Beware of What Will Kill the Soul

"Beware." It's a great word. It's a serious word. I remember as a kid, my brothers and I would take the train everywhere with our mother. All along the tracks there were signs that read, "Beware of the Third Rail!" We knew that meant, "Touch it and Die!" It had life or death consequences. Similarly, when we see a house with a sign on the fence that says, "Beware of the Dog," we do not immediately think of a little fluffy ankle high puppy running around. We think, "Big-toothed, killer." "Beware" is about serious things. 

In the Gospels, Jesus tells us to beware of only a handful of things. Firstly, he tells us to "beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy" (LK 12:1) and "the yeast of Herod" (MK 8:15). A little bad yeast can spoil everything. Thus, we have to beware of our coming to total and absolute ruin. It seems that the yeast that the Lord is talking about is separating our external actions from the internal ones. In the case of the Pharisees, the Lord often seems to be criticizing how they do all of the external things with great attention, but their hearts are not converted. Similarly, Herod tries to live his life in a way that serves those who are in power. He is more concerned with living a life of pleasure, comfort, and power than in he is in keeping the moral law. Jesus tell us to "beware" of these things because they could destroy us. It's not a, "Gee, if you have time to give it any thought, maybe, you know, you might not want to be living in this way." No, he is saying, "These things will utterly ruin you. Beware."

Next, Jesus tells us, "Beware of covetousness, for a man's life doesn't consist of the abundance of the things he possesses" (LK 12:15). An undo attachment to the things of this world can lead us to a forgetfulness of God and the things of God. We can easily begin to live for our possessions thinking that these things are what truly matters. It often happens gradually, but it is deadly. We become slaves of our wealth and our comfort. They become our master and we gradually sever our ties to the Lord. He becomes a forgotten deity up in the sky that I think of occasionally. What becomes the driving force in my life is my golf game, my vacation home, my time, my money, my stature etc. Beware, because this covetousness will ruin us.

"Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as servants and simple as doves. But beware of people, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they hand you over, do not worry how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given what to say" (MT10:16-19). Here the Lord warns us against putting our trust in worldly powers and in a desire for popularity. If we are truly his disciples, then we will be at odds with the prevailing ways of the world. If we find ourselves sounding almost indistinguishable from a particular news channel, a particular political party, or from the trending opinions of social media, we might well be on our way to ruin. Yes, we should be wary of trusting too much in worldliness and popularity. Here, the Lord doesn't tell us to be afraid of suffering at the hands of others. It actually seems to be the opposite. Here he tells us to be aware that these things will definitely happen when we are his faithful disciples, but we shouldn't be afraid. It's to be expected.

Lastly, the Lord warns us, "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves" (MT 7:15). Many of the other "bewares" seem to be more like spiritual cancers that can infect us: covetousness, hypocrisy, undo desire for power, pleasure, or popularity. But here, the warning is about being actively hunted. If it is not bad enough that as sheep we have to "beware of wolves," now we learn that there are wolves wearing sheep's clothing. They are slipping into the midst of the flock like sleeper cells, ready to attack. They speak words that tickle our ears and that subtly undermine our Faith and our moral life. They often endear themselves to us by mixing truth and falsehood. They lure the sheep away from the Shepherd by cunning and by flattery. They can often be detected because they propose themselves as an alternative to the Shepherd. They instruct the weak and the vulnerable sheep "not to be like sheep, but to think for themselves." All the while, they are leading them astray. These false prophets never walk away completely from the flock because they are there to destroy. Instead, they always walk that fine line, masterful in avoiding detection. 

This last "beware" requires us to become expert in knowing the voice of the Good Shepherd. This voice becomes familiar to us as we pray, read the scriptures, grow in virtue, and cultivate a friendship with Christ. His voice is also consistent. His is the voice that speaks throughout the long history of the Church. If you hear someone who says things that sound ever so slightly edgy, avant-garde, out of sync with everything that the Church has taught from time immemorial, you may want to look more closely at that sheep's teeth. Jesus said to beware of very few things. Wolves in sheep's clothing is one of them. That's because he knows the end game of the wolf. We should too.

Hypocrisy, possessions, power, pleasure, prestige, popularity, coziness with the world, and false prophets who are like wolves in sheep's clothing: these are all things that could destroy us. We are all very susceptible to these dangers and it's worth all of us examining ourselves and our circumstances to make sure we are not walking dangerously close to the third rail. Do I know the voice of the Good Shepherd? Do I love his voice? Am I too concerned about how I am perceived by others? Is my version of Christianity almost indistinguishable from some political platform? Am I more concerned about worldly comfort than eternal life? Am I allowing myself to be seduced by a false prophet? Beware.