The Absurdity of Asceticism

As stated in my last post I'll mention (5) further myths about money pushed by those on other areas different from prosperity preachers. When I say ascetic I mean that a person is somehow closer to God based on how little they have in this life or give up to prove their righteousness or holiness. Avoidance of money and comforts is completely unnecessary and frankly stupid. Living a monk like existence is not necessary as a believer and in truth only amounts to an act of 'works' salvation which is also unbiblical. God came so that we might have life and have life more fully (John 10:10). So, to rob one's self of that life hiding away and not spending hard earned money and living well is foolishness and a squandering of the life God gave. As God has said in the Bible, don’t do things purposely to draw attention to yourself to show what you’ve given up. Jesus also told the parable of the talents which discussed wise use of money also (Matthew 25:14–30).

Matthew 6:16-18 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

In other words Jesus told us not to be ostentatious about our sacrifices and suffering. This of course is the opposite end of the spectrum from the prosperity pimps like Kenneth Hagan and Joel Osteen. The opposite of greed can also be a sin. To have Christians believe that all Christians should be ascetic and poor, struggling from check to check is not the core message of Scripture. This isn’t true or fair to those who have indeed worked hard to support those they love and care about. At the same time we can’t frivolously spend away money that was likely blessed to us by God for a godly use either. The extreme of budgets and penny-pinching is not where God and God’s word resides on these issues. It’s in the middle most times and it is the ideas of moderation and humility that are the key to God’s economy.

Myth One: Money is the root of all evil, hence the nicknames "filthy lucre" or "unrighteous mammon." Therefore, it's better for Christians simply not to focus on making money, which is at best a necessary evil. What Paul actually says is that the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil. In other words, it is the attitude of one's heart towards money that is being critiqued, which includes the sin of greed. Money in itself is symbolic and just a means of exchange. It is no more inherently evil than any other material thing God created. The warnings in the Bible, however, remind us that fallen human beings find things like money a great temptation and can lead to various and detrimental indulgences. This is why Jesus called such resources "unrighteous mammon". This being the case, a very cautious approach to money is in order; we need to be reflective about how and why we think we need more money or wish to purchase this or that thing. No mindless indulgence but not abstinence in fear either.

Myth Two: Lending money at interest is not a problem for those who see the Bible as the Word of God. There are in fact numerous strictures in the Old Testament that speak to the issue of believers lending money or resources to other believers and charging interest. What the Bible does not say is that it is wrong to charge interest to nonbelievers. The general tone of the Old Testament teaching on this subject suggest that if someone is a member of one's community, even if they are “a stranger in the land, "charging interest is probably disallowed, or at least discouraged. We can also turn this around and ask about the ethics of speculation and trying to procure huge rates of interest or return on one's money.

Is it right for a Christian to play the stock market, buying low and selling high? The Bible says nothing directly about this. There were no stock markets in ancient economies. But the overall impression one gets is that whatever severs the connection between work and reward, between an honest day's pay for an honest day's work, is not a good thing. Speculation is too often an attempt to reap enormous rewards with very little effort or investment of time, money, and skill. This seems to run counter to the ethic of work various parts of the Bible.

Myth Three: As long as I am thankful and know where my blessings come from, maintaining an attitude of gratitude towards God, I can do whatever I please with my money, within certain obvious ethical bounds (e.g., not squandering it on sexually immoral practices). This is profoundly false. The resources we have are indeed blessings from God, thus it is all the more necessary and expected that we treat them as God's resources and ask the question, what would please God in the disposition of the resources I have been given? This is why James and others accused Christians of stealing from the poor, the widow, and the orphan when they engage in conspicuous consumption or an opulent showy lifestyle.

Myth Four: Since we are saved by grace through faith, God will not hold us responsible for what we do with our money. This is false, and a variant of the notion that since salvation is by grace, there is no accountability for deeds of any kind done after conversion. This way of thinking is a direct contradiction of texts like 2 Corinthians 5, which remind us that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account of the deeds we have done in the body. This is even more clear in the parable of the sheep and the goats, where Jesus berates his own disciples for not visiting him in prison, feeding him, and the like, and then says, "inasmuch as you have not done it to the least of these, you haven't done it to me." Jesus identifies with the plight of the poor and needy, and expects us to do the same.

Myth Five: As a tithing Christian, I am free to do as I like with the percent I have not given to God. In the first place, the standard is sacrificial giving, which may mean more than a tithe in some cases. In the second place, the 90 percent still belongs to God. We are only its stewards and must use it in accordance with God's will. In the end, it would be wise for us to take to heart and put into practice what Paul says about a 'theology of enough', ...of godliness with contentment, which he calls "great gain.' Philippians 4:11-13 is an excellent guide for the Christian life in this sort of matter. Can we as twenty-first-century Christians learn to be content, whatever our material circumstances? Or will we succumb to the siren song of advertisements that suggest to us all sorts of things we have to have, when in fact they are not necessities of life at all?

The real secret about money and wealth is a simple question. Can we learn the secret of being content whether in plenty or in want? Paul says he learned to be content as a Christian in times of plenty as well as times of want. My prayer is that we too would learn this secret of contentment regardless of how much money we do or don’t have