4 Spiritual Practices To Combat Shallowness And Superficiality

I pulled out of my driveway when I realized I made a beginner’s mistake. I needed directions to the nearest Lowe’s and forgot to let Waze know. With my butt squarely in the road, I had no choice but to put the car in drive. No worries, though. I had a solid 15–20 seconds before the 4-way stop. So, using voice dictation (because texting and driving is the greatest of all evils) I told Waze the address and hit “Go.”

Then, it happened. The little green arrow, you know, the one that goes in circles, turned to red. There I was, next up at the 4-way stop and that stupid app was still searching for my route. I mean, c’mon. I pay my cell phone carrier half of my salary for this? Bogus.

So, I pretended to be the nice guy, you know the one who waves you through with his hand. Except I was really buying my app a few more seconds. After two long honks from the guy behind me (and still no directions), I guessed which way to turn.

I was wrong.

Not long after clearing the 4-way stop, my directions popped up, along with that annoying voice-over, “In three-quarters of a mile, make a U-turn.”

I proceeded to talk trash to my phone as if it had a heart and soul and could feel my frustration. Yes, I raised my voice. Yes, I felt better afterwards.

No, I’m not proud of this. That’s why I’m telling you. This is confession time. “My name is Frank, and I have a problem. When my phone doesn’t do its job, I get angry and yell.”

I feel better already.

But my phone tirade isn’t all my fault. Well, really it is. But anyway. You see, I’m a Millennial. I grew up not having to wait for anything. Need to know how to grill perfect steaks? Grab your phone and ask Google. What about the computer you ordered from Apple? No worries, just select the overnight option. Oh, you’re going to Disney World soon? Don’t forget the Fast Pass, it’s your only chance to ride Space Mountain. Your cable bill jumped $50, and you need to talk with customer service? Well, advances in technology don’t fix everything.

With wifi, cell phones, and internet come many positive things. But not all is good. Among the negatives? The desire for instant gratification and general absence of patience (which is a fruit of the Spirit).

Richard Foster says it best: “Superficiality is the curse of our age.” I believe he’s right. We’re a megabyte, skim the surface, only the highlights, please, culture. If you can’t condense it 140 characters, we have no time for you.

So, what’s the problem with that? Well, look around. For starters, anxiety, depression and suicide rates are through the roof. We’re starving for wisdom and discernment, to the point that we can no longer differentiate between real news and fake news.

We need to flip the script, and I believe we can. We don’t have to allow speed and productivity to enslave us. I believe God created us for depth. Superficiality is, therefore, a spiritual problem. One that deserves a spiritual answer.

In God’s economy, character trumps reputation, integrity supersedes information, who you are inside matters much more than who others say you are.

I want to propose several practices to push back against superficiality. You can call them disciplines or habits. Whatever cranks your car. You will notice several mainstay practices (Bible reading, prayer, worship, etc.) are missing. I’m not asking you to abandon those. My goal, however, is to specifically introduce you to practices that develop deep roots.

Here we go.

1. The practice of starting with “Yes”
“For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our ‘Amen’ (which means ‘Yes’) ascends to God for his glory.” -2 Corinthians 1:20

For some strange reason, we find our identity more from what we’re against than what we’re for. To start with yes is to start with love and acceptance. Rather than categorizing our neighbor as gay, black, white, Muslim, Republican, or weird, we see them first as image-bearers.

This doesn’t eliminate no. God knows a timely “no” can be liberating. But we don’t start there. We start with yes.

Superficiality doesn’t look inside. There’s simply no time. So, we quickly attach labels and stereotype rather than seeing people the way God sees them. To start with yes requires slowing down, to see the image of God. When we start with yes, we reflect God’s character. Let’s not forget, love is, first and foremost, patient.