Devotion

I’ve been thinking about this lately.  This is something I’ve thought about off and on for a long time (thinking about stuff is one of my hobbies).  And recently Betsy’s post about patriotism has provided fodder for this thought topic as has some religious observations I’ve made since coming here and musings about the devotional duties of Christians.  This last to whit, around here it’s considered normal to believe in God.  And if you want to talk about God that’s ok too.  But don’t mention Jesus. That is offensive.  And yet the essence of Christianity is Jesus.  And so to deny Jesus would be to stop being a Christian.

And so I’ve been thinking about this.

First, a definition.  Click on the link to go to my source for this.  Second, some questions, and third some observations.

de·vo·tion

1. profound dedication; consecration.
2. earnest attachment to a cause, person, etc.
3. an assignment or appropriation to any purpose, cause, etc.: the devotion of one’s wealth and time to scientific advancement.
4. Often, devotions. Ecclesiastical. religious observance or worship; a form of prayer or worship for special use.

Etymology:

c.1225, from O.Fr. devocion, from L. devotionem, noun of action from devovere “dedicate by a vow,” from de- “down, away” + vovere “to vow,” from votum “vow” (see vow). In ancient L., “act of consecrating by a vow,” also “loyalty, fealty, allegiance;” in Church L., “devotion to God, piety.” This was the original sense in Eng.; the etymological sense, including secular situations, returned 16c. via It. and Fr. Devote is from 1586, from L. devotus, pp. of devovere. Devotee is from 1645, perhaps on model of assignee.

The definitions I’m concerned with are definitions 1 and 2, although 3 and 4 are definitely a part of 1 and 2.

Some questions:

• Is devotion a good thing?
• Is it appropriate to be devoted to a thing or entity or idea?
• Is it ever wrong?
• To what extent should a person be devoted?
• What if the person or cause you’re devoted to almost gets you killed?  What then?  Do you stay devoted or do you quit or change loyalties?
• If you do stay devoted are you stupid or a fool?
• Or is that a really honorable thing?
• Should you only be devoted to someone if they deserve it or earn it?
• What if they don’t?
• What if the person or cause you’re devoted to betrays you?  What then?
• So should you value devotion and loyalty more than your reputation, more than your very self?
• If you were to hear of someone with that kind of strong loyalty/devotion how would you think of this person?  A dupe?  Or someone of strong principles?

These are just some questions to get started.  I’m sure I could think of more if I tried.

The above can be summarized in these main two:

• What or who should you give your devotion to?
• To what extent?  I.e., when is the cost too great?  At what point do you quit or change loyalties?  When is it too much?  Never?

There are many kinds of devotion:

• Devotion to family.  The devotion of mothers to their offspring is legendary, as is the devotion of husbands to wives or men to their sweethearts.
• Devotion to one’s people.  This is ethnic devotion and also cultural devotion.  It can be as broad as being devoted to the human race (the species) or as narrow as being devoted to a small sub-ethnic group.  Unfortunately wars have often been fought over conflicting devotions of this type.
• Devotion to country.  This is called patriotism.  In extreme form it is called nationalism. (My country right or wrong.)  Note: this can be the same as the above mentioned type but is not necessarily so.
• Devotion to a political leader.  This would be the “king” part of “fighting for king and country.”  This is a feudal idea but still exists to this day–loyalty to party bosses, loyalty to a dictator, etc.
• Devotion to a religion or deity.  This is called piety or zeal.  Devotees are often called zealots.  Sometimes they can also be called fanatics or extremists.  This of course would be an extreme in-your-face-and-down-your-throat form of this kind of devotion.
• Devotion to a religious leader.  This is over and above and perhaps even separate from the devotion to the religion the man represents.  One’s devotion is to an actual person rather than an idea or creed.
• Devotion to an idea or beliefs.  This is called ideology.
• Devotion to a cause.  This is a practical application of a person’s beliefs.  These can be philanthropists, “crusaders” (as in “save the whales”), the military (as in the cause of defending freedom), or even terrorists.
• Devotion to a symbol.  This is very similar to the devotion to an idea or devotion to a cause, but in this case the symbol stands in for the idea or cause and can have a broad meaning and significance.  Examples would include devotion to the flag or devotion to the Constitution (the latter is required in the oaths taken by all members of the military).  Both are symbols for patriotism, but the latter encompasses more than just that.  It also includes the devotion to an idea (rule of law, representative government, democracy, etc.) and devotion to a cause (keeping our form of government intact and defending freedom).
• Devotion to a friend.  This is devotion born out of love for another.  There are many stories told of soldiers’ fierce devotion to their comrades and even dying for them.  It has been said that soldiers don’t die for freedom or any other idea or creed–they die for the buddy next to them in the trench.  Even to this day, that saying is true.  This is a very powerful and strong kind of devotion.

These are just ten kinds I could think of.  There may be more.  They tend to fall into two categories based on the object of devotion: either to a thing or to a person.  And within each kind are different levels of devotion–all the way from giving the object some time and effort and emotional energy to giving one’s whole life in service and to actually dying for it.  It’s a wide range.  I think we can all identify categories where we feel a certain devotion to a thing or person and can identify to what level we feel that devotion.  And that may or may not involve being willing to die for something or someone.  And that may or may not be appropriate.  I think also whether the devotion is “good” or “bad” depends on the object of that devotion.  Someone devoted to a “Jack the Ripper” is very different than someone devoted to seeing that his daughter has the best in life.  Although that last kind of devotion could also be bad depending on how that person went about doing it.

You notice I haven’t really answered any of the questions I raised.  I did not do so on purpose.  For one thing this post is already really long.  Answering them would take a lot longer–it’s really outside the scope of this blog post (you could actually write a book on this subject, and I’m sure people have before).  And another thing, I don’t have all the answers.  As I mentioned before, thinking is a hobby of mine, and I’ll be exploring this subject in my mind and thinking of what the answers might be–along with all the other things I think about.  One way I’ll be exploring it is through fiction.  I really like that medium for examining the human condition.

I posted this because I’m interested in what you have to say.  How might you answer these questions?  What do you think about this subject?  I’m very interested to know.  Sometimes other people’s perspectives can help you think more clearly about your own, or even reveal faulty thinking and get you to change your mind.  So if you’d like to dialogue with me on this, please leave a comment.  Or send an email.  I look forward to hearing from you.