The Spiritual Problem with Idealism

Oversimplified Approaches

Idealism as a Problem

One of the dangers in the spiritual life is to forget that as creatures we are complicated. Often, there is a certain type of personality that is inclined toward perfectionism, idealism, and resists a theological, ethical, and cosmological explanation that involves a heavy amount of nuance. Idealism seeks to simplify matters, but often to the point of over-simplification.

One of the reasons we cannot “judge” the interior movement of the heart, is because of man’s interior complexity. We rarely have a deep enough degree of self-knowledge to be able to judge ourselves, as St. Paul even says of himself. But there is a temptation, especially amongst a certain personality type to be attached to simplicity. Simplicity makes things clear, and offers a roadmap that often involves a straight line toward one’s destination. It does not admit of valleys, mountains, rivers, construction, detours, storms, and a deflated tire. Idealism does not factor in the complexity of man’s own circumstances, his own interior wants, needs, and identity, and it rarely considers the on-going process.

Rarely is there any patience in such a person for those whose faith is weak. And that lack of patience often is not only directed towards others, but also toward themselves. Its a type of “black-and-white” approach to purity - a person is either all in, or not in at all. Don’t get me wrong, I fully affirm Jesus’ teaching that we ought to let our “yes be yes" and our “no be no.” But that is about commitment, which often involves a messy process of moving through the mountains and valleys. It does not mean that a person will fail along the way or may be tempted.