Today we fight against materialism, especially the so-called Prosperity Gospel. But there is also the danger of asceticism, the super-spirituality that denies the goodness of God in all things. An almost endearingly absurd instance was Simeon the Stylite (c. 390-459), who lived in austerity for 36 years on top of a pillar, elevated above ordinary life. This “holiness” is attractive, in a way. It’s serious. But it’s also fraudulent. It tells an audacious lie about God and about us.
The truth is, everything created by God is good and is to be received by us gratefully. This beautiful truth includes marriage and sex and food and mowing the lawn and flying a kite and paying the bills and sharpening a pencil and sitting on the porch in the evening and playing Monopoly with the kids and laughing at hilarious jokes and setting up chairs at church, and so forth. There is so much divine goodness all around. To push it away, to be above it, would insult our gracious Creator.
Our very earthly human existence is where true holiness can thrive. How? By thanking the Lord for it moment by moment, and by applying the word of God to it moment by moment. It is written, “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).
Not ultimate, but good. Good enough for God. Good enough for us too.
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