Spirituality of Service or Spirituality of the Hammer - Essay Example

xxxxxxxxx xxxx xxxxx 16 November 2008 Spirituality of Service/Spirituality of the Hammer Spirituality, in a broad sense, refers to a way of life which seeks to understand the meaning, purpose and direction of human life in relation to the universe. Hans Urs von Balthasar defines spirituality as "the way a person understands his or her own ethically and religiously committed existence, and the way he or she acts and reacts habitually to this understanding."(Haight). Spirituality is based on religious or non-religious ethical principles, seeking as its goal, refined and noble potentialities in the individual. This being the case, concepts regarding spirituality differs greatly and there are innumerable types of spiritualities in the world based on belief or non-belief in supernatural beings, consciousness of self, ethical principles and religious symbolisms. The spirituality that I envision is the Spirituality of Service, which has for its ideal the motto that service to mankind is the highest form of service to God. Spirituality of Service is part of the Judeo-Christian tradition. It has its roots in the teachings of the Holy Bible and is greatly influenced by the life and teachings of St. Francis of Assisi. This spirituality of service emphasizes that love expressed to God must be made evident by love expressed to humanity. This concept of spirituality can also be called the Spirituality of the Hammer. Millard Fuller, the founder of Habitat for Humanity, a Christian ministry that builds homes for the homeless, says regarding the theology of the hammer "our Christian faith mandates that we do more than just talk about faith and sing about love. We must put faith and love into action to make them real, to make them come alive for people. True faith must be acted out." (p.7). The Spirituality of Service looks to the Holy Bible as the source of its inspiration. The two great commandments of the Bible regarding loving God and loving one's neighbor are the pivots of this spirituality. The major emphasis of this spirituality is putting faith into action. Apostle James wrote "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has not deeds Can such faith save him Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it"(Holy Bible, James 2:14-17 NIV). People deprived of the basic necessities of life need much more than comforting words, they need food, clothing and shelter. The spirituality of service seeks to serve God by identifying and meeting the needs of the poor and outcasts of society by community effort. This spirituality's concept of God is of an eternal being of infinite goodness existing as the Trinity - the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. God's goodness is evident in creation and this goodness is expressed in a continual giving on God's part. The highest gift of this good God is the person of Jesus Christ, the incarnated Word, who died on the cross to liberate man from the bondage of sin and established for man, a new way to fellowship with God. The concept of man in this spirituality is of a created being. Man's ultimate goal in life is to live in intimate fellowship with God and this is made possible through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in man. Man's broken relationship with God was restored at the cross and now to live in close fellowship with God, man is commanded to love God and love his neighbor. The bottom line is that love to God must be expressed in social action. Apostle John giving a practical application of this commandment says "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."(Holy Bible, 1 John 3:17-18.NIV). Meditating on the philosophy of human existence, this spirituality holds the view that achieving the consciousness of God is closely linked to the consciousness of humanity. Walter Rauschenbusch in his book, A Theology for the Social Gospel wrote, " our Christianity is most Christian when religion and ethics are viewed as inseparable elements of the same single-minded and whole-hearted life, in which the consciousness of God and the consciousness of humanity blend completely" (qtd. from Fuller, p.21). The consciousness of God compels man to identify the needs of suffering humanity and work towards effecting a constructive change in the social environment. Eradication of poverty and a creation of a non-violent ethical society is the vision of this spirituality. Poverty is no longer a third world syndrome. It has permeated even the wealthiest of cities. Materialistic economics, consumerism and the credit card lifestyle have made us a nation of debtors whose values in life are greatly influenced by materialistic concerns. In his book Following Christ in a Consumer Society, John Kavanaugh claims that consumerism is a "materialistic way of life which rests on a fundamental inversion of the values of the Judeo-Christian tradition: in consumerism, things become more important than persons. Persons begin to serve things instead of things being made to serve persons."(qtd. from Delio). On the contrary, God intended for man to rule over all creation including materialistic possessions, not to be ruled by them. In this context this spirituality of service advocates the economics of Jesus Christ. Adopt a simple lifestyle, don't hoard the extras, give them away - remember that there is someone else out who is in urgent need of it. Breaking away from the materialistic and consumerist lifestyle and adopting the values of this spirituality of service requires systematic training. The beliefs and views of this spirituality are radically different from those of consumerism. So those initiated into this spirituality have to be regularly guided and molded to imbibe the divine values of service to become effective servants of mankind. The best teacher or trainer in this spirituality is God and yielding one's life to Him, the supreme giver, is the first step towards getting trained to serve others. Social action is not an isolated effort on the part of a single individual. Helping one other by working in teams creates synergy. Team effort requires training and practice. Also, a study of the social structure of society, its underlying problems including the patterns of social behavior and responses helps in creating strategies that yield the best returns to society. It is also necessary to extend this training in the form of literature, audio and video messages so that these spiritual values can be propagated and applied in practical life situations. Quite a few organizations and groups are following this type of spirituality of service and they provide suitable training for spiritually motivated social work. Habitat for Humanity International is one such organization which practices the theology of the hammer literally by building houses for the poor. Their motto is to provide everyone with a decent house to live in. They train and encourage volunteers from all walks of life to participate in their building construction programs. Mother Theresa was also an advocate of this type of spirituality. Missionaries of Charity, an organization founded by her, is involved in caring for the uncared all over the world. Basically speaking, the Bible is the best manual for this kind of training and obeying its instructions is the way to get trained and shaped. The personal practices of the followers of this spirituality of service are prayer, Bible reading, social action and teaching others about this way of life. Prayer is vital and holds the key for effective service. Prayer is connecting with the Almighty God. Prayer releases the power of God for service. Without prayer it is impossible to walk the talk. Bible reading is the next daily exercise. The Holy Bible is the manual for this spirituality. God's instructions for daily living are clearly given in the Bible and reading it everyday equips the believer for selfless service in the midst of difficult situations and problems. Social action, the defining character of this spirituality, is the practical application of the teachings of the Bible. In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus Christ tells his disciples that on the judgment day God will judge the people on the basis of whether they had done good works like feeding the hungry, clothing the naked or providing shelter to the homeless. Jesus Christ says "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."(Holy Bible, Matthew25: 40. NIV). Service to mankind is the service which God desires from his followers. This being the case, the followers of this spirituality are expected to run this check daily - Have I done anything today to relieve the pain or burden of others. Social action involves getting out of life's comfort zone and investing time, energy and money in helping the needy. Material rewards may not be received in this life but the joy of serving Christ is definitely a rewarding experience. Occasionally, the followers of this spirituality will also be required to share their experiences in serving God with others who are newly initiated into this spirituality of service. Teaching and equipping others is also to be practiced as and when required. The spirituality of service, or in other words, the spirituality of the hammer is a spirituality which can be described as an active, relational and communitarian spirituality. Although it is based on a prayerful and meditative study of the Bible, it seeks to put faith into action so as to create a poverty free society that is both peaceful and just. Works cited Delio, Ilia O.S.F. "Franciscan Identity and Post modernity: Crisis or Challenge" CCFMC. 15 Nov. 2008. Fuller, Millard. The Theology of the Hammer. Georgia: Smyth & Helwys. 1994. Haight, Roger. "Spirituality and Social Justice: A Christological Perspective". Spirituality Today. 15 Nov. 2008. The Holy Bible (New International Version). New Jersey: International Bible Society.1973, 1978, 1984. Read More