Come, look at me!

Too often, organized religion is too….well, it’s too organized. Big business, as I said yesterday. “Let’s build a new church because we’re so big. Bigger is better, right? So if my church is growing, that must be a sign of how good we are, how religious we are. Look at us! Now we’re really growing, a really huge group of religious people. We need a bigger building. And, let’s make it real fancy, to show how religious we are.”

I can think right offhand of two, no, make that three, large “churches” here in the orlando area that are really huge complexes. Yes, filled with people on a Sunday. And, yes, filled with good and decent people, people who are religious, who are devout. And these are good people…they’ve found a house of worship that fills there needs. And that house of worship demands things of them. It demands bigger and better buildings, bigger and better programs and services, bigger and better preachers, until that “house of worship” has grown to become a big business itself. Why, I’ll be they have financial planners and accountants on staff, too.

That’s great. But it’s not really what spirituality is all about, I think. Spirituality is what a person does in their own mind, in their own little part of the world. A person can go to church on Sunday and get great comfort from it. But a person can also stay home and “pray” in their own way, and be just as spiritual. No, maybe even more spiritual, because at home they are fitting into their perpective of god and spirituality, and not having to adapt to someone else’s model.

If you’re really spiritual, if you really are in tune with the “hereafter” or the “other world,” you don’t need to do it with a group of people and follow their form of spirituality–you can do it by yourself, in your own little world, in your own little way. Think about it!

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