Rethinking Punishment and the Kingdom of Heaven

You’re Not Failing Spiritually—Maybe the System Is

Ever sat in a religious service feeling like you're somehow failing a cosmic test? Like there's this elaborate spiritual obstacle course, and you keep tripping over the hurdles while everyone else seems to glide through effortlessly?

You're not alone. Many of us grew up with versions of faith that felt more like spiritual probation than liberation. The problem isn't spirituality itself—it's how we've framed it.

The Exhausting Cycle of Spiritual Performance

When religion becomes primarily about avoiding punishment, we create an unsustainable pattern. We exhaust ourselves trying to earn what was already freely given. We reduce the vast mystery of existence to a simplistic reward/punishment system that honestly doesn't even work that well in parenting, let alone in spiritual growth.

I get why the punitive model persists. It's straightforward. It gives us the illusion of control. If I do X, Y, and Z, then I'm "good." The rules are clear. But this approach fundamentally misunderstands what spiritual transformation is actually about.

What if we've misunderstood "the Kingdom of Heaven" all along?

When Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of Heaven, he didn't describe it as a far-off place we enter after death if we've checked enough boxes. Instead, he said it was "at hand" and "within you."

What if the Kingdom of Heaven isn't a location we achieve entry to, but a perspective we grow into? Not something to earn, but something to recognize that's already present?

Science and spirituality both point to an underlying wholeness and interconnectedness in creation. Christian Science offers a unique perspective here—seeing harmony not as something we create through effort, but as the fundamental reality we learn to perceive more clearly as we shift our consciousness.

Healing happens through recognition, not achievement

In our Salt Lake City community, we've seen remarkable transformations when people stop trying to "be good enough" and instead begin recognizing their inherent completeness. The shift from "earning worthiness" to "discovering wholeness" changes everything.

A member recently shared how decades of trying to "fix herself" through religious discipline left her feeling perpetually inadequate. It wasn't until she approached spirituality as an exploration of what's already true—her inherent wholeness—that she experienced genuine healing.

The difference is subtle but profound: Are we trying to become something different, or are we discovering what's already true?

Finding a middle path between blind faith and cynical doubt

Many spiritual seekers in Utah and beyond find themselves caught between two unsatisfying extremes: unquestioning acceptance of religious doctrine or complete rejection of anything spiritual.

There's a middle way that honors both our rational minds and our spiritual intuition. It's about asking genuine questions while remaining open to answers that might transcend our current understanding.

This approach doesn't demand that you abandon critical thinking to embrace spirituality. Instead, it invites you to expand what you consider possible based on experience rather than dogma.

What might this look like in your life?

I won't pretend to have all the answers for your unique journey. But I wonder: What would change if you approached your spiritual life not as a test to pass, but as a reality to discover?

What if, instead of striving to be good enough for God, you began exploring what it means that goodness is your fundamental nature?

The journey of spiritual healing isn't about becoming something you're not. It's about uncovering what you've always been.

And that's a conversation worth continuing.