To say therefore that there is a spirituality aimed to become imperfect seems to be a contradiction. But as I shall hopefully show you, this kind of spirituality is something that we need in our time. So, why do we need a spirituality of imperfection?
The Meaning of Spirituality of Imperfection
First,
let us get clear about the meaning of spirituality of imperfection.
Spirituality of imperfection refers to an attitude whereby a person
accepts her imperfections or weaknesses and uses these to come closer
to God. She does not want to get rid of these imperfections or
weaknesses in order to become perfect. Some examples will make the
meaning of this kind of spirituality clear.
Here
is an example involving physical imperfection. The great poet John
Milton (William Hayley called him the greatest English author), got
blind when he was only 46 years old. Instead of complaining about
his condition and retreating into idleness he accepted it gladly and
used it to focus his attention on invisible realities, the things
unseen to human eyes. It was during this period when he was totally
blind that he wrote through dictation his greatest poem PARADISE
LOST. He also left us that beautiful poem ON HIS BLINDNESS. The
last five lines of this poem are most consoling to us who seem not to
be doing anything great for God. Milton says in these lines that the
one who bears best the yoke or suffering God gives him serves God the
best, that he is a king, thousands obey him, that those who only
stand and wait also serve God.
There
are many examples from moral imperfection. Jesus displayed a
spirituality of imperfection. He accepted the sinful prostitutes and
tax collectors among his hearers and followers. And he also led
them to accept their situation. Jesus never told them, Reform
yourselves first before you follow me. He accepted them as they
were. And it is most important to observe that we do not read any
passage in the Gospels which tells us that they strove to get rid of
their sinfulness. Casting away their sinfulness was not the goal of
their life but just following Jesus. And by one sentence Jesus
transformed them. He told them, Go and sin no more. And they did
without trying to sin no more. They just stopped sinning.
My
third example is concerning spiritual imperfection, the inability to
perform any spiritual act like believing, loving, hoping. Jesus
himself exemplified this attitude when he said that of himself he
could do nothing (John 5:19). He accepted his inability to do
anything on his own. Paradoxically this attitude gave him all the
power in the world. This was because this attitude pushed him to
rely only on God with whom nothing is impossible.
Why
Do We Need a Spirituality of Imperfection?
We
need this kind of spirituality because all of us have imperfections:
physical, intellectual, spiritual, or a combination of these. And it
is only in our acceptance of these imperfections that we can
transcend them and be ready to receive the perfection which comes as
a total gift from God.
One
of the songs which have moved many of us to tears of joy was the song
THANK YOU by Ray Boltz. Maybe you too were moved to tears by this
song. Some years after listening to this song I found out that the
composer and singer of this song had a problem in his sexual
orientation. If I did not have this spirituality of imperfection I
would have condemned him and never again listened to his songs. But
I did not do this. I accepted him as he was and prayed for him to
continue touching lives and to totally trust God to receive the gift
of a perfectly balanced sexuality.
What
Is Your Imperfection?
Are
you blind, deaf and dumb? Are you a victim of a debilitating,
presently incurable and terminal disease like cancer or HIV/AIDS?
Are you the victim of alcohol, illegal drugs, or tendencies to
criminal actions? If you accept now your condition, then you can
rejoice because you can open yourself to God's gift of healing and
perfection in the area of your imperfection.
I
am not writing only from theory. When I was 13 years old I
contracted eczema in my hands, feet and groins. Because of this skin
disease I could not eat many kinds of food like chicken, pork,
shrimps, crabs, and other delicacies because if I did the itchiness
would attack me and the infected bodily parts would swell. It was a
skin disease which cost me a lot of money and time in prayer,
consultations with physicians and medications to no avail. I carried
this malady for 20 years without a definitive cure. So I accepted my
situation that I could not be cured of my eczema by conventional
medicine. Instead I went to a shaman and told her my problem. She
pulled out a bush and by this bush drove out the eczema from my body. I
was instantly cured and never to be bothered again by this skin
disease. Now I can eat anything without being allergic to any food.
I
can give many other examples from my life but that one should suffice
to convince you to get hold of this spirituality of imperfection and
use it for your advantage.
You
can apply this spirituality of imperfection to any area of your life.
Are you a failure in business? Accept your failure and be open to
the gift of success in business. Are you a failure in your marriage?
Accept it and be open to the gift of a perfect love in marriage or
in blessed singleness.
Many
have written about this kind of spirituality, notably Ernest Kurtz
and Katherine Ketcham in their book THE SPIRITUALITY OF IMPERFECTION:
Storytelling and the Journey to Wholeness (1992). It is for you to
write your own story about how your weaknesses have given you the
strength to live a more fruitful life.
Here are my
other blogs which may be of help to you:
for your
spiritual growth
for your health
for learning
about the new trends around us
for earning
some income from the Internet
Here
are your links to download the e-books for FREE. To download a copy
of A NEW CHRIST by Wallace D. Wattles click this website
http://bit.ly/anewchrist.
To download a free copy of A NEW EARTH by Eckhart Tolle click this
website http://bit.ly/ebookanewearth.
I hope that you enjoy reading these free e-books and profit much
from them, as I have also profited greatly from them.
