When my husband was in college, he and his roommates were captivated by Christian asceticism. “Beat my body and make it my own,” was one of their mottos. This discipline mostly translated into not sleeping much and fasting from meals on a regular basis. It seemed a bit silly to me at the time. “Honor God with your body,” I would retort. “Take care of yourself. Get some sleep!”
Our culture picks and chooses areas of self-denial. Patrick Deneen has a great article, “Appetite Control” in which he contrasts our consumption of food and of sex. His article made me think about Lent, and about the twin poles of asceticism and hedonism.
There are problems with Christian asceticism, problems of forgoing God’s grace and the freedom to enjoy God’s good creation. But there are also problems with Christian hedonism, with thinking that God’s grace and freedom mean license to do whatever we want whenever we want.
At its best, then, spiritual disciplines, like fasting, or regular times of prayer, or stewardship of money, ought to be reminders that our bodies tend to betray our spirits. And as we learn, by the power of the Spirit, to control our appetites, we learn what it means to live with an integration of body and spirit, under the gracious power of God.
My personal Lenten practice (forgoing my regular glass of wine with dinner) only highlights how very controlled I am by my body. Because truth be told, most nights, I really want that glass of wine. And, truth be told, the theoretical benefits of self-denial do not feel like they are worth it. But I’m trusting that my body is wrong, in this case, and the spiritual discipline will make a difference.
I know I won’t end up an ascetic. I enjoy the feast too much, and I think that’s in keeping with the abundance of God’s goodness and grace in this world. But I hope I won’t end up a hedonist either. I hope my true self–the one God created as an integrated whole of body, mind, and spirit–will be nourished by this Lenten discipline. And that this self, in step with the Spirit, will become more and more free.
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