Tear Down and Destroy; Build and Plant

In his letter to Eustochium, written in 384 A.D., Saint Jerome relates an experience he had while on his way to Jerusalem, to live a life of penance. He had given up his family and the life to which he had been accustomed in Rome. A terrible fever came upon him, wasting away his very flesh. In the midst of this fever, he had a vision of his judgment before Christ. He fell before the throne of the Judge, and the following exchange took place: “Asked who and what I was I replied: "I am a Christian." But He who presided said: "Thou liest, thou art a follower of Cicero and not of Christ. For 'where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also.'" He was then scourged for his impiety, finally benefiting from the prayers of those who attended to the throne. He was returned to awareness, and abandoned his addiction to pagan writings. Such a drastic act may not be necessary for every Christian, even if it was for him. The point is that Christ must be central to one’s thoughts and divine revelation must be THE source of knowledge about salvation.


It is highly unlikely that many today are addicted to Cicero. In fact, I would venture to say that there are quite a few people who disdain his writings, since his works are often used in intermediate Latin classes for translation purposes. But there is a temptation to turn to what is not of Christ, even what is against Christ, as a source of knowledge and guidance for moral living. Such a temptation can be very subtle, as it was for Jerome. We could take a survey of any number of Christian writers and ask if what they write and teach is based upon the Spirit of Christ or comes from some non-Christian philosophy. This is not to criticize the legitimate use of other philosophies to grow in knowledge of the truth. St. Thomas Aquinas, for example, made great use of the writings of Aristotle to explain the rational underpinnings of Christian moral living.

But trends in thought come and go over time. Or, as Mark Twain once quipped, history doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes. Whether or not Twain really said that doesn’t matter. It’s true. One repeating philosophy that is too stubborn to die is cynicism. Having been versed in this thinking process for quite awhile, I have firsthand experience in its attributes and effects. Diogenes lived during the time of Alexander the Great, who once said that if he were not Alexander, he would want to be Diogenes. Strange idea, considering that Diogenes lived in a giant tub in the middle of town, and engaged in ipsation in public, stating that it would be wonderful if hunger could be likewise satisfied by rubbing the stomach. But apart from his moral turpitude, he had a keen eye for hypocrisy and with biting sarcasm attacked it regularly. The very word “cynicism” comes from the Greek word for “dog”, since the purveyors of this philosophy barked at the world and those who pretended to be something. The famous story goes that he walked about in midday with a lantern, looking for an honest man. To be honest, apart from the ipsation, his approach has some merit. Jesus Himself laid bare the foolishness and hypocrisy of his contemporaries; indeed, of hypocrites all over time.

But there is a difference between the cynic and the follower of Christ. The cynic sees hypocrisy and is quick to point out inconsistencies, errors and stupidity. But the heart of the cynic is ultimately self-serving and lacks charity. There is no “kind eye” in the head of the cynic. He sets up a world view that is often precise in its measurements, but empty of compassion. Fulton Sheen once wrote that the cynic knows the price of everything but the value of nothing. Condemnation comes easily to the cynic, and may be right, but the dividing wall of separation, destroyed by Jesus, remains in the heart of the cynic. As important as it is to seek to remove pretense, and in charity it may be necessary to do so, Christ did so for the sake of salvation, even of those who opposed Him so vehemently. Did He not die for the whole nation of Israel, and the world, including those who killed Him? Even those who “kill” Him today by sin and error and malice?

The cynic seeks to expose folly, but does not then help the exposed to come to true knowledge. As a cynic, we can look upon those who do not live well or who act according to error as fools, malcontents and “beneath” us, but what good does it do ultimately? How do we balance the discovery and repudiation of error with the firm desire of Christ that all men be saved? Even the fools! It is a tough line. It all depends on what we are truly looking at: the foolishness or the person? A good doctor, especially the Divine Physician, is truly interested in taking away what corrupts and destroys, but labors intensely to maintain what is good and healthy and capable of refinement.

Being jaded, another form of cynicism, is like looking at life through a peephole. We can only see one facet of life and miss out on so much. I’ve been cynical and spent time with not a few cynics. From personal experience, there is a narrow mindedness that neglects what is good and wholesome in others. The tragedy of such a mindset is that it turns itself on the practitioner and causes an inner damage that can only be called a dangerous loss of charity, towards oneself and others.

Christ was ever ready to tear down and destroy, in the best tradition of Jeremiah, but He was also about building up and planting, continuing the same thread of prophetic mission. Diogenes wanted to find an honest man, thinking himself, perhaps, to be the only one who truly was. Christ found honest men, who were simple fishermen, as ordinary as any other in history. They had a host of faults and imperfections, which Jesus worked to purge from their souls. He didn’t condemn them for their weaknesses, but took their burden upon Himself and transformed these men into apostles and vessels of grace. His piercing glance cut through the foolishness and hypocrisy of His own disciples and revealed the true inner nature of those who would be the foundation of His Church. He does the same for us, but never out of spite or contempt. He only wants us to be pure in His sight, and when He finds impurity of whatever kind, He removes it if we are willing let Him.

  And when we stand before Christ, may we not hear Him say, "Thou liest, thou are a follower of Diogenes, and not of Christ.  For where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also."