Spiritual Superiority?

During the Spanish Inquisition, informants were the main source of information, and people were encouraged to watch, observe, and report their neighbors to the church for possible heresies, a list of which grew over time. It began with the suspicion of converted jews, but once the inquisition took hold, it spread invasively into people's personal lives, torturing men and women alike. Previously peasants had no problem with premarital sex between two consenting adults, until the inquisition started pressing down on them, and set the stage for truly evil application of supposed religious superiority, while devising and employing torture devoid of anything remotely good or spiritual. "The denunciations were anonymous, and the defendants had no way of knowing the identities of their accusers. In practice, false denunciations were frequent. Denunciations were made for a variety of reasons, from genuine concern, to rivalries and personal jealousies." - Wiki

I can't help but feel that some remnants of the inquisition still remain today, but then the sense of spiritual superiority has always run deep from the Old Testament Pharisees, later to monks looking for status and wealth by starting brothels. We like to think that we are superior to the people that lived in those times, but the truth is that people haven't changed much. There will always be those who are cruel, and those who are kind. There will always be people who use religion and spirituality as a club to abuse others, whether it's the nosy church lady or the authoritarian husband how justifies abusing his wife and children. I've never met someone who was abusive who didn't think that they were higher evolved, better than others spiritually, and most disturbing, these abusers were well received socially. It's only one step from believing you are spiritually superior to thinking that you have some divine dominion to criticize and control others.

The very essence of the egocentric notion of spiritual superiority negates such assertions. It's not that they people in this role think they are saints, so much as they use their spirituality or religion as more than a source of pride, but proof that they are better than others. It comes with a tightly controlled and monitored exterior representation of who they think they are, but more importantly who they want people to think they are. As Stephen Covey noted in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective people, it's usually the people at home, when the mask comes off, that see the real person, which is often very different. 

There is power in being perceived as spiritually superior. Look at TV Evangelists who have a voice that reaches millions or even the religious leader who has the power to define what is right or wrong. They control the consciences of a good portion of their congregations, and therefore have a great deal of influence on the congregation's actions. In medieval times, Monks were given money and land to pray for knights and nobles, because they were perceived to be more holy and therefore their prayers were considered more affective. Meanwhile the monk life of sacrifice was far from it at times. Saint Benedict, the source of the Benedictine monks tried to change that, but like those who are intent on true spirituality, he was not well received. He imposed rules, and the other monks tried to kill him for it. Miraculously he survived 2 attempts on his life.

In reality the most beautiful people I've ever known spiritually never made assertions of spiritual superiority, divine insight, or any other form of spiritual pride. They were too busy helping others and proving their spirit with their life. And if confronted with these notions, they avoided competitive comparisons. They just kept on doing good, even when people looked down on them, criticizing their spirituality because of minutia. But true spirituality tends to be less socially acceptable than the bombastic narcissism that has infected society where self esteem has become lauded more than personal responsibility. Good people often get walked over and disrespected by self proclaimed spiritual people, who are too in love with themselves to think of others. The self proclaimed spiritual often are attaining something by their acts, either in attention in a form of narcissistic supply, or for some self-serving reason. The quiet acts of the truly spiritual are less spectacular, and often go unnoticed. Their sacrifices get glossed over in the wake of the dramatically spiritual.

"It only stands to reason that where there's sacrifice, there's someone collecting the sacrificial offerings. Where there's service, there is someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice is speaking of slaves and masters, and intends to be the master." - Ayn Rand

In general people like to judge others and look down on people to make themselves feel better about themselves. If they didn't, we wouldn't have reality TV. All humans are flawed, but those who are honest about their flaws are not as well received as those who use excuses or hide their flaws. You can't see into another's heart or soul, but you can get a glimpse by what comes out of them, and if it's self importance, it can't be very spiritual. Even Jesus said, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone." - Mark 10:18

How do I know this? Cause I see myself fall into this pit at times. How many will be honest with themselves and admit it? How many are thinking that they are spiritually superior and yet are unsure of their soul or just afraid of death? How many find themselves alone and still blame someone else? How many are helping because they know best or because they really care about the person? Are you willing to empathize or are you too busy criticizing? Are you being honest about what you are really getting out of situations?

It's not a fine line. It's a tight rope. You lean too far one way or the other, and you are going to fall. But some people are too busy telling themselves that they're flying to get back on the rope and keep walking to the other side.