Understanding Asceticism

Nowhere does Scripture consider poverty inherently virtuous.  God cares for the poor - but out of His compassion, not based on their merit.  It is just as erroneous to view poverty as a sign of spirituality as to view wealth that way --

The Lord makes some poor and others rich;
he brings some down and lifts others up. - 1 Samuel 2:7

The ideal state is somewhere between poverty and riches --

First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches!
Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.
For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?”
And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name. - Proverbs 30:8-9

 It's one thing to wish to please God but another to try to earn one's standing before Him through self-denial.  The ascetic lifestyle can be a bid to impress God and others with our spirituality.  Christ condemned the Pharisees for trying to impress people with their public self-denial of giving, prayer, and fasting.  Impure motives can drive ascetics as strongly as materialists.

We must realise that only suffering that is divinely ordained - and therefore purposeful - is godly, not suffering per se.  God is glorified when our suffering is brought about by our faithfulness to Christ, not when we bring it upon ourselves by attempting to appear faithful.

Although Satan, the other fallen angels, and unredeemed humanity will suffer in hell for eternity, their suffering will have no atoning value.  God may use our suffering to extend His grace and build our character, and in that sense purify us, but not to atone for our guilt.

If every Christian adopted the monastic practice of retreating from society to escape material temptations, how would people in most walks of life be reached with the gospel?  Paul makes it clear that part of our calling in this world is to rub shoulders with non-Christians, regardless of their sins and lifestyles.  We must be actively involved in the lives of others, and therefore present in their world.  As Jesus said --

I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.  They do not belong to this world any more than I do. - John 17:15-16

 Many people expect to find peace, purity and holiness in an ascetic lifestyle.  Paul warned against the inaccurate assumptions underlying asceticism and the abuses it fosters in his first letter to Timothy.  He also warned that asceticism does not accomplish its purpose --

These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.           Colossians 2:23

Union with Christ, not self-deprivation, is the foundation of holiness.

Jesus lived simply, but He was not ascetic.  Some people condemned Jesus for associating with gluttons and drunkards.  He not only drank wine, He made wine for a wedding celebration.  He moved with equal ease among the poor, such as John the Baptist and Bartimaeus, and the wealthy, such as Mary, Martha, Lazarus, Nicodemus, Zacchaeus and Joseph of Arimathea.  Jesus accepted material support from wealthy women and He gratefully accepted the extravagant anointing of His body with an expensive perfume.

Toward a New Asceticism