Day 14
Building Well
Revelation teaches that the power to decide what is good and what is evil does not belong to man, but to God alone. Man is certainly free, inasmuch as he can understand and accept God’s commands. And he possesses an extremely far-reaching freedom, since he can eat “of every tree of the garden.” But his freedom is not unlimited: it must halt before the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:16–17), for it is called to accept the moral law given by God. In fact, human freedom finds its authentic and complete fulfillment precisely in the acceptance of that law. God, who alone is good, knows perfectly what is good for man, and by virtue of his very love proposes this good to man in the commandments.
— St. John Paul II, Veritatis Splendor
Many post-modern ideologies and theories of human behavior tend to either over- or underemphasize the power of human freedom. These have seeped into popular culture at every level, and in some cases they have even affected how we understand the gospel itself.
A Dangerous Disconnect
Behaviorist and immanentist schools of thought tend to blame all of our behaviors and choices on influences beyond our control. According to them, subconscious or unconscious complexes and urges or circumstantial and social pressures exercise so much influence on a person’s decisions that moral responsibility disappears. Some secularist and relativistic schools of thought, on the other hand, see the human mind as all-powerful. For them, not only can we freely determine what we choose to do, we can also freely and independently determine the very nature of good and evil.
Both of those errors shatter the link between freedom and truth, between truth and goodness. If the human person is completely determined by urges and circumstances, then our dignity disappears, as does our capacity for spiritual creativity, friendship, loyalty, love, and any other moral virtue that would give authentic meaning to life. If, on the other hand, the human person is actually divine, unlimited in our capacity to create meaning and truth simply by willing to do so, then every individual becomes, in essence, a universe unto himself, and the possibility of true communion between persons (human and divine) disappears. In either case, the theoretical divorce between truth and goodness is a lie that, if accepted, makes interior peace, fulfillment, and authentic happiness impossible.
Jesus Believes in Us
Jesus freed us from these lies. In the first place, he acknowledged and accepted the complex influences that contribute to conditioning our freedom in this fallen world. This is why he commanded us not to judge the interior intentions and culpability of other people — we simply cannot know enough to make a full and accurate judgment about a person, even when a particular action is objectively wrong. Only God sees clearly the many circumstantial and subconscious influences that may be at work inside a person’s soul. It is enough for us to seek light regarding our own soul, without trying to manage the souls of others:
“Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:1–5)
Our Lord, however, never exaggerated the role of external influences. He always believed in us. He always appealed to our spiritual ability to make good choices, to exercise our freedom in harmony with the truth, and in that way to achieve the maturity, wisdom, and holiness that we are created for.
Yet he didn’t fall into the other trap either. He never exaggerated the power of our freedom, exonerating us from the duty to humbly obey the truth. We are called not to be gods, but to love God, and that includes following God’s plan for the human family in general, and for our individual life in particular. This conscious, free obedience to the truth promotes the fulfillment of our highest spiritual potential, and it alone leads to the meaning, fruitfulness, and happiness that will last. His respect for our capacity to do what is right and true, his hope in us, shines through in the finale of the Sermon on the Mount, a passage we have already seen:
“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.” (Matt. 7:24–27)
The True and the Good
The same tone fills the pages of the entire New Testament. In Christ, with him and through the gift of his grace, each of us has become “a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). As a result, if we remain in the Lord and stay united to the vine, our collaboration with God’s grace can truly work wonders in us and through us: “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
We can learn to love God with all our strength. We can choose to follow Christ and travel the path of spiritual maturity. We can resist temptation and grow in virtue. We can make a difference in the world, building Christ’s kingdom and encouraging others to do the same. If we couldn’t, none of the New Testament letters would have been written, since they all contain passionate encouragement to make practical, daily choices worthy of our Christian calling. If knowing the truth were sufficient for our spiritual growth, and if we were not free to choose to live according to that truth, St. Paul, for example, would never have written this:
Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry. . . . Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. . . . And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:5, 12–14, 17)
When our hearts desire God above all things, and our emotions are joyfully subject to an intellect enlightened by faith and a will strengthened and aligned by grace, we can truly love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, just as Jesus commands.
Questions for Personal Reflection or Group Discussion
What idea in this reflection struck you most and why?
What is your knee-jerk reaction to the concept of “obedience”? Where does that reaction come from?
In what kinds of situations do you feel more acutely the temptation to accept the lie that truth and freedom are enemies instead of co-principles of spiritual maturity?
A visitor once asked Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta what he could really do to help the poor, since he felt so small and un-influential. She answered, “Pick up a broom.”
What will you do today to obey Jesus better by putting your freedom at the service of the truth, to be a better “co-worker in the truth”? (3 John 8).
- I will make a good examination of conscience and go to confession.
- I will think about my own persistent unhealthy behavior patterns and try to figure out where their roots are. Then I will think of what kind of behaviors I could develop to correct those unhealthy patterns. I will talk to God about it and ask for his help.
- I will read the explanation of the Ten Commandments in the Catechism.
- (Write your own resolution) I will
Concluding Prayer
O Lord and Master of my life, grant not unto me a spirit of idleness, of discouragement ,of lust for power, and of vain speaking.
But bestow upon me, Thy servant, the spirit of chastity, of meekness, of patience, and of love.
Yea, O Lord and King, grant that I may perceive my own transgressions, and judge not my brother, for blessed art Thou unto ages of ages. Amen.
— St. Ephrem the Syrian
