News for Christians Who Are Spiritual but Not Religious!

Here’s a new spiritual ritual for you to discover! Well, it’s not new, new. It’s old, so old that it will seem new for many.  

But before I explain, I want to acknowledge a growing trend. Most people between the ages of 18 and 29 see themselves as more spiritual than religious. Even though they say that they embrace Christian beliefs, they don’t read the Bible. They don’t pray. They don’t worship in a formal way.

That means they recognize the value of Christian beliefs for them, their friends and family. But they don’t want purely human opinions that are wrapped in a cloak of “religion.” They just want what is spiritual.

So, they choose not to take on the identity of a specific religion—except Christianity in a broad sense.

But here’s a problem. Christian beliefs are based upon the Bible. So if young people don’t read the Bible, where do they get their beliefs? They must be basing their beliefs upon what others say the Christian Bible teaches.

The problem with that approach

Allow me to explain it in terms of iPads, cell phones and laptops. People work every day with devices that need to have their software updated regularly to keep functioning properly. The devices need to be protected against viruses and spam. They need to be secured with passwords to lock out hackers and identity thieves.

This necessity isn’t due to a poor design, but rather because of a high level of sophistication!

We wouldn’t think of allowing someone without any technical know-how about our expensive electronic device to tinker with it. We get our updates from the manufacturer to keep our device running smoothly! 

As marvelous as these electronic devices are, they have yet to approach the sophistication of the human mind. What about the mind? Can we trust that it can never become corrupted with bad information, inaccurate assumptions or self-destructive impulses?

Stop to think. We all know people with ideas that are destructive to themselves and, at times, to their friends, coworkers or families. That is true of Christians too. 

Like even the most sophisticated electronic device, the mind can be corrupted if the manufacturer’s specifications are neglected. The human mind needs updating, refreshing and protection.

That spiritual tool

This brings me back to where I began, with the “old new” tool that will sharpen you spiritually. Its purpose is to help refresh the mind, to update it so that the mind can process and deal with every day’s challenges. This tool comes directly from the Creator, our “manufacturer.”

It is a cleansing exercise that has to be done annually. But please never just accept what someone says about Christian beliefs without checking “the manufacturer’s specifications” personally. That is, without reading the Bible yourself.

Here is what the Bible says: Every year, those who follow God’s teachings are to live for seven days without eating bread or similar products—nothing that is made with an agent that causes the bread to puff up. (Typically, that agent is yeast, although there are other leavening agents that have the same effect.)

If that is new to you, maybe you have not read or understood the Creator’s book. The New Testament says: “Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:8).

One who is unfamiliar with the Bible would not know what the writer means by “old leaven” or “unleavened bread.” Leaven is that agent that causes a biological or chemical reaction in bread or a bread product, making it rise. It is not a bad thing, for it can add texture and flavor.

The process of cleaning your home of leaven and then for an entire week eating only foods that contain no leavening dates from the time of God’s rescue of Israel from Egypt. (See Exodus 12:15-18.)

Caution! Don’t fall for the argument that “anything from the Old Testament is unspiritual or ‘Old Covenant.’” Would anyone be so bold as to argue that the apostle Paul was unspiritual or Old Covenant? And don’t fall for the argument that doing a physical exercise is “salvation by works.” Learning something isn’t earning anything.But learning can affect your salvation.

Following this exercise on just any seven days won’t bring the desired results. It has to be the seven days God designates. We thereby “connect” with Him, just as we connect with the manufacturer of our electronic devices to update them. This seemingly physical ritual is rich with spiritual lessons that help update, renew and protect the believer’s mind against corruption.

If this actually is news to you, see What Does the Feast of Unleavened Bread Mean for Christians Today?

Cecil Maranville coordinates Personal Correspondence for the Church of God, a Worldwide Association.