In evaluating a person’s guilt or culpability in committing a sinful or immoral action, theologians may distinguish between vincible and invincible ignorance—with the latter involving something one could not have known (thus causing one to transgress without knowing it), and vincible ignorance, involving actions whose moral import could readily have been discovered. In the case of invincible ignorance, persons sinning, without knowing they are sinning, are obviously in a different category from those who knowingly sin. Generally, although there are exceptions, moral issues and associated sins are usually clear and typically unambiguous. However, when it comes to sins or failures related to God’s will, and living in accordance with that will, things can become problematically unclear and very ambiguous.
One of our frustrations as Christians is the difficulty in accurately discerning God’s will for our lives, in general, and in some circumstance, in particular. Most, I would imagine, have had the distressing experience of sincerely, and even desperately, seeking to know God’s will without obtaining a clear answer. Accordingly, there are times when it is necessary and urgent to act without perfect clarity concerning God’s will. Otherwise, one can procrastinate or find oneself paralyzed into inaction and the inability to make a decision. As a way of avoiding this latter possibility, we need to take heart from Jesus’ teaching about that servant who was ignorant of his master’s will, but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating, shall be beaten only lightly.
However, similarly to vincible and invincible ignorance, failing to even attempt discernment of God’s will out of simple lazy negligence, or fear of what God’s will might entail, does not exonerate one from guilt, or offer grounds for leniency. For, discerning God’s will, is possible and is thus not like invincible ignorance that precludes deliberate sin. Failure to make any attempt to discern God’s will, thus risks placing one with that servant who knew his master’s will, but did not act in accord with it, and was beaten severely. Being beaten severely, in this context is, of course, not about God physically punishing us—or even punishing us—and rather involves the sometimes tragic, but always unhappy, consequences of going against God’s will and preferring our own. For, as the saints have repeatedly shown, the closer our lives are in harmony with God’s saving will for us, the more complete, whole, and fulfilled we become.
Therefore, while we must obviously watch against negligence in discerning God’s will for our lives, it is equally important that our discernment not be impeded by fear or anxiety about what God’s will might entail. Let us rather emulate the faith of Abraham in trusting God’s will, while also reassuring ourselves that if we do misread God’s will—despite sincerely seeking it—God’s mercy will lessen and mitigate any bad consequences and actually bring good out of that lesser beating that we suffer because we did not truly know the Master’s will.