I was retelling the story of when I’d found one of my friends very ill at college. I’d carried them to the sick bay, and as I was watching them writhe in a distressed sleep. I felt utterly helpless, so I started filling out the paperwork that sat next to the bed. I ended the story, “Retrospectively, I probably ought to have been praying for them.” The Christian doctor to whom I was speaking looked me in the eyes and replied, “Physical heart disease is a hardening of the arteries. Spiritual heart disease is a hardening of the ought-eries.”
I think that the words of that doctor have become increasingly true for my life as time has gone by. The least dynamic, the least compassionate, the least concerned of people are those whose concept of Christianity has been restricted to a set routine of supposedly God pleasing tasks.
Jesus experienced hardened ought-eries when confronting the Pharisees and teachers of the law;
Mark 7:9-13
9 Then he said, “You skilfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition. 10 For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: ‘Honour your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ 11 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 12 In this way, you let them disregard their needy parents. 13 And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others.”
Aetiology:
Just like a physical stenosis, spiritual disease doesn’t occur overnight. Continuously making poor choices eventually accumulates to becoming inflexible.
One risk factor is diet. Your input. If your entire revelation of who God is comes from a Sunday service, I think that’s the equivalent to living your entire life on ready meals.
Don’t get me wrong, sermons are great; they open our eyes to new concepts, show us aspects of God and food we never considered, and of course sustain us. However, being entirely dependent on either is unhealthy. Neither sermons nor ready meals are designed for an individual (in most cases). The way to ensure a healthy spiritual diet is by doing some ‘home cooking’. Put aside some time in your day or week to read some of God’s word. Add some prayer and worship, and watch what God can do in your life.
I’ve gotten to the stage (slowly) of starting each day with 30mins of prayer and Bible. It’s not been easy, but it is, without doubt, the most important thing I do in most days. I’ve been going through Romans one verse per day. It’s the second time I’ve done this in a year, and it’s even better this time around. This time shapes me as a person, it precedes seasons in my life, and not one of the needs on my prayer list has failed to come to pass.
Another risk factor is exercise. If you don’t work out what you put in, then revelation stagnates in the heart. A good question to ask is, “How will I be different because of what I’ve read today?”
When a Christian stops getting revelation, they stop developing. When a Christian stops developing, they stay in the same place, doing the same things; doing what they think they ought to be doing. After a while, this is all they know to do; ought-ery stenosis.
Clinical Significance:
As Christians, we’re called to live a life of love. Love has to be dynamic. Love has to be flexible. Love has to permeate into every area of our lives. We can’t be Christians without love (particularly in light of 1 John 4:8!). In the same way that a heart is pointless if there is no blood, a Christians are pointless if they have no love. In a Christian who does things just because they ought to be done, is deficient in love. If we dogmatically follow rituals, love won’t be able to go anywhere else.
Diagnosis:
Spiritual Heart Disease is often slow growing, so that the sufferer isn’t aware of the subtle changes. In the same way that a GP takes periodic blood tests to determine the progress of a patient, we need to have regular meetings with people who know us, and have the authority to speak into our lives. This form of accountability is seen in many churches, and Manchester CMF are rolling out a mentoring scheme very soon.
Treatment:
A good spiritual exercise and diet regime is essential (see above). Additionally prayer from your attending mentor, and the miracle working power of our Lord are highly effective.
Prognosis: adherence produces excellent outcomes.
By Christian Alcock
I think that the words of that doctor have become increasingly true for my life as time has gone by. The least dynamic, the least compassionate, the least concerned of people are those whose concept of Christianity has been restricted to a set routine of supposedly God pleasing tasks.
Jesus experienced hardened ought-eries when confronting the Pharisees and teachers of the law;
Mark 7:9-13
9 Then he said, “You skilfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition. 10 For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: ‘Honour your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ 11 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 12 In this way, you let them disregard their needy parents. 13 And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others.”
Aetiology:
Just like a physical stenosis, spiritual disease doesn’t occur overnight. Continuously making poor choices eventually accumulates to becoming inflexible.
One risk factor is diet. Your input. If your entire revelation of who God is comes from a Sunday service, I think that’s the equivalent to living your entire life on ready meals.
Don’t get me wrong, sermons are great; they open our eyes to new concepts, show us aspects of God and food we never considered, and of course sustain us. However, being entirely dependent on either is unhealthy. Neither sermons nor ready meals are designed for an individual (in most cases). The way to ensure a healthy spiritual diet is by doing some ‘home cooking’. Put aside some time in your day or week to read some of God’s word. Add some prayer and worship, and watch what God can do in your life.
I’ve gotten to the stage (slowly) of starting each day with 30mins of prayer and Bible. It’s not been easy, but it is, without doubt, the most important thing I do in most days. I’ve been going through Romans one verse per day. It’s the second time I’ve done this in a year, and it’s even better this time around. This time shapes me as a person, it precedes seasons in my life, and not one of the needs on my prayer list has failed to come to pass.
Another risk factor is exercise. If you don’t work out what you put in, then revelation stagnates in the heart. A good question to ask is, “How will I be different because of what I’ve read today?”
When a Christian stops getting revelation, they stop developing. When a Christian stops developing, they stay in the same place, doing the same things; doing what they think they ought to be doing. After a while, this is all they know to do; ought-ery stenosis.
Clinical Significance:
As Christians, we’re called to live a life of love. Love has to be dynamic. Love has to be flexible. Love has to permeate into every area of our lives. We can’t be Christians without love (particularly in light of 1 John 4:8!). In the same way that a heart is pointless if there is no blood, a Christians are pointless if they have no love. In a Christian who does things just because they ought to be done, is deficient in love. If we dogmatically follow rituals, love won’t be able to go anywhere else.
Diagnosis:
Spiritual Heart Disease is often slow growing, so that the sufferer isn’t aware of the subtle changes. In the same way that a GP takes periodic blood tests to determine the progress of a patient, we need to have regular meetings with people who know us, and have the authority to speak into our lives. This form of accountability is seen in many churches, and Manchester CMF are rolling out a mentoring scheme very soon.
Treatment:
A good spiritual exercise and diet regime is essential (see above). Additionally prayer from your attending mentor, and the miracle working power of our Lord are highly effective.
Prognosis: adherence produces excellent outcomes.
By Christian Alcock