There is a significant difference between spiritual discipline and empty religiosity. The first leads to transformation; the second leads to exhaustion. Many Christians give up on spiritual practices because they associate them with obligation, guilt, and performance — when, in reality, the spiritual disciplines were designed to be gateways to freedom and life.
The Danger of Empty Religiosity
Jesus had his sharpest criticisms reserved for religious people who kept the external form without the internal substance:
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean." — Matthew 23:27
Religiosity focuses on doing the right things to be seen, approved, or to feel in control. Spiritual discipline, by contrast, focuses on drawing near to God — on relationship, not performance.
What Are Spiritual Disciplines?
Spiritual disciplines are practices that position us to receive God's grace and to be shaped by Him. They do not earn favor with God — grace is not earned. But they create conditions in which we become more open, sensitive, and yielded to the work of the Holy Spirit.
The main disciplines include:
Inward Disciplines
- Bible reading and meditation: immersing yourself in God's Word with the intention of being transformed, not just informed - Prayer: communicating with God with honesty and regularity - Fasting: voluntarily abstaining from food (or other things) to focus on God - Examination of conscience: regularly reflecting on the state of your soul
Outward Disciplines
- Simplicity: choosing a lifestyle that is not defined by consumerism - : withdrawing from noise and busyness to be alone with God - : serving others as an act of worship to God - : bringing your failures to the light, before God and, when appropriate, before trusted brothers and sisters