As Long as I Make it Into Heaven

One

Why worry about holiness? As long as I make it into heaven, that’s good enough, right?

One of the ways we justify or try to get comfortable with our spiritual mediocrity is by saying something like this, “Look, I may not be a saint, and I doubt I ever will be one, but that’s fine. I’m probably good enough to get into Heaven, and that’s good enough for me. As long as this thing has a happy ending, as long as we all end up in the right place, that’s all that matters in the long run. So why get all worked up about being perfect? We don’t need to be perfect! Good enough is good enough.”

We’re all used to that kind of complacency, and at first it seems to have a kind of plausible logic to it. But deep down we know it can’t be true. We know Christ didn’t make us for mediocrity, we know He called us to more. But then what is the flaw in this kind of thinking?

Two

Setting Yourself Up for Spiritual Failure

To begin with, setting your sights low is just a way of setting yourself up for failure. So, for instance, if you’re hoping to pass a class, probably the worst strategy you could adopt would be to shoot for a D minus. There’s no guarantee you’ll pass the class even if you’re hoping to get an A plus. Some classes are pretty demanding, some teachers are pretty serious, but you’re way more likely to fail if your goal is just to squeak by.

We don’t know what judgment is going to look like. We know God sees everything. We know He sees sin and missed opportunities for love with flawless precision. We know that He doesn’t pass over any of it. We know He came once in Humility and Mercy, but that when the time for judgment comes, He will come in Glory and Justice.

So this is a test we don’t want to take lightly. This is a test where we don’t want to balance on the line between passing and failing. This is a test, a judgment, where we want to do as well as we possibly can because that’s the only way to make sure we pass.

Three

Spiritual Mediocrity as a Loveless Attitude

The real problem with the “as long as I make it into Heaven” mentality is the horrible model of relationship it implies. After all, holiness is first and foremost an intimacy and friendship with God. So when we say, “As long as I get into Heaven,” what we’re really saying is, “I don’t care if I’m the worst Christian, the worst child of God, the worst disciple of Jesus possible. As long as I get away with it.” 

Does that sound like an attitude that fits with an attitude of Christian love?

Four

No relationship could survive a mindset that clings to a minimum of love

Imagine I were to say, “I want to be the worst possible husband I can be, as long as my wife doesn’t leave me.” Or, “I want to be the worst possible father I can be, but without anybody calling Child Protective Services.” Everyone would say, “You must be a miserable husband and father!”

Again, the model of “as long as I get away with it,” is a horrendous violation of the demands of any relationship. My attitude should be, “I want to be the best father and husband I can be because my wife and kids deserve it. In fact, they deserve much more.” And my attitude should be, “I should be the best Christian I can be because my Lord and Savior deserves it. In fact, He deserves much more. So much more.”

Five

The flip side of the oin is that love never looks to the minimum

Imagine someone you loved was dying. Maybe a spouse, a kid, or a best friend. And the doctor says, “Well here is the minimum treatment, the one that would involve the least work personally for you, that will keep you safe from any legal action, you won’t get sued and you can get away with this treatment.” You’d say, “You’re talking about my kid here! Why on earth would you think I would want to do the minimum? I love this kid. I want to know what’s best for him!”

That’s the Christian life. It’s a love of God, a love of Christ. It’s not “What’s the minimum I can get away with?” It’s “What’s the most I can do? What’s the best way I can serve you, Lord? What’s the best way I can show my love for you?”

Salvation, Heaven, holiness – is about love. So don’t try to separate the two by trying to get into Heaven with a minimum of holiness and love.