What is the goal of spiritual development? Is it to make you better and more important than other people? Is it to give you the knowledge to rule over and control others and make them do your bidding? Is it to send you off to heaven while your brothers and sisters stay behind and rot? No, none of those is correct. The goal of true spiritual development is to return ourselves and our world to it's original state of spirit, of Light. So when we think of our spiritual growth, we have to consider if we are moving closer to that goal.

“The student must always realize that he is preparing himself to be the hands and feet of Wisdom, for when Wisdom enters the soul of man, the wise become it's servant.” ~Manly P. Hall

    The spiritual student is learning to be a servant, not a master or a king. The spiritual student may advise kings and rulers, but they themselves are never politicians or kings. Why not? Because if you start to think of yourself as a king, a master, or a ruler of some kind, then you start to think that you are flawless and know the answers to everything. You are also prone to letting your ego start making decisions instead of your soul and spirit. Great spiritual leaders, no matter how successful they are, always see themselves as servants. Servants of God, servants of Man, and servants of the great plan of redemption which is the plan to return us to our spiritual roots. The spiritual student also has to understand that none of us can save himself without helping others to do the same. 
    So take your spiritual classes, learn your chants and meditation techniques, say your prayers and do your fasting, but always remember, the goal is to save the world and achieve the wisdom needed to do that.