Comments on: Remember the Goal http://joelcomiskeygroup.com/blog/2008/05/07/remember-the-goal/ Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:56:19 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.2 by: Iain http://joelcomiskeygroup.com/blog/2008/05/07/remember-the-goal/#comment-4296 Sat, 10 May 2008 04:07:48 +0000 http://joelcomiskeygroup.com/blog/2008/05/07/remember-the-goal/#comment-4296 I remember when people started talking about EQ - Emotional Intelligence (as opposed to IQ - reasoning intelligence). Well I'd like to coin a new term, SQ - Spiritual Intelligence. Like Jim said, it's not just what you know, emotional maturity is involved. To have good spiritual intelligence the believer needs to be reprogrammed. This occurs INSIDE. So it's not what you see on the outside of the disciple which is important. It's WHY they are doing it. Everyone can fake it.... I remember when people started talking about EQ - Emotional Intelligence (as opposed to IQ - reasoning intelligence). Well I’d like to coin a new term, SQ - Spiritual Intelligence. Like Jim said, it’s not just what you know, emotional maturity is involved. To have good spiritual intelligence the believer needs to be reprogrammed. This occurs INSIDE. So it’s not what you see on the outside of the disciple which is important. It’s WHY they are doing it. Everyone can fake it….

]]> by: Jim http://joelcomiskeygroup.com/blog/2008/05/07/remember-the-goal/#comment-4293 Fri, 09 May 2008 11:35:37 +0000 http://joelcomiskeygroup.com/blog/2008/05/07/remember-the-goal/#comment-4293 Steve, To take off on the question you asked about spiritual maturity: For many years I fell into the trap of "how much and how many" to define Christian maturity. How long someone spent in prayer, how much they gave, how often they attended, how frequently they had a daily quiet time, etc. I see it differently now. Maturity in a Christian is like natural maturity (and not all Old people are mature!) Among other things, Mature Christians: *Can feed themselves (with a diet of healthy, balanced spiritual food) *Reproduce and grow the youngster to maturity (not just "winning the lost, but reproducing His life in them). *Handle the stesses and dangers of life without exploding or imploading (they can resist temptation and endure suffering) *Have a job based on their abilities (developed a ministry around their spiritual gifts) *Understand the world does not revolve around them (they are focused on pleasing God out of love rather than themselves or others) It seems like the last of these is especially important since "Loving God and neighbor" was the way that Jesus defined the essence of spirituality. Just one more thought - spiritual maturity and emotional maturity seem to be linked together. Some of the above abilities require God "growing us up." I find this to be a constant challenge in a culture that promotes narcissism at every turn and rejects boundries and values that help people move toward maturity. Jim+ Steve,
To take off on the question you asked about spiritual maturity: For many years I fell into the trap of “how much and how many” to define Christian maturity. How long someone spent in prayer, how much they gave, how often they attended, how frequently they had a daily quiet time, etc.
I see it differently now. Maturity in a Christian is like natural maturity (and not all Old people are mature!)
Among other things, Mature Christians:
*Can feed themselves (with a diet of healthy, balanced spiritual food)
*Reproduce and grow the youngster to maturity (not just “winning the lost, but reproducing His life in them).
*Handle the stesses and dangers of life without exploding or imploading (they can resist temptation and endure suffering)
*Have a job based on their abilities (developed a ministry around their spiritual gifts)
*Understand the world does not revolve around them (they are focused on pleasing God out of love rather than themselves or others)

It seems like the last of these is especially important since “Loving God and neighbor” was the way that Jesus defined the essence of spirituality.

Just one more thought - spiritual maturity and emotional maturity seem to be linked together. Some of the above abilities require God “growing us up.” I find this to be a constant challenge in a culture that promotes narcissism at every turn and rejects boundries and values that help people move toward maturity.
Jim+

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