spirituality.

What is spirituality?  What does it mean to you?  Yesterday a friend told me his definition: "forsaking passions and possessions in order to come closer to God." He said, "That's sort-of Hinduism, but it applies.  I need to do more research."

I agree with Charles; spirituality certainly does entail forsaking passions and possessions as we work to become closer to God. And I also agree that all of us, no matter what religion, need to do more research on the concept.  I need to make time to ponder my own spirituality.  

I believe love is the foremost quality in spirituality.  It's the very basis of the two great commandments to 1) Love God with all our souls and 2) Love our neighbors like unto ourselves.  And I believe love is the element that motivates us to even become spiritual in the first place.  Certainly love is required before we can truly forsake those passions and possessions Charles spoke of. 

Learning to love God, ourselves, and others—and thus progress spiritually—requires a change of heart, not just a change of behavior but a change of attitude.  Life, rather than a continual checklist of to-do activities such as praying and scripture studying, gives us the opportunity to change not only behaviors but foremost, the way we think and feel.  When our actual thoughts and our intents change, we become like the Lord in mind and heart.  We learn to love as He does as He imparts His grace and changes us. 

Spirituality, then, includes forsaking passions and possessions as we come to love God.  If love of God does not come first in our hearts, the effort to forsake ungodly behaviors and characteristics means little—because it’s not done in the right attitude.  We cannot become like God until we begin thinking more like Him.  

As a consider questions like How can I think more like God? How can I truly grow in love? How can I change my attitude? I hope to share some of my personal discoveries on this quest to grow in spirituality and become more like God.