Practical Christian Mysticism

The most common abuse of religion is the lost mysticism of the weekday. Until we reach spiritual awakening, and learn to walk with God, we tend to confine all our spiritual life to just one day a week. I know what your thinking, “yeah yeah, I know I need to learn to live a good life the whole week”, but I want to speak of something more. The truth is that the average weekday can become a continual religious experience for those who open their eyes.

I often begrudge those who can live a monastic or religiously devoted life. However, the truth is God has taught me to see, for those of us in the secular world, there is a unique mystic path to be walked as well. Ours is the spirituality of toil. The challenge of providing for a family, fighting against the cruel realities of the world, learning to overcome the temptations and obstacles common to all humanity.

St. Paul spoke often of the virtue of hard work. Hard work is the means through which man can, with his own hands, shape and mold his character. Toil is also the means through with man learns of the true nature of God, the Creator. At first, the world just seems cold and void to those who seek to make their way in it, but for those who learn to preserver and overcome, they experience the powerful and benevolent nature of a God who wishes to see us grow and mature.

This may seem like a strange idea, to experience God in our lives at work, but it is only strange because so many fail to pursue it. Those who give up, settle for what they can get, become cynical or jaded, the weekday has nothing to offer. To those who refuse to sit still and are willing to take responsibility for themselves, the world turns into a playground for God’s children.

So many people relate to the things like the movie “Office Space” or the comic “Dilbert” because there is so much absurdity in the cubical life. People who find themselves bored and miserable in their jobs most likely have never experienced the God of the Workday. Your life is your responsibility to change and there is a God who waits to support you in the struggle to improve yourself.

“The best athlete
wants his opponent at his best.
The best general
enters the mind of his enemy.
The best businessman
serves the communal good.
The best leader
follows the will of the people.

All of the embody
the virtue of non-competition.
Not that they don’t love to compete,
but they do it in the spirit of play.
In this they are like children
and in harmony with the Tao.”
- Tao Te Ching