians 9:25-27) “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7)

However, the Bible does emphasize the importance of taking care of body. "After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it." (Ephesians 5:29)

Christian total fitness

Is it possible to develop the same kind of Christian total fitness as we find in Eastern religions?

The answer is affirmative. There are already some efforts to integrate Christian beliefs with physical exercises. For example, Laurette Willis has developed stretching exercises as a Christian alternative to Yoga. She has already published two books and DVDs (a) PraiseMoves: The Christian Alternative to Yoga and (b) BASIC Steps to Godly Fitness: Strengthening Your Body and Soul in Christ
There are also various physical fitness training programs that emphasize Bible memorization. Often, such programs are done in boot camps, which provide ample opportunities for rigorous physical activities. BIBLE DRILL is noteworthy for its work with young men ages 11--16.

But we still do not have a well developed systematic approach to integrate physical exercise with Christian faith and psychological well-being. My entries in this Blog represent my personal quest for a Bible-centered total fitness. I invite others to join me in this adventure.