Dharius Daniels - One Sign You've Stopped Growing Spiritually

I’m settling spiritually, and if all I’m using my spirituality for is to anesthetize pain, here it is: are y’all okay? This means that this is where I am spiritually. If the only time I lean into God is when things are going bad, Jesus is talking to people. Listen to this: they are religious, and in their minds, they assume that because I’m religious, I’m better off than most. They might be right, but Jesus says what He says to them because He knows they are comparing themselves to other people’s lives while God compares you to your potential. If you compare your life to someone else’s, you may be winning, but when you compare your current state to your potential, you settle. What Jesus is trying to get people to see in this passage is that you’re settling, and you’re settling with the worst kind of settling because you’re settling spiritually. Spiritual settling is unconscious settling.

When you settle relationally, you know it. You look at who you are with and say, «I can do better than this.» Right now, it’s cuffing season, and when the weather breaks, I’m going to explore my options! You know you’re settling. You know when you’re settling professionally. You know when you’ve got a king’s anointing but a shepherd’s responsibility. You know when you are receiving compensation financially but you’re not getting the highest form of compensation, which is fulfillment. You know when you’re settling, but what’s scary about spiritual settling is that you don’t know it. Spiritual settling is when a person resigns themselves to a suboptimal, lower level of spiritual fulfillment and growth. Here it is: it is a use of spirituality to anesthetize pain and minimize immorality but not to optimize their life. It’s a result of ignorance—either they’re not informed or they’ve been misinformed—or apathy; they don’t care. Indifference or complacency can lead them to be satisfied with being out of Egypt even if they’re not going into Canaan. «Well, my life isn’t what it used to be, so I’m good right about here.»

It’s amazing how many of us won’t tolerate settling in any other area, yet we tolerate it here. Many of us won’t settle relationally; if somebody crosses you or says the wrong thing in the wrong way, you’re like, «Wait a minute, hold up!» But in this area right here, it’s easy.

Now, watch this; put my definition back up there. It is the use of spirituality to anesthetize pain. Now, everybody say, «No judgment, no judgment, no judgment at all.» But here it is: if I’m going to grow, I have to be able to locate myself. That’s right. Come on, anybody who does any kind of coaching and mentoring knows that one of the first things you need to do with the people you’re serving is what God did with Adam, who is the best coach, the best leader, and the best mentor. He knew where Adam was, but he knew Adam couldn’t move until Adam knew where he was. So the omniscient God, who knows everything, walks into the garden and asks a question to which He already knows the answer because He understands that Adam’s breakthrough isn’t tied to Him knowing where Adam is; Adam’s breakthrough is tied to Adam knowing where he is.

So you’ve got to be able to locate yourself, and here’s the question: am I settling spiritually if all I’m using my spirituality for is to anesthetize pain? So, here it is: are y’all okay? This means that this is where I am spiritually. If the only time I lean into God is when things are going bad, is everybody all right? I just felt something—I don’t know what it was, but I felt it in every location. I don’t know, right? It’s no judgment; it doesn’t mean you don’t love God or that God doesn’t love you, but it means that right now, I’m using spirituality exclusively to anesthetize pain. My life has to fall apart for me to get my relationship with God together, and God is a God that is a balm in Gilead. He is, come on—He is Salvation. He does heal the brokenhearted; He does bind up our wounds; He can fix what others cannot fix.

So, using religion for that isn’t incorrect, but if I use it only for that, it’s incomplete. You’re settling; it’s remedial religion. Listen, when you get better spiritually, everything gets better. Spiritual life is not the only important part of your life; it is the most important part because it affects every other area that matters. But you don’t get stronger spiritually accidentally. It takes intentionality. You need to be fed, and you have to learn how to interpret, apply, and explain the Bible. The Bible is the blueprint to your best life, and I’m going to tell you, Sunday is not enough to give you the tools you need to get better with the Bible. I want you to join my community called Bible U, where I help you take your understanding, application, and explanation of the Bible to another level. What Jesus is trying to get the people in the text to see is that I didn’t come just to give you that. Y’all better listen!