Ray Ortlund:
As Francis Schaeffer used to remind us, the devil rarely gives us the luxury of fighting on one front only. We see a monster over on one side wanting to devour us, and we back away in dread. But if we’re not paying attention, we can walk right into the jaws of the other monster waiting for us over on the other side. We often fight on two fronts at once.
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.
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