Personalized Spiritual Preferences (by Jason)

I ran across this quote in the news today:
"Actually, before the arrival of 'Avatar', the Chinese had already started to advocate personalized spiritual preferences. Some people queued for the new Harry Potter movies and books, some queued for Transformers toys, and some queued for precious stamps and souvenir coins," said Ding Chun, a professor with the School of Economics of Fudan University.
The phrase I would like us to focus on is that which I've used as the post title: personalized spiritual preferences.
What jumps out at me most is the very Chinese use of the word "spiritual" in this case meaning what we in the West would call "entertainment" or "hobbies" or "interests". We've run across this somewhat peculiar use of the word several times while living in China. For instance, I remember a news report in Hubei that lauded one city's efforts at "building up the spiritual life of it's citizens" by building more public parks. This was the first time, as I recall, that I'd ever heard the word "spiritual" used in this context and it struck me as quite odd, and frankly quite hollow and even a little sad. I wanted then, as I occasionally still do today, to jump up and shout "That isn't spiritual life! Spiritual life is found in Jesus! How could you guys be so..."
So... What exactly? Blinded? Yes; blinded by atheistic humanism promoted in public as the only rational way of living. Confused? Yes, that too; confused by a long, long history of religious influences of all sorts, which may in part account for some people's non-commitment and relativism concerning and discerning truth. Materialistic, also; in the sense that, ultimately what seems to matter most is one's personal fulfillment in this lifetime, to be achieved through whatever various means, including Harry Potter, Transformers, and IMAX films.
But truthfully, this way of thinking and speaking that equates the spiritual with the temporal, that would substitute mere and fleeting entertainment for substantial and everlasting salvation is rife in not only China but America too. Although we rarely, if ever, would talk about waiting in line for the new iWhatever as "spiritual" per se, we do nevertheless confuse the spiritual with the merely meaningful or memorable all the time. (If you need proof of this, watch Oprah for one week and notice the way she and her guests talk about "spiritual" issues.)
I guess it's part of human nature -- to search for meaning in our daily lives, all the while missing or intentionally ignoring the deeper issues and truths as revealed to us by God. Like the guy in James who looks at himself in the mirror, but then... Wait, is that my telephone?
Anyway... This (this essay, I guess) is at least one expression of at least one of the reasons that I am here: namely, to show others, while constantly reminding myself, that there is a bigger Truth and a greater Spirit and a better Way than that which we see with our eyes or touch with our hands. There is more. There is so much more.