Avoiding Spiritual Extremes

 

There’s a Hebrew proverb that goes like this:

“Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.” (Proverbs 4:26-27)

Why not swerve to the left or to the right? It has nothing to do with politics, its because there’s a ditch on both sides of the path and either one will ultimately lead to “evil”.  Joshua 1:7 also tells us to not turn to the right nor the left but stick with the path that the Scriptures prescribe.

When one reads the Bible in its wholeness, we see a principle of avoiding spiritual extremes or “ditches”.  On the one extreme there is legalism, repression and self-righteous morality; on the other side of the spectrum is lust, indulgence and reckless disobedience. Think of the Galatians on one side and the Corinthians on the other. Both extremes are unhealthy and unhelpful. Both lead to evil. 

We also see these two extremes when we read the Parable of the Prodigal Son, which should really be called the Parable of the Two Sons. 

We are probably familiar with the “prodigal” son who insults his loving father by demanding his inheritance early and then spending it all on sinful living. He later comes back in utter humility and repentance to the arms of his forgiving father.

But what about the other son? The older brother who stayed behind faithfully and worked his father’s land? He turns out to be no better than the prodigal but in the opposite extreme. He refuses to forgive his younger brother and becomes angry at his father for showing such grace to him. This brother’s heart was proud, but the father also comes out to the him in grace and love to try and soften his heart.

While the younger brother fell into what we might call the “left ditch” ( or the Corinthian side), the older brother fell into the “right ditch” (or the Galatian side). 

So, what is the proper path between the left and right excesses? What is the narrow way between self-righteous morality and reckless disobedience?  It is walking in God’s grace. The same grace exemplified by the father in the parable (who represented God).

Grace* is the via media between the extremes of the two sons. 

In three places, Scripture tells us that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6 1 Peter 5:5) 

We see then that humility makes way for grace and the avoidance of these two spiritual extremes. But pride loves extremes, doesn’t it? It loves to pry us from the path of Jesus’ grace.

Whether it’s the arrogance of the younger son, or the haughtiness of the older son, let’s make no mistake, this type of prideful extremism is not honouring to God.

Let’s also be clear that walking in grace is not a compromise of our beliefs: it is, instead, the fullest and most beautiful expression of our beliefs. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ and we must walk in his way.

Here is a personal confession: I am an extreme type of person. Like the pendulum on a clock, my tendency is to swing to the extremes, rarely resting in the middle. For me, usually it’s the “right ditch” I fall into, but not always.

I often pray that the Lord would keep me from extremes; that He would help me “ponder my path”. Join me in praying that He would deliver us from all forms of pride and lead us in the way of grace.

* Grace is God's unmerited favour towards us. It is receiving something we did not deserve and could never earn. 

“The redeeming work of Christ and the righteousness He won for us, equally with the work of the Spirit in us and the power of the new life He brings, are spoken of as “grace”.  Andrew Murray