Spiritual Spandex

 There is a theory going around that says that spandex is making America fat.  Seriously.

The reasoning is simple.  Something like 80% of clothing sold in the US has spandex, and spandex stretches with you -- and can even make your body look more streamlined -- so that 1) we feel better about ourselves when we look at our instantly-slim-selves and, more to the point 2) we don't notice the weight that we are gaining.

Think about it.  When I used to wear my suits on a regular basis, I could actually feel the weight gain against my waist, pound by pound.  Same is true of the classic 100% cotton denim jeans.  But in the age of spandex, we can have jeggings.  For men, even.  No longer would men and women be forced to fit into rigid fabrics, Americans can now look for clothing to accommodate their expanding waistlines!

Interesting, no?  I personally have nothing against spandex (I probably own more than my share of spandex in my cycling gear to give this dude a run for his money.)  But why am I writing about this, in this blog, about Christian life?

Okay, this is the image you get when you look up "cycling shorts" in wikipedia. Why, dude, why?!?!

Well, I have to admit, part of it is that it is just interesting.  And it does give me an opportunity to use some interesting images.  But there is a real point here some where.

Spiritual Spandex, then, would be those things that we do/surround ourselves with that makes us feel better spiritually, but are in fact hiding/enabling some unhealthy things in our lives.  There are couple of ways in which I think this works for most of us.  

First -- and we have talked about this many times in our services -- is that when we use spiritual disciplines legalistically, they can quickly degrade into spiritual spandex.  We pray and fast, not because we are interested in hearing God, but because we want God to do something for us.  It gives us a sense of being holy, without ever pursuing the hard work of pursuing holiness, through lives based on mercy and justice.

But second, we can spiritual-spandex ourselves with certain habits and patterns of behavior that do not honor God by avoiding truth and accountability in our lives.  I think most of my friends will say I am a pretty direct person.  But I've been stunned by my own ability (agility?) to avoid difficult conversations, whether it is in avoiding something about my life or loving someone enough to to tell them something they need to hear.

Let me give one simple example: passive-aggressiveness. Have you ever seen Christians spiritualize passive-aggressive behavior as the fulfillment of Jesus' command to 'turn the other cheek'?  It is spiritual spandex--we tell ourselves we are being loving, but in fact, it hides a something ugly, a resentment, an anger, a hatred...

AND, all this usually begins with something that is really seemingly harmless to us, doesn't it?  But like real spandex, there are unintended consequences that we may not be aware of.

Lent is a good time to pray that these things become revealed to us.  And repent.

(Yeah, this blog started kinda light, then became serious.  Sorry.)