Then Jesus said to his disciples,
“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way,
take up your cross, and follow me.”
Matthew 18:24

Read: Matthew 16:13-28, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
Pilgrim’s Progress Stage 1 Part 10

Relate: Christian has barely dried off from the Slough when he meets the second great danger of his journey, and this one is far more sophisticated than a bog. Mr. Worldly Wiseman is charming. He is well-dressed. He lives in a town called Morality, which sounds perfectly respectable. He has clearly thought about religion. He uses its vocabulary, acknowledges that Christian’s burden is a real problem, and proposes a solution. There is a man, he says, named Legality, who lives just over that hill. Legality is very good at helping people lose their burdens. There is need for the difficult path to the narrow gate, no need for the long journey, no need for all this drama. Just go see Legality. Easy. Sensible. No fuss.

Mr. Worldly Wiseman is the most dangerous character in Stage One of Pilgrim’s Progress precisely because he is not wrong about everything. Christian’s burden is a problem. Wanting to be free of guilt is a legitimate desire. The life Worldly Wiseman describes, orderly, respectable, burden-free through the careful cultivation of moral living, sounds genuinely appealing. This must be especially true for a man who is muddy, exhausted, and has just been laughed at by his entire neighborhood. Bunyan knew exactly what he was doing when he placed this temptation immediately after the Slough. When a person is at their most spent, the offer of an easier road is at its most attractive. The enemy rarely offers you obvious evil. He offers you plausible alternatives.

React: What makes Mr. Worldly Wiseman so recognizable, and so dangerous, is that he represents an entire approach to religion that is real and present in our world today. The idea that the goal of the Christian life is essentially moral improvement, becoming a better person, managing your sins more effectively, contributing positively to society, and keeping your conscience reasonably clear, is not a medieval heresy. It is a thriving contemporary worldview, present in churches, in self-help literature, in the vague spiritual sensibilities of people who believe in something but find the cross a bit much. I cannot begin to tell you how many people tried to discourage me from packing up my comfortable New York life to go live in Southeast Turkiye in the shadow of ISIS. Although moving to Kyiv didn’t raise as many objections, there were quite a few whose sentiment was, “better you than me.” Comfort and complacency know no borders. Worldly Wisdom is everywhere. It is polished and reasonable. And it leads, as Christian is about to discover, directly to the base of a hill that will kill you.

Respond:

Dear God,
It is all too easy to let an uncommon calling get distracted by common sense. In life, there are well intentioned souls who simply do not understand the direction You are leading. Give me the discernment to understand the difference between Godly advice and Worldly Wisdom. Give me the courage to accept the former while rejecting the latter.
Amen