Which quality matters most for living a spiritual life in the West?

Truthfulness. Whoever is honest with themselves, with other people and with God has found the starting point of the journey to God. Without it, all other good qualities fall away.

One could name many good qualities that sustain a spiritual life. Patience, humility, generosity and the fear of God are among them. Yet one quality comes before all the others, and that is truthfulness.

Truthfulness points in three directions. A truthful person is honest with themselves and does not fool themselves. They are honest with the people around them, in the family, at work and in society. And they are honest with God. The three belong together. Someone who lies to themselves cannot be sincere towards God either.

Take truth away and everything else collapses. This applies to spiritual life as much as to social, political or economic life. Kindness without honesty becomes a façade, and piety without honesty becomes hypocrisy. That is why the verses above place truthfulness right next to the fear of God.

In the West, where everyone is free to choose how to live, this matters all the more. No one forces you into a spiritual life there. What carries you is inner honesty, the kind that asks every day whether you are really living as you believe is right before God.

The hadith above shows the way. Truth leads to goodness, and goodness leads to Paradise. Whoever holds on to truth moves forward step by step.