The words “piety” and “pious” are not always the most
appreciated in our world today because in many persons’ eyes they are often
associated with hypocrisy and otherworldliness.
The pious person is often considered to be uninterested in this world,
to be prudish and one who seeks to seclude himself from society. Piety, because it has an introspective aspect
to it, appears to be somewhat selfish in orientation. Thus the pious person is seen as having
little interest in the plight of people around him, taking a passive approach
to issues and problems. His time and
energy is spent focusing on his own personal relationship with God. He is sometimes described as being so
heavenly minded as to be of no earthly good.
This is unfortunate since the description above describes false
piety. In reality, the true pious person
is just the opposite. He is one who is
in tune with and listens to the voice of God, responding accordingly. Rabbi Abraham Heschel, in his essay on piety included
in his collected essays “Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity” notes that “The
pious man’s main interest is concern for the will of God, which thus becomes
the driving force controlling the course of his actions and decisions, molding
his aspirations and behavior.” Since God
is vitally interested in the affairs of mankind, the pious person has similar
interests. Heschel adds “Further, piety
is an attitude toward reality in its entirely.
It is alert to the dignity of every human being, and to those bearing
upon the spiritual value which even inanimate things inalienably possess. The pious man, being able to sense the
relations of things to transcendent values, will be incapable of disparaging
any of them by enslaving them to his own service.”
True piety
greatly affects one’s worldview and interaction with the world. Far from being other worldly and passive, the
pious person is actively involved in this world precisely because he is in tune
with God. He is vitally interested in
this world because God is interested in it.
He stands against oppression and brokenness because God stands against
them. He affirms human dignity because
God does. He engages his culture as did
the pious men of old, such as the Old Testament prophets, who affirmed what was
God pleasing in their society and condemned what wasn’t. He promotes the responsible use of resources,
believing that the creation mandate is one of stewardship, not dominion; one of
replenishment and restoration, not of misuse and neglect. Instead of being selfish, he selflessly serves
others using the gifts God has so graciously given him. His thoughts, his actions, his very being are
in tune with God. Piety is a mode of
living whereby we gravitate towards God.
As such it is related to holiness.
It is
precisely because a pious person is so consumed with the will of God that he
steps out in faith to engage his broken world.
Everything he says and does is evaluated reverently through the lens of
God’s eyes. To him, his interests and
desires are less important than is God’s will.
The attainments of the world and its beautiful trappings are rejected if
they are based on injustice and greed.
His love of God fuels compassion for the lost, the dispossessed, the
poor and the disenfranchised, allowing him to reach out to them with his time,
treasures and talents. He is willing to
share the resources at his disposal, believing that everything he has is a gift
from God. May we all be known for being
pious!
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