Earlier this month, Amazon.com surpassed Microsoft to become the most valuable company on earth. This should come as little surprise to Intersect readers, since we know that consumerism suffuses our culture. Accumulating the material goods we desire has become easier than ever. For most people, shiny items of an infinite variety can appear on our doorstep, just two days after a simple keystroke.
Amazon is helping to shape a generation of consumers for whom the splendors of Prime Day warrant an all-night vigil (literally, “a time of keeping awake”; we all know someone who stayed up late to get the best Prime Day deals). Ironically, the vigil is an ascetic practice employed by many Christians to prepare for sacred celebrations, such as the feast of the Lord’s Resurrection. Although our culture prefers comfort to pain and convenience to patient endurance, we are still willing to sacrifice (sleep, or whatever) to attain these earthly pleasures.
Within this context, the term “ascetic practice” rings as a naughty word. Most Americans think first of the aberrant extremes of asceticism: people whipping themselves until they bleed or fasting to the point of emaciation. Although these extremes have become stereotypical, they do not define “asceticism.” Only a small fraction of ascetics have actually practiced such harmful excesses. But, as with any extremism group, the radicals always get the headlines.
American Christians need a renewed culture of ascetic practice. As the Church has realized for millennia, prioritizing the luxury of earthly pleasures leads to poor health of both body and soul. This doesn’t mean that food, rest or sexual intercourse are the enemies. But it does mean that aiming our desires at these earthly pleasures will divert our hearts from heaven. As C.S. Lewis put it, “Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in; aim at earth and you will get neither” (The Joyful Christian).
American Christians need a renewed culture of ascetic practice.
The paradox of this truth lies in the fact that only through a relative contempt for the material world, coupled with a priority for the spiritual, can the world’s true goodness be received. Indeed, the priority of heaven over earth and soul over body is the biblical vision of reality:
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth…but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)
We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18)
For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise for the present life and that which is to come. (1 Timothy 4:8)
Christ tells us to direct our desires to heaven not earth. St. Paul tells us that spiritual exercise is far superior to CrossFit. And the Apostle summarizes this truth in Colossians 3:2: “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Yet because we are prone to aim our desires earthward, we require spiritual training. In other words, like any successful athlete, we need asceticism (from the Greek: askesis, “training,” which is from askein “to exercise”).
The Church needs spiritual athletes. This is why Paul writes, “I discipline my body and make it my slave” (1 Corinthians 9:27). The word here for “discipline” carries violent overtones, literally meaning “to beat” or “to batter.” We’re called to show our body who’s boss. Because the spiritual is superior to the bodily, the former is meant to rule over the latter. Paul’s imagery is reminiscent of Jesus’ radical command to amputate our bodily organs in order to save our souls from hell (Matthew 5:30). Again, there’s a paradox here: only by a relative contempt for the body will both body and soul be saved, in the bodily resurrection of the dead.
How do we pursue this kind of spiritual training, this asceticism? The Church has understood the answer to be detachment from the world,[1] even though the world is good (relatively speaking). The purpose of fasting, for instance, is so that one can train his appetites by habitually telling them “No,” even in regard to lawful earthly goods, like food or conjugal relations. That way, when a sinful temptation stirs up the appetites, the body has been well-trained to obey its master, the sanctified, rational mind. C.S. Lewis is again helpful:
When you are training soldiers in maneuvers, you practice in blank ammunition because you would like them to have practices before meeting the real enemy. So we must practice in abstaining from pleasures which are not in themselves wicked. If you don’t abstain from pleasure, you won’t be good when the time comes along. It is purely a matter of practice (God in the Dock).
Lewis knew that athletes are much like soldiers (see 2 Timothy 2:4-5). As spiritual athletes, we should employ a habit of abstinence regarding earthly pleasures, even lawful ones, so that when unlawful pleasures tempt us, we resist more easily because of long-time practice.
The aim of any athletic contest is to win the prize of victory. St. Paul sees here an analogy to life in Christ:
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable (1 Corinthians 9:24-25).
In our consumeristic culture, this program of spiritual exercise is both unpopular and difficult. But to deny oneself has always been hard. In light of the fact that obesity in the United States has reached epidemic levels,[2] perhaps the earliest Christians can teach us about controlling our bodily impulses. They fasted every Wednesday and Friday (see The Didache 8), in remembrance of Judas’ betrayal of Christ and the Crucifixion. They also observed a forty-day fast prior to Easter (which the first Council of Nicaea described as a universal practice), based on Christ’s forty-day fast in the wilderness.
If these practices sound intimidating, take heart! Most of these fasts are only partial, requiring abstinence from meat, fish, eggs and dairy. Still, they are enough to interrupt your daily routine and set your mind on things above.
While the created order is a beautiful gift of God, focusing on its goodness fits happily within a culture that prizes comfort and convenience. Rather than risk treasuring earthly things (see Matthew 6:19), let us put on the practices of Christian asceticism. These habits of self-denial can strengthen us, by God’s grace, to aim our desires at unseen realities and reap the radiant joys of heaven, even now. This is the path of spiritual athleticism. So, let us enter the contest and redeem asceticism in the midst of culture that has ceased to run the race.
[1] The phrase “detachment from the world” is easily misunderstood. In Christian tradition, this term doesn’t mean a lack of care for the material creation, but rather the spiritual disposition which refuses to be attached to the fading existence of the present age (1 Corinthians 7:31; 1 John 2:17), in the sense of gripping it tightly and refusing to let go. This principle has wide application, including health of the body and material possessions. Here’s an example: if someone stole my car, would I love that person any less? If I refuse to love them, then I disobey Christ and break fellowship with him. However, the only reason I would struggle to love the thief is because I am “attached” to a worldly possession (my car). Thus, an attitude of detachment from the world is the means of remaining in the love of Christ. Traditional practices which train us for detachment, drawn from the Sermon on the Mount, include fasting, alms giving, and prayer vigils. The key principle here is summed up in Christ’s words: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself.”
[2] Michael Pollan, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (Bloomsbury, 2011), states, “According to the surgeon general, obesity today is officially an epidemic; it is arguably the most pressing public health problem we face, costing the health care system an estimated $90 billion a year. Three of every five Americans are overweight; one of every five is obese” (pp. 101-102).
Comments and Pingbacks
2019-01-25 14:24:22
Michael R Pope
Great article Owen! A necessary reminder to me, and all believers, how easily I/we can become overly attached to the things of this present world instead of heavenly things. Thank you brother for this informative and convicting article! Blessings in Christ Jesus our Lord , Michael
2019-01-28 10:30:11
Thomas Bluemling
I hope you dont take this as a personal attack, but I am very surprised to see this article. We all know that we must deny the flesh by the Holy Spirit, but why have you chosen to bring up the word asceticism? It seems like an attempt to mix Catholic ideas with Christianity. Asceticism has an appearance of spirituality, but ends in unfruitful dead legalism (Colossians 2). True Christian abstinence is abstinence from sin, not from things like chocolate, email, or marriage (not denying oneself various enjoyments which God gives us to enjoy). The Bible warns about doctrines of demons that run along those legalistic lines. And if we want to be more spiritual, we won't have success if we follow the self-centered asceticism of Catholics, which yields an appearance of holiness without a Christ-like life. Asceticism almost always leads to the flesh trying to act spiritual without the power of the Holy Spirit. Why do you want to revive asceticism?
2019-01-29 10:42:24
Owen
Thomas, Thanks for the comment and questions. I appreciate you taking time to interact. Since you brought up several issues about which others may wondering, I will reply at some length. First, it may be helpful to point out that the word âasceticismâ is not an exclusively Roman Catholic word. This word was part of Christian vocabulary long before the bishop of Rome split off (AD 1054) to become the Roman Catholic Church. In other words, while some Protestants may associate âasceticismâ with the Roman church, its heritage is much older, extending back to when the church was one. I understand some Protestants may attach negative connotations to the word âasceticism.â My post was meant to dispel some of these. For instance, the Greek verb askeó simply means âto practiceâ or âto exercise,â a concept drawn from the world of athletic training. Accordingly, the New Testament uses athletic imagery many times as an analogy for the Christian life. The apostle Paul does this in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, 2 Timothy 2:5 and 4:7-8. The NT actually only uses the Greek word for âasceticismâ once, in Acts 24:16. The King James lets the Greek shine through: âAnd herein do I exercise (askeó) myself, to have always a conscience void to offense toward God, and toward men.â Folks often point to Colossians 2:18 as a proof text against asceticism. However, the word askeó is not present in the Greek. Because of the negative connotations which some have attached to âasceticism,â the word is wrongly used to translate Paulâs condemnatory remarks in Colossians 2. Authentic Christian asceticism is not at issue in Colossians 2. False asceticism does have a certain appearance before men as being spiritual (Col 2:23), but true asceticism is what Christ describes in the Sermon on the Mount, to be practiced in secret: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. We are called to deny ourselves of more than sinful activities, the most obvious example being fasting from food, which Christ expects his disciples to do. Even more, the ultimate form of asceticism is martyrdom, to which Christ also calls his disciples: âDeny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.â Whether or not we physically die for Christ or not, we should all be ready to deny ourselves in this way. Indeed, the martyrs in the early centuries of the Church (known as âathletesâ) denied themselves the pleasure of life itself for the sake of Christ. More could be said, but the reason I want to revive asceticism is that itâs central to the biblical vision of discipleship. Just think, the man who is most vividly described in the NT as living an ascetic lifestyle, John the Baptizer, has Jesus say this about him: âamong those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater.â John strictly denied himself many permissible pleasures which God gives us to enjoy, all for the sake of the Kingdom, and he ultimately denied himself the pleasure of life itself for Christ. We deny ourselves the pleasures of this life, not because asceticism is a good thing of itself, or because creation is somehow evil, but because training in self-denial helps us toward salvation. It helps us train ourselves, by the grace of God, to be self-controlled in all things and thus to resist temptation and persevere in faith to the end. This is exactly what Paul said of his own experience: I discipline my body now, so that I won't be disqualified in the end â so that I can finally obtain the imperishable wreath of victory.
2019-01-30 12:35:17
Michael R Pope
Brother Owen, I truly appreciate and commend your response to our brother in Christ, Thomas. It was, I believe, heartfelt, seasoned with God's grace, and theologically sound! :-)
2019-02-01 08:33:00
Owen
Michael, Thanks for the encouragement and for following the conversation. You may also enjoy the current conversation over at Doug Ponder's latest post (here: https://cfc.sebts.edu/faith-and-culture/marie-kondo-cant-spark-true-joy/). If you're interested, he and I have discussed these kind of things before (here: https://cfc.sebts.edu/faith-and-culture/eat-drink-and-be-merry-a-bittersweet-tribute-to-anthony-bourdain/). Grace to you!
2019-02-02 09:21:22
PeterD
Thanks, Owen. I do very much appreciate your above thoughts and emphasis toward "detachment from the world." In terms of Jesus's parable of the sower of the seed (Matt 13), I've understood most of non-churched America and a significant portion of those active in the church of America to have hearts characterized by the seed sown on thorny soil. Since you referenced above Didache 8 and used Paul's athletic metaphor, you might also enjoy this thought from Ignatius of Antioch: http://gracelivedout.org/the-mark-of-a-great-athlete-and-christian-leader/ For those of us who know you, we'd say you are not "running aimlessly" but rather daily growing in "athletic" skillfulness and capacity, running the race set before you.