Two Extremes Concerning Moral Goodness
In first lines of the introduction to Being Good, we observe that in some segments of the church it is routinely claimed that Christianity is not about ethics, but rather about a relationship with Christ. We then note that while it is true that Christianity is not merely a moral system or code of ethical behavior, nevertheless it does essentially include ethics. More specifically, it centrally includes character. I think that as individuals there is a related issue worth considering, concerning what I will call two extremes concerning moral goodness.
At one end of the spectrum, I might think that ethics and faith are not that closely connected, and conceive of a concern for growth in character (not to mention engaging in some sort of intentional path of character development) as some sort of moralistic legalism opposed to grace. I may even routinely engage in many of the classical spiritual disciplines, but through neglect or mere inattention fail to see that there are particular virtues I ought to pursue in partnership with the Holy Spirit, and so fail to develop the virtues of Christ.
At the other end of the spectrum is a certain sort of moral perfectionism. Here I look at the character of Christ, and see my own severe shortcomings in light of his perfect goodness. So far, so good. A problem can arise, however, when we set unrealistic standards for ourselves. We should pursue the character of Christ. As creatures made in God’s image (and given the new creation that happens in us if we have become followers of Christ) we will see radical change over the course of our lives. But if we engage in morbid introspection and focus on our shortcomings, this can hinder our growth in character as well as our connection to Christ, due to the ensuing feelings of guilt or condemnation. However, as Dallas Willard has said with reference to the Lord’s Prayer, it is instructive that God wants us to pray to Him as “Our Father,” not “Our Eternal Scrutinizer.” Those of us with perfectionistic tendencies would do well to remember this important truth.
So, while one of the primary goals of editing this book was that we and our readers would grow in understanding and practicing the virtues, our hope is that all of us would avoid the two extremes of moral goodness: moral sloth and moralistic perfectionism. Neither are a part of the abundant and self-sacrificial life that Christ came to make possible for us.
If readers have thoughts on either of these extremes, please share in the comments to continue this discussion.
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Hi Mike…just now getting back to you on your Jan. 14 post. I’ve thought about the 1st John passage you noted, and also about James 4:17: “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
I think we all agree that the gospel calls us to leave our sinful nature and embrace our new spiritual nature. Obviously that would involve leaving ‘blatant’ sins…lying, stealing, drunkenness, fornication, etc. but the ‘sins of omission’ might lead some to be too hard on themselves…especially one who has perfectionist tendencies.
For instance, if an associate pastor skips church one week because he is tired, but in his heart he feels guilty or condemned (1 John 3: 19), has he sinned according to James 4:17? Perhaps, maybe. But I don’t think he would need to repent, would he? I am unsure.
To take it to an extreme, how should we apply Matthew 5:42: “Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.” Am I sinning if I don’t give to every beggar I see, or if I refuse to loan money to a poor credit risk?
I think there are daily decisions that we all make that a perfectionist could second-guess, and perhaps feel guilty/condemned about. That’s probably close to the point of your original post.
I just want to make sure that I am not ‘watering down’ what God has asked me to do with my life. I believe we are all called to leave the sin in our lives, and if we believe that God’s standards are unreasonable, we are destined to achieve less than the Lord desires for us.
By the way…I love the ‘perfectionism’ graphic you used to illustrate the original post. Just great.
Mark,
I do think that an oversimplified evangelism, as you put it, is part of the problem. I would add that it is not just behavior modification that is at issue here, but that we also truncate the gospel as offering eternal life. While this is true, in Christ we are also offered an eternal kind of life, beginning now (see Dallas Willard’s writings on this). There is a change when we truly come to Christ that then needs to be worked on and worked out into our lives, but nevertheless we have new moral and spiritual capacities that we did not possess prior to entering into the kingdom. The notion that Christ came to make forgiveness possible for us, and nothing else, would tend to lead to a lack of concern for growth in character, so it would at least contribute in this way. And if the focus is on behavior modification, this could also lead one to either of the extremes, I think.
Going to enjoy this blog!
If I could pick one aspect of Christianity that all Christians could understand, I think it would be what you touched on this posting. The two moral extremes seem to unearth a combination of soteriological and ontological concerns. At the expense of sounding fundamentally driven (or “over saved”), I think one could trace a great deal of Christian problems back to these severely underdeveloped and discussed belief issues.
Your concern seems to have direct correlation to Soteriology, what is it that happens in salvation. “(and given the new creation that happens in us if we have become followers of Christ)” It seems that this generation tends to think of salvation (and with modern church help) as behavioral modification; saved from drug addictions, sexual addictions, rescued from failing marriage or a hopeless neighborhood. The virtues/ethics bound in existential experience then become tools for better behavior modification.
A question then – Do you think that an oversimplified evangelism, has lost the ontological essence of being restored in the image of God (regaining life, Holy Spirit’s work, pursuing our purpose to knowing God) has therefore at least helping create these two moral extremes?
Ed,
Thanks for reading, and for your thoughtful response. As I was writing those words, the same issue arose in my mind. To be honest, it is hard for me to articulate what I am thinking about in this context. I think that as new creations in Christ, deep, radical, and lasting change is possible. One verse that comes to mind is this, from 1 John 3:
19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
I’ve had experiences where my heart condemns me, but God does not convict me. I believe there are times where we are harder on ourselves than God is, which sounds strange. Perhaps the Pharisees are a good example that illustrates this to some degree. They set up certain rules or standards, but neglected the principle or value behind the standards. So Jesus criticizes them for being against healing on the Sabbath, when the Sabbath was made for humanity and not vice versa. I’ll stop here, and see what you think, but I would be very interested in keeping this discussion going because it is something I deal with a lot in my own walk with Christ.
Hi Mike. Doug’s dad forward the “Two Extremes Concerning Moral Goodness” post to me. I think I understand your argument that it is wise to avoid both extremes. It seems the point I might take issue with is:
“A problem can arise, however, when we set unrealistic standards for ourselves.”
What are unrealistic standards? Is it too much to ask a thief to stop stealing? Or a compulsive liar to always tell the truth? Or a sinner to “stop sinning”? (1 Corinthians 15:34).
I think there is a strong argument to be made that many biblical standards are impossible to achieve without the help of the Holy Spirit. But, if we, as Christians, indeed have the Spirit…exactly which biblical standards are unrealistic?
It seems to me that it is quite human to say…”I can’t reach that standard, I’m just going to depend on God’s grace”. But what if God, through His Spirit, has indeed enabled us, through faith and perseverance, to reach that standard? Perhaps we might give up too easily, and thereby limit the Spirit’s work in our lives?
Two of the verses that come to mind are:
Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. 2 Corinthians 7:1
And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:4
When I look back at my Christian walk to this point, God has enabled me to develop some traits that I could have never mastered without him. There are many others that I am still working on, and I hope to master with the help of the Spirit. I don’t generally ‘beat my body’ like Paul did, but I don’t tell myself that I’m doing the best I can and God’s just going to need to give me grace on the difficult parts because His standards are unrealistic for me.
We should find comfort in God’s tremendous grace, but not so much comfort that we stop pursuing perfection.
Anyway, it’s a good topic. I’m going to present it next Friday in the Men’s Bible Study that I lead.
The group will look at Matthew 5…the Sermon on the Mount (part 1)…which ends with the command: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
I’d appreciate any follow up you might offer.
Thanks, and may the Lord bless you as you follow Him.
-Ed