How Far You Have to Go (Not How Far You've Come)

I was browsing a forum on the internet and read a wise post from somebody. He stated this:

"The sin of pride can be especially emphasized on people who are destined to be holy or want to be holy. This is a sin known as "spirtual pride."

The Pharisees were holy men of Israel. But their greatest mistake was focusing on how far they've come, instead of how far they had to go."

It's a very good point. Oftentimes, it is so easy to be lenient on our spiritual life. We get tempted to be casual. We may sometimes feel we are doing enough already. We do acts of goodness/charity, we honor the sacraments, never skip Mass, pray the rosary, etc.

When this happens, beware. It's a temptation. If you give in to it, what makes you so different from a Pharisee?

Fact is, most of us are very far from reaching the highest level of our spiritual life. It is obvious that God intended it this way so we'll constantly strive higher as long as we're on this Earth. Didn't Jesus Himself order us that "You must be perfect just as your Heavenly Father is perfect?"

That verse is the ultiumate proof of what we can and what we must achieve.

I'd advise you to read St. Teresa of Avila's famous book "Interior Castle". Guided by Jesus mystically, she was given knowledge on the various levels of spirituality that a soul has. When you read this, it will definitely humble you on how far you have to go.

When I read it, I was astonished at how far most of us have to go to achieve our highest spiritual growth level in this life.

The secret of the saints most of all has always been the virtue of humility - the source of all the virtues and the highest among them as well. Since no person knows his or her exact spiritual level, the saints are wise by playing it safe. They always assume that their spiritual level is not enough, and so the tendency is to strive to improve it.

We should do so as well....