Now That Is What I Call Spiritual!

On Sunday, December 3, 2006, there was an interesting story on CBS’s newsmagazine, 60 Minutes about the ongoing conflict between Tutsis and the Hutus in Rwanda which ended up with three out of every four Tutsi being murdered. The special focus of this 60 Minutes piece was on seven Tutsi women who hid out in a cramped bathroom for 91 days to avoid being massacred by their Hutu tormentors.

At the end of that piece, the CBS person conducting the interview asked one of these women about revenge. Her response was that revenge would only make things worse and when pressed by her interviewer that it would at least feel good, she further added that actually it would not. To confirm her resolve, she even hugged and expressed forgiveness to a Hutu neighbor who killed members of her family and who would have killed her. No to revenge and yes to forgiveness; what a SPIRITUAL answer!

For Christian singles, there is so much to learn here.

• First of all, we Christians need to let go of our spiritual arrogance where we think we are the only ones who can be “spiritual”. The truth of the matter is that the principles of spirituality can be found in various religions outside of Christianity.
• Secondly, we need to recommit ourselves to the expression of true Godly love. Far too often, we lay our so-called “Godly love” down when we encounter others who act in ungodly ways toward us.
• Thirdly, we need to embrace the Christian mandate of forgiveness and of “turning the other cheek”. In our relationships with each other, many of us vow that we will not be played or punked or taken advantage of. Furthermore, we view “turning the cheek” as a sign of weakness. Have we forgotten that the granting of grace and mercy is a major characteristic of our Christian doctrine?
  
  

If this Tutsi woman who survived the worst of what any human would have to endure can forgive and re-establish a healthy relationship with those people who hurt her and her family, how can we not do the same with those we interact with?

• So what he or she stole our romantic partner?
• Who cares that our romantic partner broke our hearts?
• Big deal that someone spread rumors about us?
  

Whatever it is that people do to us, it is our Christian duty to express Godly love and forgiveness. Let’s stop catering to our pride and trying to get an “eye for an eye”. That is so un-spiritual. Doing as Jesus has done in sacrificing His life for us and following His command to love others and “turn the other cheek”, now that is what I call SPIRITUAL!