The
City On A Hill
Money, Sex & Power: The Challenge of the Disciplined Life
Archaic. Quaint. Words that echo reverberations of a pre-modern epoch - depictions that sing of a time long ago -before the time of the MTV generation.
In today's world, the follower of Christ is waging a much more tedious battle against the forces that be. Imbibed with the cherished values of our faith that seem to go against the contemporary currents of hedonistic living, we are viciously attacked on all sides.
No wonder Richard Foster's classic book is pulsating with relevance even now. Money, Sex and Power is a work that hearkens to the call of the saints of long ago, a gentle cry of hope in the turbulence of our times.
Through his book, Foster brings us to an awareness of the power of living simply. After introducing the titillating trio of money, sex and power from Christ's perspective, Foster buttresses us with mammon's evils as well as its graces, and the concept of using instead of serving mammon in our businesses and our sacred work.
The allure of sexual pleasure is another Achilles' heel that has plagued mankind for eons. God created us as sexual beings - and to divorce sexuality from our innate spirituality is to envelope us in tragedy.
Inundated with a plethora of sexual imagery and fantasy from the mass media, even the marriage bed has to be kept sacrosanct with some effort, especially in times like these that command so much from a man to keep his eyes to himself instead of wandering off tangent.
Plumbing the pages jerks me into realizing the spirituality of the conjugal relationship and the holy power of covenantal sex. His depiction of pornography as a distortion of genuine sexuality is blisteringly discerning, and a slap in the face as I myself have been guilty of the occasional surreptitious peek. Honestly, if you are a male in today's society, unless you are a saint, you must have traversed the treacherous waters of porn.
Foster crowns the issue of sexuality with the principle of fidelity (after engaging the single as well as the married person on sex), practiced in a marriage, singlehood or the church - and here comes the bomb! In his words, "It is quite possible to admire beauty of face and figure without lust. We can learn to enjoy... the curve of hips and legs, without leering and lusting. They are lovely gifts from the Creator's hand."
Not wanting to misquote him, what Foster means is the genuine wholesome appreciation of beauty, instead of the withdrawal for fear of lust. We can all appreciate that handsome hunk in campus, or that drop-dead gorgeous babe at the mall without the lust that tags along. The enjoyment of beauty need not be wicked, only controlled. It's beauty without lust - sensuousness without sensuality.
For you singles out there - heed that! As for me, the apex of my appreciation will be towards my wife - crowned in the mutual dance of love in the silence of the night.
Reaching the final lap of the book brings us full circle to the final entity called power. His expositions on the powers that destroy are a stark reminder of the very primordial bonds that bind us - the craving for control and mastery.
As money hits our pocketbook and sex ravages our bedroom, power erects walls in our relationships. There is power that does good - Foster calls it creative power. Through it we can build bridges and create hope for the world. Through it there can be a ministry of power - through the final principle of service. To serve is the ultimate power of all, the power that Christ practiced in His life on earth.
As the vanguard of virtue and order in a world of chaos, we have to strive to uphold the three vows of simplicity, fidelity and service.
Yes, it can be very difficult. Yes, it can be an uphill task to undertake. However, Christ has overcome the world more than two millennia ago.
So can we - the city on a hill, the light of the world.
Benjamin Chew handles marketing communications in SKS Books Warehouse, a Christian bookstore in Singapore. He attends and serves at Church of God (Evangelical). Benjamin is a voracious reader, passionate about writing, and enjoys watching movies. He is the proud father of Samuel and newborn Sarah.