The majority of people today will admit that they are spiritual. Many are quick to add, "but I'm not religious." In fact, some hate religion passionately, but are absolutely certain they are spiritual. Indeed it has become fashionable for people to say "I am spiritual, but not religious." What "spiritual" means is not immediately clear. It could mean having an interest in yoga, séances, meditation, 12-step programs, astrology, channelling an entity named Ra or a belief in Mother Earth.

Here are some attempts at a definition from real people in a chat room.

"I am spiritual because I try to retain the best from the founders of every religion i.e. Jesus, Buddha, etc ."


"I feel I am most spiritual when I do my yoga and meditate."


"Being spiritual means to be kind and caring for ourselves, the living beings we know and also for the living beings we do not know. "


"Through our thoughts and actions we can each make the world a little better, or a little worse. We can each help or hinder human evolution. Being spiritual is simply adopting this awareness and choosing to consciously act accordingly."


So what is it? Is it cosmic awareness? Is it being aware of some evolutionary design that I am a part of? Is it simply being kind to all of creation? Or is it becoming more self aware and de-stressing myself by learning biofeedback techniques?

There are a multitude of different voices and definitions, each one with more authority than the last. Yet there is one voice that stands out uniquely. Jesus Christ made some very interesting statements about spirituality.

A woman from Samaria was doing her chores. Life had been hard on her. She had already had five husbands, and was now living with a guy who was not her husband.

Her chores included drawing water from the community well. There she met Jesus who happened to be traveling through that area. Jesus, being fatigued from travel, asked her for a drink of water. A fascinating conversation ensued. Samaritans had a different worship tradition from the Jews, and she insisted that proper religion should be practiced by the Samaritan traditions and practices. She was defining spirituality her way.

Rather than argue about whose temple represented the most genuine spirituality, Jesus said to her that temple worship would soon fade from the scene. He said, “God is spirit, and worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” In addition, Jesus said, “God is seeking such worshipers.”

First of all, Jesus teaches that spirituality has everything to do with a connection, or a relationship to God. And because God is spirit, we must connect with Him on that same level; i.e. the spiritual level. The implication is clear. God has given us the capacity to connect with Him, and according to Jesus, that is what being spiritual is all about.

There is some bad news though. On our own, we cannot do that. Man has always tended towards self sufficiency and self reliance and because of this ego of ours, we find it very difficult to come to God on his terms. We want to define the terms of the relationship and we stubbornly resist being told by God how to approach Him.

Yet, we were created to know and serve God; Augustine famously said our hearts are restless until they find their rest in God. This disconnection from God is what lies behind all those various attempts at spirituality. Everyone is trying to find their own way. And these attempts feel very spiritual. Yet people are so lost, lonely and disconnected.

It certainly doesn’t feel very spiritual to admit to God that we are selfish sinners who resist God at every turn. But that is the starting point that every human needs to arrive at if we are going to be truly spiritual. Jesus said that the gate through which we must enter would be a narrow and difficult one. We desperately need to reconcile with our Creator, and this happens as we trust in Jesus Christ with our very lives and see Him as our Redeemer.


Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”