Spiritual Burnout, Part Two

Our souls are not made whole by following the rules, or by modifying our behavior. Yet more often than not, this is the trap that snares us. We get frustrated when we put in the work to become loving people but don’t get the results we want, but don’t realize that our ineffectiveness is a result of our heart not being in it. It’s easier to focus on the actions we need to take than it is to learn to be vulnerable: slowing down enough to be aware of and share what’s going on inside.

And it’s not always about sin. A lot of times, we experience spiritual burnout because we have emotions that we haven’t learned how to unload properly. Call it emotional maturity: when we’re able to talk about and deal with our emotions in a spiritual way, we are no longer hamstrung by them.

We develop invulnerable behavior because we’re afraid to get hurt. It’s easier to do outward things than to let people in, and so a lot of the love that we could provide doesn’t get a chance to come out. This is a cause of spiritual burnout that often goes unaddressed because we often associate burnout with too much activity, instead of examining our approach to God and relationships. Don’t just work hard, work smart.

This episode is part two in a three part series called Spiritual Burnout. Join Russ and the crew for another round of discussion about how God can help us avoid burning out by being emotionally vulnerable and avoiding living by a set of rules.