Chapter 11 – Pole-Sitting, Idolatry, or Neither

With all this talk of finding our happiness in God, there is a danger of going to the other extreme and swearing off everything in the world as “worldly” and to be shunned. For example, in the early church there were “Desert Fathers” who denied the “worldly” pleasures of life. Simeon Stylites (c. A.D. 390–459) was a monk who practiced such ascetic habits as standing upright until he collapsed from exhaustion and abstaining from literally all food and drink during Lent. He eventually chose to live on top of a 50-foot pole covered in maggots. 

Paul had foolish ascetic practices in mind when he wrote this to the Colossians, “These [ascetic practices] have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” (Colossians 2:23 ).

John Calvin addressed ascetic practices this way. “In despising the gifts, we insult the Giver.” 

Imagine giving a bike to your child as a Christmas present. You desire them to be happy and filled with joy, but they stoically say, “No thank you. You are all I need. Just give me a crust of bread, water, and a change of raiment, and I shall be satisfied with you alone.” I would be insulted. I want to bring my child joy through a gift, yet they have rejected it. 

Now the other extreme would be for the child to jump for joy over the bike, never say thank-you, ride it all the time, and never give you the time of day. The bike now has become an idol. 

The first example insults the giver by refusing the gift; the second example insults the giver by turning the gift into an idol. 

In Chapter 11, Alcorn hits the target in the center when he gives this principle. 

WE SHOULDN’T SEEK THE GIVER INSTEAD OF THE GIFTS; 

WE SHOULD SEEK THE GIVER THROUGH THE GIFTS.

This mindset enables us to graciously enjoy all God has given us (1 Tim 6:17) but not turn those gifts into idols. In fact, enjoying God’s good gifts as gifts allows us to spend our days worshiping God through out the day. “Thank you for that gift of that good coffee, this warm house, this car that gets me from point A to B, my wife, this meal, my friends. Thank you, Father, for being the giver of such good gifts!” 

Q – How do we know when we have fallen into asceticism or idolatry?