Tripod of Growth

There are three things that will help someone grow in Spirit and Soul. These are prayer, fasting and good works. Like three legs of a tripod, they must work together in harmony and balance; too much of one or not enough of another and the whole thing will fail.

Prayer is the direct communication between humanity and God. It's not a one-way monologue, as God does communicate to us even if only our Spirit can understand it. Nor should prayer be a wish list; we need to be open and ready to change and guidance for the help we request.

Fasting does not only mean to refrain from eating or to not eat certain foods. In a broader context, fasting means abstinence (an act or practice of refraining from indulging an appetite) or a period of such abstention or self-denial. In essence, we refrain from something in our life as a means of self-discipline. It is often associated with something we enjoy (food being the most common, but also TV, internet, etc.), but it can also be abstaining from something we revile about ourself, such as lying, cheating or procrastination. When we take on the challenge of self-discipline through fasting, our strength to resist temptation grows.

Good Works are anything we can do to help another in this world. For these good works to count in personal growth, they must be done either in secret or accomplished in such a way that as few people as possible know who is doing these works. This is the most difficult leg to develop. Often we are tempted to illustrate the good works that we do (see prior posts), but that only deflates the values of the good works. The good works need to stand on their own merit without our shouting about it or putting a spotlight on it. If it's a true good work, the act, deed, word or work WILL stand on its own. Others will see it or the results and KNOW "this is a good thing."

Not only does the good works need to be done in secret, they MUST be done for the benefit of another. When we do good works to better ourselves, we only serve ourselves. If a work is done so we can brag about it, add it to our resume, or call attention to ourself, sadly we have already received our reward and it does not serve to support our personal growth.

Only when we truly help another selflessly does the work itself take us to the personal growth we seek. This is often best accomplished through humility. When we humbly serve another, seeking nothing for ourselves, something grows within us, opening us up to greater awareness and ways we can perform even greater works. But if we seek this greater awareness and ways first, we will only find deception, corruption and lies as the enemy will use this to lead us astray.

That is why humility plays a key role here.

It's a tricky path.
But worth it.
Always.

-ESA