Jesus & Lao Tzu: Don’t Exchange The Best For The Good

Christians spend so much energy trying to live right! But are we exchanging the best for the good? What’s better than righteous living?

Jesus and Lao Tzu agree: the best thing is to quit trying to live right. That’s because, when we try to live right, we trade perfection for mere performance. Verse eighteen of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching disturbs many Christians who believe they can cultivate godly virtue through rule-following. These scrupulous believers give up the best thing in exchange for the good thing. By focusing on moralities and merits, they lose sight of God. But there is a better way.

Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, Verse 18

J.H. McDonald Version

When the great Tao is abandoned,
charity and righteousness appear.
When intellectualism arises,
hypocrisy is close behind.

When there is strife in the family unit,
people talk about ‘brotherly love’.

When the country falls into chaos,
politicians talk about ‘patriotism’.

Charity and Righteousness

Certain brands of Christianity dedicate themselves to the virtues of charity and righteousness. Their honor is unquestioned. Their donations to the poor display their generosity. All who witness this staunch religiosity consider them to be first-rate followers of Jesus. And yet, the reason these rigorous Christians concentrate so much on charity and righteousness is because they have lost connection with the divine. Walking out of step with the Great Way of the universe, the only thing they cling to is adherence to good religious principles.

According to the New Testament, the Pharisees of Jesus’s day were similar. That they had abandoned God in exchange for their own traditions. They boasted their adherence to the law of Moses while abandoning a relationship with the living God. Yet, if their connection to the Eternal were a close one, they would no longer aspire to charity and righteousness. Instead, charitable deeds and righteous acts would naturally flow. It’s only when you abandon the Eternal that you need to focus on the temporal.

Intellectualism and Hypocrisy

Lao Tzu writes, “When intellectualism rises, hypocrisy is closed behind.” The more you dwell on theology, the more you intellectualize something as incomprehensible as the Divine Nature. Hypocrisy arises when we believe ourselves to be spiritual when in reality we are just good students. Fixated on the religious show, it was easy to lose sight of God. This is what the apostle Paul means by “Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” This is mere religion—this is not Spirit.

Religiosity allows us to separate ourselves from the everyday sacred with a wall of ceremony. In that separation, hypocrisy is soon to follow. Employing intellectualism, we spout doctrines and require adherence. Yet, the more academic we become, the further from God we get. This is why ministry students often refer to seminary as “cemetery.” By putting God under a microscope, we kill God.

Strife and Brotherly Love

Again, it’s easy to sacrifice the best for the sake of the good. Lao Tzu says, “When there is strife in the family unit, people talk about brotherly love. When the country falls into chaos, politicians talk about patriotism.” Of course, there’s nothing wrong with brotherly love. But when I was growing up, my brother and I needed to be reminded of it the most when we were fighting. When there was no conflict, there was no reason for our parents to emphasize brotherly love. This sentiment should naturally flow, without the need to focus on it. The more you need to hear about it, the greater the indication that someone is out of step with the Tao of Love.

Patriotism and Chaos

In the same way, you hear more about patriotism when the country falls into chaos. I am reminded of the United States immediately after the attacks of September 11, 2001. It seemed like every home in the country displayed an American flag. Unfortunately, many business owners of Arab descent felt it necessary to festoon their businesses with American flags simply to prove their patriotism and ward off racist accusations. Had the country not been in chaos, there would have been no need for patriotism. Like the Great Way, love of country should naturally flow. But the more you see it displayed, the more likely it’s just manufactured patriotism.

Good Things vs. God Things

Virtues like charity, righteousness, brotherly love, intellect, and patriotism are all good things. Yet, none of them are “God things.” It’s only when we take our mind off of the Great Way that we begin to employ these smaller ways. One church I know takes great pride in its special observances like Loyalty Day, Patriot Day, and other ceremonies to promote important virtues. But the only reason it has to focus so much on these qualities is because it has lost touch with the Source of all Virtue. Praiseworthy and good as these characteristics are, they are false images of God. It’s better to keep your focus on God, and let all these other virtues show up on their own.

Seek First the Realm of God

Keep your mind on the Great Way, and all these other things will fall into place. This is what Jesus meant when he said, “Seek first the Realm of God, and God’s righteous, and all these things will be added to you.” The more you seek connection with the Divine, the less you have to worry about performative religion. Without even thinking about “doing the right thing,” the right action will bubble up from you like a fountain that can’t be contained.

Pray…

Great Source of All Good, I know that your Unlimited Grace is better than my gracious actions. Your Abounding Goodness is greater than my goodwill. Your Indisputable Truth is more reliable than any true statement I could make. Jesus, you are the embodiment of all I aspire to be. I confess that I have taken my eyes off of that which is best, and exchanged it for the mere reflection of your Great Way.

Rather than concentrating on doing what’s right, help me to see the One who makes me right with all things. Then, I will stop studying about you, and instead learn from you. In this Ultimate Truth, I can stop giving just my money so that, like you, I can give my life. I can quit focusing on brotherly love and turn instead to my brother. I will stop loving my country and instead love the world.

Remind me that not all “good things” are God Things. Help me to refocus my attention to seek you first, so that all the good things will simply follow from my relationship with you.