Whose Side Are You On? You Must Choose

Whose side are you on? You’ve already chosen it, whether you realize it or not. Every moment of every day, through the exercise of your free will, you’re choosing sides. If you doubt this, refer to Luke 11:23:

“He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.”

There’s No Neutral Ground

So, are you with Christ, or against Him? There’s no middle ground–no neutral territory in this war for your soul.

“So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth.” (Rev 3:16)

Two Standards–Christ’s and Lucifer’s

In his Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius of Loyola provides a series of meditations on “Two standards, the one of Christ…the other of Lucifer…” (Spiritual Exercises, Morris, trans). Used in this context, a “standard” is a flag–the flag of the king, of his army, that the troops can use to identify for a rallying point. Christ the King is in one camp, and Lucifer in another. Imagine, at a great plain of Babylon, Lucifer–horrible and terrifying in countenance–the leader of all the enemy, seated on a throne of fire and smoke.

As you reflect on him, consider how Lucifer sends innumerable demons throughout the world. He instructs them to set up chains and snares and tempt people. They should first tempt people to covet wealth. After this follows temptation to worldly honor, and then a surge to pride. From these three steps, St. Ignatius says, the enemy entices people to all the other vices.

Christ the King’s Approach

On the other hand, St. Ignatius invites you to imagine Christ the King in a beautiful, attractive area. He sends out many people throughout the world to spread the Gospel among all people.  Christ the King recommends that his disciples, apostles and others sent out aid all people by attracting them through three steps of His own. First, He calls you and me to perfect spiritual poverty, and if God wills, to actual poverty in opposition to riches. Next, He wants to attract you to desire reproaches in opposition to worldly honor. This then leads to humility in opposition of pride.

Questions About Whose Side?

What comes to mind as you think about these two kings and their approaches? Christ’s battle plan may make no sense when viewed through a secular worldview. Of course, odds are that you probably eschew greed, vanity and pridefulness.

How do you feel, though, about being called to poverty–not just spiritual poverty, but perhaps actual poverty? Spiritual poverty involves a sense of humility, of reliance on God, and knowing that we depend on God for everything. As St. Teresa of Avila tells us, humility is truth–knowing the reality of who we are. God is God. We are not. However, unless you belong to a religious order, accepting actual poverty might be something you’ve never thought about.

Besides that, how patiently do you put up with misunderstandings or insults? Have you borne any reproaches for living your Catholic faith? The Lord, in His passive will, allows incidents that result in misunderstandings, even insults, reproaches and condemnation. He allows this to help you grow in virtue. Do you take advantage of them? Taking such events to prayer, can reveal the vices He’s helping you overcome through the insults, reproaches and the like. Nursing the wounds they’ve caused just leads to turning in on oneself, and covering over the underlying sins and imperfections with spiritual callouses.

The desert fathers went to the desert because there, the demons couldn’t hide, but manifested themselves. In so doing the demons lost their power. In the same way, the key to fighting our demons–vices, sinful habits, imperfections–is to unmask them. Unmasking them takes away their power over you. Have you met your demons in the desert of your heart, in prayer with Our Lord?

Whose Side Do You Serve in Sin?

But, let’s dig a little deeper. Of course, you may be trying actively to conquer some sins–greed, vanity, pride, or… Thus, you believe that you can and do stand confidently under the standard of your King and Commander, Christ the Lord. But do you really? Every sin represents, “‘A word, deed or desire in opposition to the eternal law.’ (St. Augustine) Sin is a deliberate transgression of a law of God…” (Modern Catholic Dictionary). Every sin, no matter the level of gravity, is an infinite offense. This is because it offends our infinite, loving God.

As a result, if you reflect back on Jesus’ words from Luke 11: “He who is not with me is against me…”, can you see the effect sin has on whose side you serve? Every time you deliberately sin, you are stepping away from the standard of Cristo Rey and moving over to the standard of the enemy of human nature. Sins of commission, including uncharitable thoughts, words and deeds, rash judgment and the like, put you on the wrong side in this battle. So do sins of omission. There is no neutral ground.

The Slippery Slope of Spiritual Mediocrity

In this age of secular relativism, and all the other insidious “isms,” we take all too lightly the effect of sin on our souls and its potential ramifications for our salvation. Yet John Cassian’s wisdom from the early fifth century still applies to you, and to me:

“…we must not imagine that anyone slips and comes to grief by a sudden fall, but that he falls by a hopeless collapse either from being deceived by beginning his training badly, or from the good qualities of his soul failing through a long course of carelessness of mind, and so his faults gaining ground upon him little by little…

just as no house ever fails to the ground by a sudden collapse, but only when there is some flaw of long standing in the foundation, or when by long continued neglect of its inmates, what was at first only a little drip finds its way through, and so the protecting walls are by degrees ruined, and in consequence of long standing neglect the gap becomes larger, and break away, and in time the drenching storm and rain pours in like a river…” (Conferences, Book 6, Ch. 17)

Pay attention to the spiritual details in your life. At the very least, a casual approach toward eliminating sin and building virtues results in mediocrity. One “little” venial sin may not seem like much, but over time, venial sins will take you down the slippery slope of spiritual mediocrity into a state of mortal sin. So, whose side are you on, after all? Of course, we’re ALL loved sinners. Christ loves us “where we’re at,” but He doesn’t want you or me to stay where we’re at. He wants us to come closer to Him, to have us firmly in His camp.

Whose Side You’re On Has Eternal Consequences

Not only does Christ want you to come closer to Him–you are made in His image and likeness. Rediscovering the image of Christ in you, through prayer, spiritual direction, and a lived rule of life can keep you on the right side in this battle. It will keep you fighting under the standard of Christ the King. Do you seriously want that? You must desire it. Pray for the grace to desire it. Be receptive to God’s grace.

In the final analysis, this is all about grace and our response to it. Be clear abut whose side you are on. Your choices have eternal consequences.

“…know that by fighting bravely you give Me great glory and amass merits for yourself…” Jesus to St. Faustina, Diary, # 1560)