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All or Nothing

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I recently read the Didache, which is one of the oldest known Christian documents. The date of the Didache is not clear, but it is certainly older than the New Testament. It is not holy scripture, but it is an interesting book. It is a guideline for Christian living that will give you a nice picture of the struggles and issues the earliest Christians lived with. While reading it I came across the following teaching:

“If you are able to bear the entire yoke of the Lord, you will be perfect. But if you are not able, then at least do what you can.” (Didache chapter 6)

When I read that, my heart began to beat faster. Intuitively I sensed that this simple and practical statement contained profound spiritual wisdom. Not only that, I have come to believe that this grace-full wisdom is something the modern church is often lacking. Modern American Christianity has a tendency to engage in various forms of what I would call “all-or-nothing” thinking. I don’t mean to suggest that individual Christians are not sophisticated enough to grant that life is complex and often painted in shades of gray. Most individual Christians that I know carry around their share of delicately nuanced ideas. But as a group, American Christians can rely heavily on black and white answers.

I remember the first time I read the Sermon on the Mount in a serious way. I was utterly overwhelmed by the magnitude of the commandments of Christ. I was commanded not to be angry, to love my enemies, not to lust, not to return violence if attacked but to turn the other cheek, not to judge others, and not to worry about tomorrow. I wondered exactly what kind of people Jesus was preaching to. Certainly better people than I, if these commandments were to be taken seriously. Other Christians who were reading the same text didn’t seem bothered. Surely they knew that what Jesus was asking was beyond difficult and perhaps even impossible. But they seemed to read the words without really FEELING the depth of what Christ was calling us to. In time I came to understand this to be a natural defense mechanism. Unable to live completely as Christ calls us to live, it is easy to give up and not deal with that failure. I hope I’m not being unfair, but in my experience, many Christians take the teachings of Christ as a whole, allow themselves to become overwhelmed, and then enter a state of denial. Rather than despair, it’s easier to read the scriptures, say “that’s nice,” and then move on to the next item in the order of worship. It’s all-or-nothing thinking. If I can’t live just the way Jesus said I should live, I won’t even try. I can’t love my enemies, so I’ll hate them just like everyone else does. I can’t be perfectly pure in heart, so I’ll hide my lusts in shame and not make any progress at all. Jesus' call to nonviolence seems impractical in some scenarios, so I won't even consider it. I’ll just craft a few carefully worded Christological statements about Jesus and call it a day.

I think the community of believers that produced the Didache was dealing with reality. They were taking the teachings of Jesus seriously, while celebrating even the small steps made by those who were trying to live according to the way of Christ. I like their affirmation of people doing the best they can. In honor of one of the earliest Christian communities, I am thankful for the Didache today. They were courageous enough to hear the call of Christ to a new kind of radical, counter-cultural living. They were humble enough to share honestly their weaknesses and struggles to live that life. And they were Grace-filled enough to celebrate the first steps of new disciples in that rigorous, lifelong journey we call discipleship.

Read the Didache. Multiple translations here.