The Oldest (and most overlooked) Spiritual Practice

Being a disciple of Jesus affects how we live in the world. It ought to at least. 

Jesus left the apostles with the commission to make disciples and "...teach them to obey all that I have commanded you." I asked ChatGPT to give me a list of all the commands that Jesus issues throughout the gospels, and it broke them down into the following categories of commands: following Jesus, loving God and others, prayer, money and possessions, holiness, relationships in the church, witness and mission, faith, remaining ready, listening to the scriptures, concerning humility, and discipleship. It then drew from several websites that number the commands at somewhere between 49 and 234. It also suggested that his teaching can be summarised into ten core commands:

1. Follow me
2. Love God
3. Love one another
4. Love your enemies
5. Forgive others
6. Pray
7. Trust God rather than money/wealth
8. Pursue holiness
9. Make disciples
10. Watch, remain faithful and endure to the end

At first glance this strikes me as a good summary and good starting point when trying to establish what being a Christian looks like in day to day life. 

When we try to teach a person how to do those things, we move into the territory of habits and disciplines, and herein some Christians get a little twitchy. We all know how easily law kills life, and that a sense of failure drives us away from church (it should push us nearer - but that's for another day). We also know how quickly self-righteousness and smugness settle into the seat next to us when we're doing well. We're legalists by nature and must therefore stay on our knees hungrily eating every bit of bread we beggars can get our hands on. That's where joy is found, isn't it? Yes, and also, not entirely. Healthy disciplines done right drive us deeper into experiences of God's love and grace since they draw us into closer relationship with God. 

Discipline isn't a dirty word for the Christian, but some seem to think 'practice' is. To talk of 'spiritual practices' sometimes makes people feel uncomfortable in the church. It reminds them all of new age or alternative/non-Christian spirituality, and for many that's all they need to give it a wide birth. I understand that; I have sympathy with that view. Except that I also prefer 'practice' to 'discipline', which may just be a personal sentiment. In my opinion a discipline is the itemisation of the overall practice I'm cultivating. I may have a discipline of reading the Bible every day but my practice is one of daily devotionals. I don't mind whether we encourage people to implement disciplines or observe practices, although I favour practising since it points beyond itself to a lifestyle more than simply an event.

For his emphasis on whole life discipleship I'm grateful to John Mark Comer. His books The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, Live No Lies and Practicing the Way have done for my generation what Ordering Your Private World by George MacDonald did for the one before me. I remain slightly cautious of endorsing Comer wholesale, however, and I do have some concerns about his influences and trajectory, but generally I'm a fan. In a world as fraught as ours his books have offered evangelicals a lifestyle of discipleship that's rooted in scripture and tradition. 

I've written a course for our church to help in the formation of disciples, I believe in the importance of creating lifestyle habits that help us grow in intimacy with Christ. But since Jesus' parting instructions to his disciples featured the importance of simply 'obeying' what he commanded us, shouldn't we at least begin there?

The Oldest Spiritual Practice

What I'm interested in this post however is a spiritual practice that I come across often in scripture but that I don't hear emphasised nearly as often as one might expect. Psalm 119 names it most succinctly as: 

This is my practice: I obey your precepts. (Psalm 119:56)

That's it, a habit as simple as they come, but not one that's particularly therapeutic or that can be done with your eyes closed. Once you spot it however, you begin to see how often it crops up everywhere. Like in the oldest and earliest Bible book written, the Book of Job. There we read multiple times the following summary of what a righteous life looks like:

There was a man in the country of Uz named Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. (Job 1:1)

The oldest book and the earliest opening Bible verse of the inspired word of God defines the Christian life more succinctly than many people in our churches would know how to: fear God and turn away from evil.

It comes up again:

Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? (Job 1:8)

 and again in chapter 2 verse 3. Then again in Eliphaz's first speech:

Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope? (Job 4:6)

and in chapter 28: 

‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’

Job 28:28

Far from being confined just to Job, it's the Teacher's conclusion in Ecclesiastes as well:

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. (Eccl. 12:13)

and is part of Moses' sermon summary of the law and of being a true Israelite:

"Fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice," (Deut. 13:4)

That's it. That's the oldest and most succinct summary of a spiritual practice I don't hear talked about too often. We Christians are those who ought to tremble at his word, making it our knee-jerk reaction to obey whatever command we come across. That way we stem evil's incursion into our lives and stand the greatest chance of happiness as well. All of which is to say: we ought to aim at making disciples who do what Jesus said: '...obey my teaching.' That's a useful summary. 

The word 'obey' comes down to us from a Latin word that means simply 'to listen to'. To obey Jesus is to listen to him, or in the Hebrew, to 'shema' Jesus. 'Shema O Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is, Love your neighbour as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.’ (Mark 12:29-31).

Which brings us to the reason for obedience and the definition of a life well lived.. Five things we're told to do, four of those five (80%) are directed toward an upward love, a deepening devotional love for God. Love the Lord your God with all your (1) heart, (2) mind, (3) soul, (4) strength, and then we're to love (5) our neighbour. 

Everything - every discipline every practise, every habit and every way of living as a Christian - has these things in mind. You can use a ten command summary of Jesus' commands from ChatGPT if you like, or the four practises in The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (Silence, Sabbath, Simplicity, Slowing), or twelve rhythms, or five stages or anything you like. But if it doesn't help you to hear and obey Jesus' command to love God more then it isn't working. Don't overlook the oldest spiritual practice there is.

Note that to listen to Jesus, to hear the one who spoke to Elijah in a whisper, to discern the still small voice of the Spirit, we must get low enough and close enough to feel his breath in our ears and in our hearts.