True Spirituality

This week, you get to read a guest post/devotional, written by my very own father! :)  ~Photobug

If you are like me, you've heard more and more people claiming a spirituality distinct from "religion."  I have known people who claim that all the great spiritual leaders such as Buddah, Jesus, Mohammad, Hindu Shaman, or one of the Saints, all somehow tapped into a true form of spirituality apart from institutionalized religion.  They say that it doesn't matter who you follow, as they all access the same divinity or transcendental experience.  

Most of these great spiritual leaders either left us with or used some form of sacred text that served as the basis of their spiritual quest or mantra.  With this in mind, and a desire to indeed seek true spirituality, I think it worth considering something that Jesus said with reference to the sacred text he claimed to base his life upon.  Recorded in the gospel of Matthew (Chapter 5, verse 19), "...whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven."  Reading that part of the passage immediately preceding this one makes it clear that Jesus is referring to the commandments in the Old Testament, in particular what has become known as The Ten Commandments.  For many of us, The Ten Commandments conjurs up a threat of rigidity and judgment - so contrary to the freedom we expect to find from true spirituality and yet one of the world's great spiritual leaders (Jesus) selects out this portion of sacred text as quintessential for an authentic spirituality.

This has caused me to wonder if over time - either knowingly or unknowingly - formalized religion has somehow tried to ascribe authority to itself by claiming a certain ownership of The Ten Commandments and that this has resulted in a distorted picture of the text - that maybe there remains in The Ten Commandments a link to the true spirituality that many of us seek.  

Since we are free to follow any of the great spiritual leaders, and since Jesus is regarded along with the rest as a great spiritual leader, I made a decision some weeks ago, to spend some time reflecting on The Ten Commandments recommended by Jesus.  Over the next few weeks I will be sharing posts on each of The Ten Commandments.  I invite you to share your thoughts and comments on my reflections.  Enjoy!


Be sure to check out my dad's blog, www.totheheartfromthestart.blogspot.com, for his wonderful series (a new part coming out each week!) on the Ten Commandments!