David Ancell / Thursday July 17, 2003
There is no shortage of “spiritual guides” these days that will tell you that Christiianity is not about obeying a law but about love. Some will also say that the purpose of living a Christian life is not eternal salvation but . . . . . These statements may be okay if the word “just” is inserted just before the word “about” in the aforementioned statements. However, it seems that in most cases, the author’s intent is to turn our focus away from the virtue of obedience or the goal of eternal salvation.
However, if presented from another vantage point, then the statements make sense. The law is the minimum. If I am seeking loopholes or am otherwise just trying to make sure that I have the letter of the law covered, then I am taking a minimalist approach to the love of God. It’s like the high school sophomore who asks his religion teacher: How many times can we kiss before it is a mortal sin? One must wonder why anyone would want to get as close to mortal sin as possible without actually getting there.
The same kind of reasoning can be applied to the idea of the need to preach the Gospel to all people. It may be that if I don’t preach to person X, he will go to Heaven anyway due to invincible ignorance of God. However, I should not be satisfied with that. I should desire person X’s growth in holiness. The more one grows in holiness, the more one can enjoy the beatific vision in Heaven. Likewise, I shouldn’t stop trying to seek still greater union with God just because I figure I have my bases covered and will be able to slide into Heaven.
Taking a minimalist approach is like going into a job thinking that you are going to do the minimum you can do to keep from getting fired. You won’t be happy there because. The other problem with a minimalist approach is that if you miss the low mark you aim for, you fail. I knew a guy in pharmacy school who said that he always tries to make a B in the class. If he misses it, he gets a C and still passes. Those who only go for a C wind up in big trouble if they miss their mark. Therefore, the person who is trying to barely squeak by may find out that he didn’t make it.
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