The Rewards of Spirituality

While I never would suggest that poverty is a prerequisite for a more healthy spiritual life, we often focus too much on the materialistic side of life.  Whatever we choose to focus on the most becomes our god.  For some it’s career, while others it’s money.  These are temporal things that die when we leave this Earth.

The media are much to blame in pushing us into a life solely around the acquisition of things.  Whether it be new cars, or some new high tech toy, we attempt to gain our inner security by surrounding ourselves with these otherwise harmless things.

If materialism could give us long lasting happiness, someone would have found a way to bottle it, and sell it.  Why would we be unsuccessful in gaining happiness this way?  The answer is quite simple.  We are made in the image of God.  Some spiritual beliefs suggest we are a part of God, and that all is God.  Either way, there is something infinite about our lives.

It’s this part of ourselves that never truly can be satisfied by acquiring material possessions.  It would be the same as satisfying our physical hunger with anything other than food.  Only by cultivating a more spiritual life can we hope to feed our souls, live a more satisfying life, and enjoy life to the fullest.  It’s no wonder that 95% of the world’s population believes in the existence of a supreme being.

Let’s take some of that time we devote to the material side of life and do something spiritual–like reading the Bible, attend Church, Mosque, or Temple, get in touch with nature, or just meditate on the existence of God.  Over a period of time, life will take on a new significance and meaning.