The Easy Way Out

So, one of the classes that I am currently taking is Introduction to Spiritual Formation, and in this class, our most recent topic of discussion was The Temptation to Moral Formation. Briefly put, the idea is that Christians often substitute adherence to systems of morality for real spiritual growth. We take instruction from Scripture, and instead of using it to lead us to Christ, we make it a hard and fast rule which we then use as a litmus test of our spirituality. So you get rules like: don't drink; don't smoke; don't dance; don't have sex outside of marriage; dress up on Sundays (in fact, only have church on Sundays). Break any of these rules, and your status as a Christian becomes suspect. That is the Temptation to Moral Formation, and it is something to which far too many Christians fall prey.

Now, I am not saying that moral rules are bad, but when those rules become the end all be all of the Christian life, it leads to anger, bitterness, despair and loss of intimacy. I grew up in a church culture like that, and no one in any church that I attended growing up ever felt like they could admit to anyone that they were anything less than perfect, because to do so would be to open themselves up to rejection. Because, believe me, they would have been rejected. I remember vividly when a girl in my youth group got pregnant when she was 15. Instead of responding to her situation with grace and love, she was held up as an object lesson to the rest of us. She was scorned by her peers, rejected by her elders, and eventually left the church. From what I can tell, her life has gone seriously downhill since then, and I wonder how she might have turned out if her church had treated her with love, instead of judgment.

So, why do we do it? Simply put, it's a lot easier than the alternative. Developing a real relationship with Christ, and growing in to his image is a long, difficult, and often painful process that requires us to recognize our own vulnerability and come humbly before the God to whom we can give nothing. But checking a set of rules off of a list is easier, and gives us something that we can be proud of, since it is something we can accomplish on our own. If we can keep the rules better than someone else, then we must be better, more spiritual than them. Ultimately, it becomes a system where works replace grace as the foundation for our sanctification. I think it is a tragedy that this is where so much of Christianity has come. This is one of the major reasons that non-Christians see us as angry and judgmental, and it needs to stop.

But how do we change? How do we move from making rules and regulations the center of our faith, to making movement towards Christ the center? Unfortunately, this is one I don't yet have the answer for. See, I am writing this largely about myself. I am exceptionally guilty of giving in to this temptation, and am just now recognizing how it has shaped my life and my relationships. But I am hopeful that there is a solution. After all, they say the first step is admitting you have a problem.