Who knows what a Stylite is? Anybody? (I'll bet John Wollwerth knows.) The Stylites took the asceticism to its logical conclusion, choosing to live their lives perched on columns. Yes, really! In the Byzantine Empire in the third and fourth centuries, some of the devout read in their Bibles that Jesus sometimes left the crowds to get away and pray, and decided to pursue their own holiness by leaving society. They became hermits, dedicated to living in solitude. Or, they banded together and lived in community as monks in out of the way deserts. The Orthodox church refers to them as The Desert Fathers. They looked at Christ's sufferings and at scripture references saying suffering WOULD come, and passages such as 2 Timothy 2:1, where Paul tells Timothy to "endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus," and twisted it to mean that suffering SHOULD come. Which is totally different!
The most famous of the Stylites was St. Simeon, who was born in 390 and at around age 40, he decided to get away from it all by chaining himself on top of a 60' column. His devotees sent up food, and he stayed up there 37 years... You can read about him at: https://aleteia.org/2020/03/27/you-think-youre-bored-at-home-st-simeon-stylites-lived-on-top-of-a-column-for-37-years/
Other ascetics took vows of poverty, of silence, chose to wear rough and uncomfortable clothing, or to live their days out in tiny cells where they couldn't walk upright or stretch out. Suffering for Christ, you know! And it was so... so foolish and unnecessary. Pain is a normal part of life, and for everyone at different times. But to CHOOSE to be in pain, equating it with holiness? Such nonsense!
Other "church people" went in the opposite direction, seeking beauty and luxury, and used their position for their own gain. Interestingly, you can physically see the difference in religious philosophy in church architecture! In the medieval period, two influential Christian leaders were Saint Bernard of Clairvaux and Abbot Suger of Saint Denis. They could not have been more different. Bernard was an Ascetic, (and a militant, he co-founded the Knights Templars and preached the 2nd Crusade!) His church buildings tended to be very plain, just windows to let light in, and few decorations, if any. Also, nowhere to sit, because if you got comfortable, you might fall asleep during the sermon! (I'm speculating.) You can read about him at https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Bernard-of-Clairvaux
In contrast, Abbot Suger decided that earthly light and earthly beauty equated with heavenly light and heavenly beauty (huh?) and became obsessed with Nice Things, particularly stained glass. Stained glass was actually an important innovation, because it was used like a flannel board in Sunday School. Most people couldn't read and the Bible was considered only for the priests, but stained glass was used to illustrate Bible Stories. People would see the scenes from the Bible, right there on the wall, and they would remember. But here was the problem: The roof of a big hall is heavy. But instead of the weight wanting to go straight down, it wants to spread outward. If you don't build thick heavy walls, the roof will push the walls outward and the whole thing will collapse. But thick walls means you can only have tiny little windows, so your church is dark and gloomy. Making what little light is available come through stained glass reduces available light even further, so what to do? Suger had an idea. If you could buttress just PORTIONS of the wall by making just those sections extra thick, then you could support the roof AND have big stained glass windows. And thus, Gothic Architecture was born... You can read about him at http://scihi.org/abbot-suger-gothic-style/ and elsewhere.
Neither focusing on gaining wealth or on willful poverty leads to godliness, and neither is particularly attractive to unbelievers. The pursuit of wealth in the name of God really grinds my gears, so I wrote about it. Nobody I know deliberately pursues poverty, but modern Christian asceticism-- leaving the "world" in the name of Separation is perhaps even more harmful.
Christian fundamentalists like to quote 1 Corinthians 6:14-18:
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers, for
what do righteousness and wickedness have in
common? Or what fellowship can light have with
darkness? What harmony is there between Christ
and Belial? What does a believer have in common
with and unbeliever? What agreement is there
between the temple of God and idols? For we are
the temple of the living God. As God has said, "I
will live with them and walk among them, and I will
be their God, and they will be my people."
"Therefore come out from among them
and be separate,
says the Lord.
"Touch no unclean thing,
and I will receive you."
"I will be a Father to you,
and you will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty."
But their application leads to them separating themselves not just "from Sin and the World," but from other CHRISTIANS that don't believe exactly as they do. Some of these Christians are in church since infancy, go to a Christian school K-12, go to their denomination's Bible College, teach in a Christian school or work in a Christian ministry, and bowl in the church league. Their day to day lives are spent entirely with other believers, and their only interaction with people not like them is arguing on Facebook, buying groceries, or pumping gas. And thank God we have self-checkout! We are to be salt and light, and if we only have friendships with those exactly like us, what earthly good are we?
I really enjoy the music of Christian singer/songwriter Sara Groves. Sara Groves has a song that addresses this tendency, titled "To the Moon." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyWS6ZxCbEE
It was there in the bulletin
We're leaving soon
After the bake sale to raise funds for fuel
The rocket is ready and we're going to
Take our church to the moon
There'll be no one there to tell us we're odd
No one to change our opinions of God
Just lots of rocks and this dusty sod
Here at our church on the moon
We know our liberties we know our rights
We know how to fight a very good fight
Just get that last bag there and turn out the light
We're taking our church to the moon
We're taking our church to the moon
We'll be leaving soon
So, where am I going with this?
Balance. In my last blog post, I wrote about ostentatious wealth NOT being the mark of God's favor. But neither is poverty. Neither is an ideal place to be, because life at both extremes risks drawing your attention away from God and onto one's current situation.
Singer/Songwriter Margaret Becker wrote a really great song called Solomon's Shoes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oxyi3jD_l0g
Living hungry on soup and dreams
Nothing left to lose
It seemed so simple then
When there wasn't a lot to choose
Every day was like a year
There was lots of time
To see things clear
But then the blessing brought me here
Still swinging in Solomon's shoes
Still swinging in Solomon's shoes
Things have changed a lot for me
I don't worry about my rent
I pay it on time, I pick and choose
How every dime gets spent
Guess there's nothing wrong with being blessed
It should be the same
Both more and less
I haven't found the balance yet
Still swinging in Solomon's shoes
Still swinging in Solomon's shoes
Solomon was the wisest man
But I guess not wise enough
He forgot the Blesser
When the blessing were too much
Now I know I swing with Solomon
Between the left and right
How I wish that I could find a place
Where I'd be satisfied
(Don't wanna deny You, don't wanna turn from You)
Still swinging in Solomon's shoes
Still swinging in Solomon's shoes
So what to do? If you are able to improve your financial situation through diligence and hard work, than you should certainly do so. God calls us to be good stewards of the resources he puts in our control. It's His, it's ALL His, but he expects us to be good custodians, just like Adam in the Garden. For some, this may look like owning property. For others, property ownership and the accompanying mortgage is an anchor, a millstone around their neck. God may have desired to SEND them places, but now they are encumbered by stuff and debt. Only you can know for yourself which it is for you. And it may change over time, as God brings you into a new season in your life. Ask God about it, and I believe he will show you. I really like Paul's commentary in Philippians 4:10-13:
"I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have
renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have
been concerned, but you had no opportunity to
show it. I am not saying this because I am in need,
for I have learned to be content whatever the
circumstances. I know what it is to be in need,
and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned
the secret of being content in any and every
situation, whether fed or hungry, whether living in
plenty or in want. I can do everything through him
who give me strength."
I leave you with the traditional Irish Blessing:
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields
and until we meet again, may God
hold you in the palm of His hand.
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