Sidetracked

It's easy to get sidetracked in the Christian life.

The word "sidetracked" comes from the world of trains and locomotives. To be sidetracked is to switch from a main railway to a side rail. In contemporary language, the metaphor is used to describe an experience where one's focus diverted is from a central course or purpose. This results in delaying or blocking one's progress in pursuing matters of importance.

Examples of being sidetracked abound: How many times have you got on the internet to research one thing and ended up somewhere completely different, wondering what you originally were pursuing? How many times have you entered a room for a singular purpose and one glance at the television causes you to forget what you were originally looking for? How many times have you gone to a store to purchase one thing and ended up leaving with everything except what you originally set out to buy?

We are easily diverted from our purposes. It does not take much for us to lose our way.

The Apostle Paul was aware of our proneness to wander and warns us of three common detours to our primary pursuit of divine life in Christ: Legalism (salvation by law), mysticism (salvation by experience), and asceticism (salvation by negation or self-denial). When these detours are made central they sideline Christ.

Why are these detours such significant temptations for us? We are called to the high purpose of dwelling in the mystery of Christ. Christ, who is the "image of the invisible God" (Colossians 1:15), "in whom the fullness of God dwells bodily" (Colossians 1:19; 2:9). Christ, "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3). Christ "in whom our life is hidden" (Colossians 3:4). Christ, who has united all things in heaven and earth through his incarnation, death, and resurrection (Colossians 1:15-20). Because of this union are sins are forgiven, never to be held against us (Colossians 2:14-15) for our union with God in Christ is full and complete - never to be broken.

It's all about Christ: "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27) and "your life hidden in Christ" (Colossians 3:4). Because of this, your task is to simply dwell in the mystery of Christ: to make Christ central and preeminent; to find the fullness of God in Christ; to become what you already are and one day will be.

But dwelling in the mystery of Christ is not easy. It is not easy to set our minds on uncovering the hidden treasures found in Christ. We are prone to wander - to lose our way. We are easily sidetracked. We become anxious that the gospel just too good to be true. We long for certainty instead of faithfulness.

And the sidetracks provide certainty - but at the cost of losing the centrality of Christ. Legalism, mysticism, and asceticism place boundaries on the boundless love of God in Christ. They put the focus on the self and its accomplishments rather than on Christ and his grace. This is the danger that Paul warns against - the danger of religion without Christ, a "sidetracked" religion that "sidelines" Christ "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3), and "in whom our lives are hidden" (Colossians 3:4).

Legalism

"Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ." (Colossians 2:16-17)

Legalism defines who is "in" and "out" based on obedience to a legal code. In his cultural setting, Paul warns against those who would use the Mosaic Law to exclude people from God's grace. Paul focuses on the "kosher" laws pertaining to food and drink and also on the "ceremonial" laws which refer to attendance to the Jewish holy days - the annual festivals, monthly celebrations, and weekly Sabbaths. By putting laws at the center rather than Christ, one can pass judgment on others who do not hold to one's moral code.

The same problem remains in our cultural setting. We devise laws and codes that others must adhere to. If they do not, we pass judgment on them. Like the Pharisees we create our own moral bubble and our message to people outside the bubble is: "Become like us (translated: believe like us, dress like us, vote like us, act like us, like what we like, don't like what we don't like). If you become like us (jump through culture hoops and adopt ours), we will consider you for club membership."[1] We may not think we are perfect, but we certainly aren't like "those" people who disregard the rules. Consequently, we "become judges of good and evil rather than lovers of people regardless of whether they are good or evil."[2]

Removing Christ from the center, we take the easy way out. After all, "Rules are safe; relationships are tricky."[3]

But the Christian life is not about rules; it is about Christ. The laws are only shadows, but Christ is the substance - the reality to which the laws point. In regard to the Mosaic Law, Paul cannot imagine why people would want to revert to shadows when the reality is readily available in Christ. To Paul, the massive amount of laws

are like the shadows cast by a solid object, and the solid object is what matters, not the shadows. The solid object, the 'substance', is of course the Messiah himself, the king. The celebrations of the Jewish law look forward to him. Now that he's here they simply aren't needed any more.[4]

It is important to recognize that Paul does not reject the mosaic law outright, for the law is holy, righteous, and good. Instead, he views the Mosaic Law in light of Christ. It is "only a shadow of what is to come" (Colossians 2:17). Christ is the "substance" - the reality to which the law can only point.

Because of Christ, the "people of God" are not defined by the kosher and ceremonial laws of the Mosaic Economy. All people are now "the people of God." Why? Christ! Only Christ! Wright puts it succinctly: "The regulations of Judaism were designed for the period when the people of God consisted of one racial, cultural and geographical unit, and are simply put out of date now that this people is becoming a world-wide family."[5]

Christ is the fulfillment of the law. The law is a means to communion with God, but not an end itself. It finds its goal in Christ. The law is good when it leads to this end. When divorced from Christ, it sidetracks people from the grace of God in Christ. Even worse, it sidelines Christ.

Mysticism

"Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God." (Colossians 2:18-19)

Mysticism defines who is "in" and "out" based on one's ecstatic experiences. In his cultural setting, Paul warns against those who exclude others who have not shared the same heavenly visions. Their emphasis was on fasting that would lead to heavenly visions - visions that allowed them to claim to be caught up in heavenly angelic worship.[6] They asserted their spiritual superiority on the grounds of these heightened experiences. After all, who can argue with an experience? By putting experiences at the center rather than Christ, one can pass judgment on others who have not shared one's experiences.

But Paul sees the danger of mystical experiences divorced from Christ. This "super-spirituality" is not the product of Christian maturity, but rather, evidence of a deeply unspiritual mind, because these experiences result in being "puffed up," that is, arrogant. Those with heavenly visions say they are acquainted with the "fullness" of God, but Paul states that they are only full of pride! Proud of their attainments, they despise others, which is the antithesis of true humility (see Colossians 3:12).

Just as the law is good but legalism is bad, so the Christian life has a mystic element even though mysticism itself can sidetrack us from keeping Christ at the center. You have been "raised with Christ who is seated at the right hand of God" and your "life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:1-4). This mystical union with God in Christ through the Spirit is true for you apart from your current experience. Your goal is to realize what is already true for you - to dwell in the mystery of Christ, and certainly this has a mystic quality to it, for you belong to Messiah's new order:

The new age has dawned, and Christians already belong to it. The old age, however, is not yet wound up, and until they die (or until the Lord 'appears' again in his second coming) their new life will be a secret truth, 'hidden' from view (from others, much of the time: often enough, from themselves too).[7]

The good news is that because of Christ this mystical union with God is true for you whether you realize it or not. This is the challenge of dwelling in the mystery: "Learning to believe what doesn't at the moment feel true is an essential part of being a Christian."[8] This involves a continuous ongoing effort to "seek the things that are above" (Colossians 3:1). Why? That's where Christ is. And this is where your life is hidden! Christ is your hope of glory (Colossians 3:3-4). The day of the revelation of the Son of God is the day of the revelation of the sons and daughters of God. Believing this to be true, in spite of all experiences to the contrary, is at the heart of covenant faithfulness.

The danger of putting a priority on spiritual experiences is that one loses hold on the centrality of Christ in all experiences - the mundane as well as the ecstatic. For this reason, Paul challenges us to "hold fast to the head" (Colossians 2:19) who is Christ Jesus.

Hold fast to him and you'll have all you need. He is the head of the 'body', as Paul said already in 1.18. The body gets its life from the head, through what it thinks, sees, smells, hears, eats and drinks. In the same way, the body which is the church is nourished and sustained, in all its joints, muscles and ligaments, not by embracing this or that new teaching, but by holding fast to the Head.

Can you sense the sigh of relief the Colossians may have experienced on being reassured that they were already complete in Christ and didn't need anything else, just more of what they already had?[9]

Asceticism

"If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the universe, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations, 'Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch'? All these regulations refer to things that perish with use; they are simply human commands and teachings. These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-imposed piety, humility, and severe treatment of the body, but they are of no value in checking self-indulgence." (Colossians 2:20-23)

Asceticism is the reduction of religion to what we don't do. It is spirituality through negation. It defines who is "in" and "out" based on a checklist of prohibited behaviors. This makes it easy to exclude others. By putting a list of "don'ts" at the center rather than Christ, one can pass judgment on anyone who fails to conform to the list. And there is no end to the list Christians can create:

At one time or another saints forbade or strongly discouraged (in alphabetical order), bands, baseball, boating, bowling, [card playing,] circuses, fireworks, football, loitering, parades, skating, valentines, and zoos. They also denounced amusement parks, beach parties, big dinners, chatting on the telephone, Christmas trees, crossword puzzles, home movies, ice cream socials, kissing bees, scenic railroad trips, and visiting relatives and going on automobile joyrides on Sundays.[10]

The problem with ascetism is that it fails to deal with what really matters. Transformation is more than abstaining from certain external behaviors. Transformation must come from within. A rock can keep the commands, "Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch," but it has no life.

This detour is a great temptation because it appears so spiritual. Paul admits it has "the appearance of wisdom" (Colossians 2:23). But ultimately, it results in an anemic, self-centered, and arrogant spirituality. "What looks like rigorous discipline is in fact a subtle form of self-indulgence."[11] Detailed regulations and severe self-discipline give the illusion of spiritual maturity, but Paul knows that is only an illusion. He essentially says, "Go that way, and the street will soon come to a dead end. These are simply regulations that function at a worldly level. You will merely be giving up a worldly self-indulgence of a sensual kind for a worldly self-indulgence of a spiritual kind."[12] Self-mortification can become twisted into perverse self-exaltation.

The fullness of God is not found in earthly taboos or rigorous self-discipline. Conformity to a list of forbidden activities may have some value, but it may just as easily puff up a person with false humility ("We are proud of our humble accomplishments!"). The reason: It puts self, rather than Christ, at the center:

A do-it-yourself religion puts "self" at the center and consequently is doomed to failure. If we set as our goals self-discipline, self-awareness, self-fulfillment, self-esteem, self-actualization, or self-help, we usually wind up with a worship of the self.[13]

Conclusion

It's easy to get sidetracked in the Christian life. We are easily diverted from our purposes. It does not take much for us to lose our way. We long for certainty instead of faithfulness. And the sidetracks provide certainty - but at the cost of losing the centrality of Christ.

This is the reason we need to heed Paul's warnings. Christ must remain at the center or everything falls apart - our faith collapses under its own weight. For if we remove Christ, it really is all about us! Our rules, our experiences, our taboos. And these rules, experiences, and taboos - when viewed as an end rather than a means to an end - can strangle grace and the humble christlikeness it produces and, even worse, become means to exclude others. They, rather than Christ, become our touchstone for spiritual maturity. Keeping commandments, ecstatic experiences, and refraining from forbidden activities are all good - except when they become the core of our spirituality and a means for exclusion. Then they deny the grace they are meant to convey.

No matter how deeply we are immersed in God's love, we never reach the bottom, since that does not exist. God's love has no limit, no end. Trying to imagine this we become dizzy. Our imagination is too limited. We cannot conceive of something without boundaries. A border always appears somewhere in our imagination. Perhaps there is still something beyond that border, but we cannot imagine it without the border.[14]

We must dwell in the mystery of Christ. Christ is our inexhaustible source of all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. We dwell in him and our lives are hidden in him. We must hold onto the head. This doesn't happen automatically. We must commit to it. And we must refuse to be sidetracked.

Man is literally "dis-tracted" - pulled apart - by an almost infinite number of awarenesses. He is conscious of everything trivial, remembers everything except what is most necessary, feels everything that he should not feel, yields to demands that he should never even hear, looks everywhere, pays attention to every creaking board and rattling shutter in his haunted house. For his soul and body, created to be a temple of God, cannot help but seem a haunted place after the desecration that has evicted its only rightful dweller.[15]

© Richard J. Vincent, 2010