The Brass Tacks of “Gravitas”
Alece and I on her first field trip….Yes, I got to drive the bus!
[BREAKER 1-9]
I like specifics.
Whenever I take a group of kids on a trip with the school bus or drive the band to football games or competitions, the district always provides me with specific details: punch-in time, load-time, directions, and maps.
Such information empowers me to get the job done well.
So when it comes to building “gravitas” – that is weightiness of the soul – exactly how do we go about collecting spiritual mass?
One word captures the essence.
Ready for it?
Intentionality.
Spiritual growth does not happen by accident. It is not like aging. We do not have to be intentional about growing older; it happens whether we like it or not. This is why spiritual maturity does not always come with age.
The truth is there are intentional steps we must take in order to enter into the process of being made whole. This requires discipline.
I’m not speaking of a legalistic discipline, however. When I speak of discipline, I mean a discipline seasoned by grace. This kind of discipline empowers us to rediscover God’s unconditional acceptance of us through Jesus Christ. And, it subsequently, awakens us to rediscover the infinite reach of the Gospel in this life, which is far more than just salvation from hell after we die.
So what are those specific action steps – those clear directions – that will enable us to run our race well? Here’s a short list of core convictions I’ve developed:
- Community – the Christian life must be lived in community with others and hopefully with ever-deepening levels of intimacy.
- Solitude – the Christian life requires us to carve out time for quiet, undistracted reflection on God’s truth and our present reality. This time should include Bible reading and study, prayer, or journaling, but none of these activities should turn into checklists. The goal of this time is to let your soul be nourish by God.
- Ruthless Honesty with ourselves, each other, and God. ***WARNING – This is not for the faint of heart! Perhaps the scariest thing we will ever do is to take a hard, inward look at our own souls. Sin has so messed us up we do not even know how messed up we are!***
A regular, intentional commitment to these three areas will set us well on the journey toward amassing “gravitas”.
As a heads up, an attractive soul is not groomed over night. Rather it is cultivated over years of careful, wise living.
To that end, I want to make available a resource I have found helpful in accomplishing the three objectives mentioned above. I pray it will be a helpful guide!
Click on the link below to download this invaluable, free resource.
Let me know if this is helpful to you. I would love to hear your thoughts and comments! [10-4]
6 Comments
diveinscripture · June 12, 2012 at 1:44 pm
Great Post! May God continue blessing you and your writings.
DiveinScripture.com
Grow in Grace and Knowledge.
Brian · June 18, 2012 at 7:32 pm
diveinscripture: Thank you! Appreciate the feedback. Thanks, also for following the blog!
Rochelle · June 18, 2012 at 5:54 am
I had an “aha!” moment when thinking about this concept. What if the answer to gravitas is more simple… LOVE. Christ’s most all inclusive command, the most important one. Love God, love people. For those of us who lean towards doing instead of being, we don’t need another list of things to do in order to achieve something. I think if we focus on love, gravitas will take care of itself. What do you think?
Brian · June 18, 2012 at 11:59 am
What do I think? I think it’s awesome that you’re allowing this concept to simmer, that you’re continuing to think about it.
I agree that love (and Jesus’ most important command) and gravitas are intricately related to one another. You certainly cannot have one without the other. Both operate on the larger principle that you cannot give what you have not first received. And certainly, someone’s ability to love sincerely – that is a service unmarred by manipulation for personal ambition or profit – is dependent upon the extent to which that individual has received God’s love. Consequently, such souls will inevitably have weight.
I prefer the term gravitas because it adds more meat to what we mean by love. The word “love” can be so generalized and diluted in our culture. But the term “gravitas” better communicates what we mean by the sort of love Christ referred to.
Great observation! Thanks for sharing your “aha!”
Rochelle · June 19, 2012 at 7:58 am
I agree, love is overused and has lost its power in today’s society. Gravitas does convey more accurately what you are talking about. But for me, when I think about how to achieve gravitas, focusing on the call to love with Christs love is where I need to start.
Brian · June 19, 2012 at 8:03 am
Hey, that’s cool! Our starting places will be different. The important thing is that we all arrive at the end goal. Have a great day!