Finger Rings - The Instructor on a compendious view of the Christian life

This is a continuation of my series on Clement of Alexandria and his book, "The Instructor." If you are new to this series or are unfamiliar with Clement and his book, you may want to first read the introduction to this series. You may also want to read my introduction to this chapter as it will help you understand his views in this area.

"The Word, then, permits them a finger-ring of gold. Nor is this for ornament, but for sealing things which are worth keeping safe in the house in the exercise of their charge of housekeeping. For if all were well trained, there would be no need of seals, if servants and masters were equally honest. But since want of training produces an inclination to dishonesty, we require seals... And if it is necessary for us, while engaged in public business, or discharging other avocations in the country, and often away from our wives, to seal anything for the sake of safety, He (the Word) allows us a signet for this purpose only. Other finger-rings are to be cast off, since, according to the Scripture, 'instruction is a golden ornament for a wise man." (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 11)

Signet rings were rings that bore an image that when pressed against an object, or dipped in some form of ink, left a recognizable impression behind. They were used for many different purposes in Clement's day. They were used to conduct business by either signing a document or sealing correspondence. They were also used to indicate that the bearer had authority to conduct business on behalf of the one whose signet ring they wore. Finally, they were also used to mark objects as being owned by the wearer so as to prevent theft or enable the recovery of lost or stolen object. In Clement's mind, simplicity and frugality demanded that things be valued based on their utility rather than their vanity. Because signet rings served a purpose, they were allowed, as opposed to other rings whose use was merely for show.

"But there are circumstances in which this strictness may relaxed. For allowance must sometimes be made in favour of those women who have not been fortunate in falling in with chaste husbands, and adorn themselves in order to please their husbands. But let desire for the admiration of their husbands alone be proposed as their aim. I would not have them to devote themselves to personal display, but to attract their husbands by chaste love for them—a powerful and legitimate charm. But since they wish their wives to be unhappy in mind, let the latter, if they would be chaste, make it their aim to allay by degrees the irrational impulses and passions of their husbands. And they are to be gently drawn to simplicity, by gradually accustoming them to sobriety. For decency is not produced by the imposition of what is burdensome, but by the abstraction of excess." (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 11)

Clement understood that not all women were fortunate enough to be married to a good and understanding husband, rather they were married to husbands who would make demands or have expectations regarding how their wives should dress in order to please them. Their concern was not for their wife but themselves, to please themselves rather than pleasing their wife. These were men who could only see the outer beauty and were ignorant of their wive's true beauty, a beauty that lay within. Clement understood that, in such cases, marital harmony and bliss were to trump frugality and simplicity, thus allowing the wife to respond in a proper and chase way to her husband. However, such compliance was to have as its goal the winning over of her husband to a view that is more godlike and more representative of the Gospel she espouses, and that such persuasion should be gentle and gradual, not forced and coerced. As Peter put it, "In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior." (1 Peter 3:1-2)

That being said, as husbands we must take care not to grieve our wive or make them "unhappy in mind." When we lay expectations and demands on our wives, especially as relates to external dress or appearances, we impugn their true beauty and treat them as less than human and as being inferior in their creation by God. Often, as men, we hold the key to our wives heath of mind, her self image, and her joy in her marriage to us. We must always see them as God does, for the beautiful work of creation they are, and always seek to release them from our carnal expectations of them, that they may be free to become whom God has called them to be.

"But women who wear gold seem to me to be afraid, lest, if one strip them of their jewellery, they should be taken for servants, without their ornaments. But the nobility of truth, discovered in the native beauty which has its seat in the soul, judges the slave not by buying and selling, but by a servile disposition. And it is incumbent on us not to seem, but to be free, trained by God, adopted by God. Wherefore we must adopt a mode of standing and motion, and a step, and dress, and in a word, a mode of life, in all respects as worthy as possible of freemen." (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 11)

Sometimes our outward comportment is, either consciously or unconsciously, done for the purpose of making sure people see us for who we are (or wish we are) or in an attempt to portray ourselves in a particular light. For example, people who dress flashy or with much finery so that people will see and understand that they are wealthy. However, doing so only serves to show our own insecurities about who we are and our need for people to see us and to approve of us. If we understand that Jesus knows us and accepts us, why do we seek the recognition and acceptance of men?

My dad has a PhD and was department chair at the college in our town. However, having nine children, he and my mom did a morning paper route for several years to make ends meet. During the route they would stop in at a for a cup of coffee at a local hangout that was frequented by many of the farmers in our area. Dressed for delivering papers, when he told them he worked at the college they just assumed he worked on the grounds or doing maintenance, not knowing he was a highly educated and popular teacher on campus. Their failure to recognize his as a teach always amused him and he never told them the truth. He just kept on letting them believe he was the janitor and enjoyed his coffee with them. When you are secure in God's love for you, you care little about what others think.

Finally, Clement urges us to adopt a way of life that would express outwardly the inward reality we possess. Paul put it this way, "Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called." (Ephesians 4:1) We are called to live a life that is worthy of our calling in God; not that we might become worthy, but because we already are worth. Everything about us, how we walk, carry ourselves, speak, interact with others, dress, eat, relax, should all be done in a way that shows forth the truth of who we are and in a way that brings glory to God. It is not enough to conceal righteousness within us, we are to, as Jesus said, "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16) All of our life and all that we do are holy, therefore let this be the guiding truth in all we do and who we are.

David Robison

Ear Rings - The Instructor on a compendious view of the Christian life

This is a continuation of my series on Clement of Alexandria and his book, "The Instructor." If you are new to this series or are unfamiliar with Clement and his book, you may want to first read the introduction to this series. You may also want to read my introduction to this chapter as it will help you understand his views in this area.

"The Word prohibits us from doing violence to nature by boring the lobes of the ears. For why not the nose too?—so that, what was spoken, may be fulfilled: 'As an ear-ring in a swine’s nose, so is beauty to a woman without discretion.' For, in a word, if one thinks himself made beautiful by gold, he is inferior to gold; and he that is inferior to gold is not lord of it. But to confess one’s self less ornamental than the Lydian ore, how monstrous! As, then, the gold is polluted by the dirtiness of the sow, which stirs up the mire with her snout, so those women that are luxurious to excess in their wantonness, elated by wealth, dishonour by the stains of amatory indulgences what is the true beauty." (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 11)

It is hard for us to understand Clement's concerns with jewelry when we live in a culture where such ornamentation is so common place and, in many ways, taken for granted. In Clement's day, such display of jewelry were mainly reserved for the very right and the meretricious. Still, Clement's concerns center around two issues of the heart.

The first is how we perceive nature and what is "natural." Clement believed that there is that which nature can teach is about how we aught to live. Appropriating God's wisdom is, in part, about understanding how we were made and how we were meant to live. A life of righteousness is not just right because it is conformant with God's laws, but it is right because it is conformant with how God made us to live. To live according to our God given "nature" is to live rightly and according to righteousness since we were made for righteousness and not sin.

This idea that nature has something to teach us was an idea that Paul taught as well. "Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him, but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her for a covering." (1 Corinthians 11:14-15) In Clement's mind, understanding that we were created a certain way, it would be wrong to do "violence" to our created nature. In other words, why should we pierce what nature had not pierced.

Certainly this may be a debatable point, but still it is a thought worth considering. Most believers believe in the sanctity of life, but is there also a sanctity of nature? This question becomes even more poignant when we combine it with Clements second heart issue: the false assumption that we must dress up the body to be beautiful. When we believe that we need jewelry and ornamentation to become beautiful, we not only devalue ourselves but also the work of God, that being our bodies. At what point does our attempts to dress up the body become dishonorable to God? At what point does it become pride to presume that we know better than God what it means to be beautiful? In our attempts to "modify" our bodies by piercing and other methods do we condemn God as having created that which is less than beautiful?

Each of us must decide regarding our outward appearance as to what is honorable and pleasing to the Lord, but such a decision can only find truth with God once we come to understand and accept that He has created us and we are beautiful in His sight. Only when we are secure in His love and His estimation of us are we free to decide regarding the matters of the body and of beauty.

David Robison

Clothes - The Instructor on a compendious view of the Christian life

This is a continuation of my series on Clement of Alexandria and his book, "The Instructor." If you are new to this series or are unfamiliar with Clement and his book, you may want to first read the introduction to this series. You may also want to read my introduction to this chapter as it will help you understand his views in this area.

"The Instructor permits us, then, to use simple clothing, and of a white colour, as we said before. So that, accommodating ourselves not to variegated art, but to nature as it is produced, and pushing away whatever is deceptive and belies the truth, we may embrace the uniformity and simplicity of the truth... For, as in the case of the soldier, the sailor, and the ruler, so also the proper dress of the temperate man is what is plain, becoming, and clean." (Clement of Alexandria, Book 3, Chapter 11)

Christians taking to wearing all white, especially after Labor Day, would certainly make them stand out and appear very odd. However, in Clement's day, it was not that uncommon. Many people wore clothes of white or tan, simple cloths of natural color. Clement is not calling us to become an oddity in our communities but rather to prefer natural colors and fibers so that we will not be tempted into superfluity, extravagances, or dressing for show. Dress was to be plain, becoming, and clean; well suited for our life and meeting the purposes dress such as that for covering and warmth. Anything beyond this was excess whose end was not towards good for man and woman given to a life of holiness.

"As, then, signs, which are very closely allied to causes, by their presence indicate, or rather demonstrate, the existence of the result; as smoke is the sign of fire, and a good complexion and a regular pulse of health; so also clothing of this description shows the character of our habits. Temperance is pure and simple; since purity is a habit which ensures pure conduct unmixed with what is base. Simplicity is a habit which does away with superfluities... It also (temperance) is contented. And contentment is a habit which dispenses with superfluities, and, that there may be no failure, is receptive of what suffices for the healthful and blessed life according to the Word." (Clement of Alexandria, Book 3, Chapter 11)

Our cloths represent ourselves. Some cloths show forth our wealth and our love of finery. Others serve to align ourselves with a certain segment of society, for example, dress that is indicative of the Gothic subculture in America. Some dress shows our affinity for a group or cause that may or may not be in keeping with our Christian morals. For example, wearing a T-Shirt bearing the logo or likeness of a music group whose music and lyrics are decidedly anti-Christian. Clement calls us to chose dress that is in keeping with our Christian character, such as, purity, simplicity, and temperance. How can we claim a habit of purity when our dress states otherwise or how can we feign temperance when we use extravagance of dress?

"Let the women wear a plain and becoming dress, but softer than what is suitable for a man, yet not quite immodest or entirely gone in luxury. And let the garments be suited to age, person, figure, nature, pursuits. For the divine apostle most beautifully counsels us 'to put on Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the lusts of the flesh.'" (Clement of Alexandria, Book 3, Chapter 11)

Here is the end of the matter. The issue at hand is, how does our dress reflect upon our Christianity and upon Christ? If, when we got dressed each morning, we saw ourselves as "putting on" Christ, how would that change the way we dress? If we saw our dress as reflecting the degree to which we bear His image and likeness, how would that change our behavior as it relates to cloths? If we have experienced a change on the inside through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, is it reasonable to assume that that change would also produce (and even necessitate) a change on the outside? Perhaps there does need to be a rethinking of our dress and how we present ourselves to the world.

David Robison

Life in short - The Instructor on a compendious view of the Christian life

This is a continuation of my series on Clement of Alexandria and his book, "The Instructor." If you are new to this series or are unfamiliar with Clement and his book, you may want to first read the introduction to this series.

"Wherefore the wearing of gold and the use of softer clothing is not to be entirely prohibited. But irrational impulses must be curbed, lest, carrying us away through excessive relaxation, they impel us to voluptuousness. For luxury, that has dashed on to surfeit, is prone to kick up its heels and toss its mane, and shake off the charioteer, the Instructor; who, pulling back the reins from far, leads and drives to salvation the human horse—that is, the irrational part of the soul—which is wildly bent on pleasures, and vicious appetites, and precious stones, and gold, and variety of dress, and other luxuries." (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 11)

As Clement nears the end of his book, he takes to summarizing what he has previously said through a series of short dissertation describing his philosophy of what it means to live a Christian life. It is a compendium of thoughts and goals for a life lived in humility, temperance, moderation, and holiness.

For some, his prescriptions may seem out dated and impractical, and, in truth, not all of his regulations translate well into the twenty first century. Literal adherence to some of his commands, instead of showing forth the glory of God, would simply server to show Christians as odd and out of place, such as his command of wearing only white. However, there is still value in examining his teachings. We grow up and live inside a culture that is often formed by influences other than the word of God. We view this culture as normal, since it is the only one we know. However, when we become sons and daughters of God and are brought into the Kingdom of God, we must learn another culture. We all bring our old culture in with us into the Kingdom and it is the work of the Instructor to teach us a new way to live and to fit us into a new culture, one of holiness and rightness. When we read Clement's injunctions, we must allow them to challenge the way we live, to use them to search our hearts for why we do certain things and why we follow the cultural norms of this world. In the end, it may not look exactly like he prescribes, but if we can catch the significance of what he is saying and use it to identify the remnants of our former life and culture, then we will arrive at the point where transformation can begin.

"Above all, we are to keep in mind what was spoken sacredly: 'Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles; that, whereas they speak against you as evil-doers, they may, by the good works which they behold, glorify God.'" (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 11)

Here is the goal of all of Clements commands, that in the end, we would be like Christ; that we would bear His image and His glory. The term "conversation" is an older usage of the word and includes the who manor of our life, our speech, our behavior, our manors, and our thoughts. God wants our whole life to give testimony of Him and to show forth to the world His Glory. The world may not like us, they may even hate us, but when we live a godly life, they won't be able to deny the rightness of our lives and, in the end, they will glorify God.

David Robison

Working out - The Instructor on exercises suited to a good life

This is a continuation of my series on Clement of Alexandria and his book, "The Instructor." If you are new to this series or are unfamiliar with Clement and his book, you may want to first read the introduction to this series.

"The gymnasium is sufficient for boys, even if a bath is within reach. And even for men to prefer gymnastic exercises by far to the baths, is perchance not bad, since they are in some respects conducive to the health of young men, and produce exertion—emulation to aim at not only a healthy habit of body, but courageousness of soul. When this is done without dragging a man away from better employments, it is pleasant, and not unprofitable." (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 10)

Paul reminds us that, "your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?" (1 Corinthians 6:19) But what good is is the body to the Holy Spirit if it is tired, worn out, and unhealthy? Our goal should be, as much as it depends upon us, that our bodies would not give out before we have completed the purpose of God for our lives; that we might remain strong in body, even to the end, that we might full fill God's purpose for our lives equally to the end. Clement understood the importance of health and the role exercise could play in strengthening our earthly bodies. Clement believed that exercise, when done in moderation, and in balance with our other responsibilities in life, could be both pleasant and profitable. He also believed that the best exercise for men was strenuous exercise as it not only benefited the body but also encouraged "courageousness of soul."

"Nor are women to be deprived of bodily exercise. But they are not to be encouraged to engage in wrestling or running, but are to exercise themselves in spinning, and weaving, and superintending the cooking if necessary. And they are, with their own hand, to fetch from the store what we require. And it is no disgrace for them to apply themselves to the mill. Nor is it a reproach to a wife—housekeeper and helpmeet—to occupy herself in cooking, so that it may be palatable to her husband... the Instructor will approve of a woman like this, who 'stretches forth her arms to useful tasks, rests her hands on the distaff, opens her hand to the pour, and extends her wrist to the beggar.'" (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 10)

Some may find Clement's views towards women offensive but it must be remembered that Clement wrote in the context of his own culture with its own social norms. Such social norms do not change overnight and often, even as Christians, we must learn to live within our society's norms even as they are ever slowly changing. What is important to understand is that Clement refuses to treat women as if they are men. He sees them as being created uniquely by God and substantially different in make up, both in body and soul. What women even today must understand is that there is no disgrace in being a woman and women do not need to become like men to have value. Hilary Clinton, while her husband was President of the United States, once said, "I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas, but what I decided to do was fulfill my profession" as if such endeavors were of little value and worthy of being despised. However Clement does not see it this way. Women who fulfill what some may see as traditional female roles are often so busy with life that their activities provide them all the necessary exercise need for a strong and healthy life.

"She who emulates Sarah is not ashamed of that highest of ministries, helping wayfarers... And innumerable such examples of frugality and self-help, and also of exercises, are furnished by the Scriptures. In the case of men, let some strip and engage in wrestling; let some play at the small ball, especially the game they call Pheninda, in the sun. To others who walk into the country, or go down into the town, the walk is sufficient exercise. And were they to handle the hoe, this stroke of economy in agricultural labour would not be ungentleman like." (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 10)

Clement acknowledges that often, a simple and active lifestyle, can provide the exercise necessary for a health life. Additionally, simply abstaining from some of the conveniences of life can provide us with the extra exercise we need, such as choosing to walk instead of taking the car.

"For such a struggle with graceful strength is more becoming and manly, being undertaken for the sake of serviceable and profitable health... We must always aim at moderation. For as it is best that labour should precede food, so to labour above measure is both very bad, very exhausting, and apt to make us ill. Neither, then, should we be idle altogether, nor completely fatigued. For similarly to what we have laid down with respect to food, are we to do everywhere and with everything. Our mode of life is not to accustom us to voluptuousness and licentiousness, nor to the opposite extreme, but to the medium between these, that which is harmonious and temperate, and free of either evil, luxury and parsimony."  (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 10)

Our lives should be well regulated, held in balance, and with a goal towards temperance, frugality, and moderation. It is not good to be a workaholic nor is it good to be slothful. It is not good to strain the body to the point of exhaustion or ill health nor is it good to be idle to the point of weakness. Balance and moderation should be our goal in both body and soul.

David Robison

Public Bathing - The Instructor on why we use the baths

This is a continuation of my series on Clement of Alexandria and his book, "The Instructor." If you are new to this series or are unfamiliar with Clement and his book, you may want to first read the introduction to this series.

"There are, then, four reasons for the bath (for from that point I digressed in my oration), for which we frequent it: for cleanliness, or heat, or health, or lastly, for pleasure. Bathing for pleasure is to be omitted. For unblushing pleasure must be cut out by the roots; and the bath is to be taken by women for cleanliness and health, by men for health alone. To bathe for the sake of heat is a superfluity, since one may restore what is frozen by the cold in other ways... Unless, then, the bath is for some use, we ought not to indulge in it." (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 9)

Clement is not talking about showering in the privacy of your own home, but the habit in his day of people frequenting public bathing houses where men and women bathed together in view of each other. Here we see clearly Clement's view that that which is done for pleasure only aught to be rejected by those who have the Spirit of Truth living inside them. To sacrifice modesty for the sake of pleasure is to loose in the exchange; giving up something of great value for that which has not lasting value here or in the life to come. Bathing for utility is permitted, as it benefits the body, but bathing for pleasure is luxury and aught to be avoided.

I do find it funny the women are allowed to bathe for cleanliness and health, but men for health alone. Clement have a very rugged view of men and found any effeminacy in men offensive. Women were to be women and men were to be men, even if they stank.

"For we must not so use the bath as to require an assistant, nor are we to bathe constantly and often in the day as we frequent the market-place. But to have the water poured over us by several people is an outrage on our neighbours, through fondness for luxuriousness, and is done by those who will not understand that the bath is common to all the bathers equally." (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 9)

Again, we must remind ourselves that Clement is not talking about hygiene or showering at home but the use of public bath houses. For some, the bath houses had become a way of life, frequenting them as often as they went to the market, not for the benefit to the body but for the pleasure of the soul. Such pleasure had at its root sensuality and an abandonment of modesty. In pursuing pleasure, the bathers did not care who saw them or who attended to their body, pleasure was first, modesty could wait outside the doors.

"But most of all is it necessary to wash the soul in the cleansing Word (sometimes the body too, on account of the dirt which gathers and grows to it, sometimes also to relieve fatigue)... The best bath, then, is what rubs off the pollution of the soul, and is spiritual... The bathing which is carnal, that is to say, of the body, is accomplished by water alone, as often in the country where there is not a bath." (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 9)

There is a place for hygiene, but it is at home, or at least away from prying eyes, where modesty can be maintained. It is also simple, tending to the needs of the body without inciting the lusts of the flesh. Luxury and the desire for pleasure are the enemies of modesty and dignity. Their path never leads to truth, happiness, or life but only death, destruction, and loss. Far better to be simple and pure than lavish and polluted.

David Robison

Training for difficulties - The Instructor on similitudes and examples in right training

This is a continuation of my series on Clement of Alexandria and his book, "The Instructor." If you are new to this series or are unfamiliar with Clement and his book, you may want to first read the introduction to this series.

"And if any one of you shall entirely avoid luxury, he will, by a frugal upbringing, train himself to the endurance of involuntary labours, by employing constantly voluntary afflictions as training exercises for persecutions; so that when he comes to compulsory labours, and fears, and griefs, he will not be unpracticed in endurance." (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 8)

The time to train for difficulties is not when you are in the midst of them but before, when you are at ease. Consider the actions of King Asa, "He also removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah. And the kingdom was undisturbed under him. He built fortified cities in Judah, since the land was undisturbed, and there was no one at war with him during those years, because the Lord had given him rest." (2 Chronicles 14:5-6) Asa and the Israelite found themselves in a time of peace, but instead of depending on their peace, they took advantage of the time to prepare themselves spiritually and their nation for future wars. Times of ease are when we need to be most diligent in preparing ourselves for difficulties to come. They are times when, though tempted to be slothful, we must choose to be diligent and active in preparation for the future.

This applies not only to preparing for our ability to overcome future adversity but also for preparing ourselves to be ready to respond to God whenever He might call us. I remember reading about J Hudson Taylor, the founder of the China Inland Mission during the latter half of the nineteenth century. When he was younger he always made sure to leave the table a little bit hungry and to sleep at night so that he would always be a little bit cold. In this way he hopped to prepare himself for life on the mission field. His discipline as a youth prepared him for over fifty years of fruitful ministry in China and for breaking new ground in inland missions. In contrast, I remember when a church I was apart of was ready to send a team to Venezuela to start a church there, there was a couple who knew that it was God's will and call for them to go and be a part of the team. Unfortunately, their life of undisciplined had left them in debt and this debt prevented them from responding to God's call when it came. They had waited for God's call but were unable to respond to it when it came because they failed to prepare themselves while they had the chance. Our choices today should be made based on the life we hope to have in the future.

"What pertains to disciplane alone is reserved now for description, as we delineate the life of Christians. The most indeed has been already said, and laid down in the form of disciplinary rules. What still remains we shall subjoin; for examples are of no small moment in determining to salvation." (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 8)

One of the greatest gifts history gives us is the abundant collection of examples of lives lived well and not so well. By studying history, we can often see the reflection of our own life and the multiple possible outcomes if we continue in, or deviate from, the current arc of our life. We can learn to identify the things in our lives that are leading to a positive end as well as those things that are tending to destruction; history congratulating the former and warning against the latter. Clement sees examples of history as one of the greatest teachers of human life.

"For some men being instructed are saved; and others, self-taught, either aspire after or seek virtue. 'He truly is the best of all who himself perceives all things.' Such is Abraham, who sought God. 'And good, again, is he who obeys him who advises well.' Such are those disciples who obeyed the Word. Wherefore the former was called 'friend,' the latter 'apostles;' the one diligently seeking, and the other preaching one and the same God. And both are peoples, and both these have hearers, the one who is profited through seeking, the other who is saved through finding. 'But whoever neither himself perceives, nor, hearing another, Lays to heart—he is a worthless man.'" (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 8)

Not all people learn in the same way, nor is the manor of instruction the same for all teachers. Some are given to seeking out truth and storing it up in their heart while others are given to receiving the truth and treasuring it equally within them. Some prefer reading, some hearing, and some need personal coaching. However, the "hows" of instruction doesn't matter, what matters is what we do with what we learn. Do we take the lessons of history and apply them to our lives that we might live abundantly, or do we ignore history and plow ahead towards our own destiny of destruction? Are we like those of whom Paul says are, "always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." (2 Timothy 3:7) Or are we like those whom Jesus spoke of who, "hears these words of Mine and acts on them," (Matthew 7:24) who built for themselves strong foundations for their lives? The choice is ours.

David Robison

Frugality - The Instructor on frugality, a good possession of the Christian

This is a continuation of my series on Clement of Alexandria and his book, "The Instructor." If you are new to this series or are unfamiliar with Clement and his book, you may want to first read the introduction to this series.

"Delicacies spent on pleasures become a dangerous shipwreck to men; for this voluptuous and ignoble life of the many is alien to true love for the beautiful and to refined pleasures. For man is by nature an erect and majestic being, aspiring after the good as becomes the creature of the One. But the life which crawls on its belly is destitute of dignity, is scandalous, hateful, ridiculous. And to the divine nature voluptuousness is a thing most alien... For to regard pleasure as a good thing, is the sign of utter ignorance of what is excellent. Love of wealth displaces a man from the right mode of life, and induces him to cease from feeling shame at what is shameful." (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 7)

Clement contrasts two modes of life. One spent on the pursuits of pleasure and the other on the pursuit of God. One spent on what one considers as good and the other on what is truly excellent. How often do we allow our lives to be hijacked by the "good," causing us to forgo what is excellent? God created us as noble and majestic beings, destined for those things that are most excellent, but we have demeaned ourselves and accepted rather the pursuit of momentary pleasures, changing our noble character for that which is ignoble and shameful. Worst of all, we fail to see how far we have fallen. "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) And yet how many have perceived that from which they have fallen?

"We must, then, cast away the multitude of vessels, silver and gold drinking cups, and the crowd of domestics, receiving as we have done from the Instructor the fair and grave attendants, Self-help and Simplicity. And we must walk suitably to the Word; and if there be a wife and children, the house is not a burden, having learned to change its place along with the sound-minded traveller. The wife who loves her husband must be furnished for travel similarly to her husband. A fair provision for the journey to heaven is theirs who bear frugality with chaste gravity. And as the foot is the measure of the shoe, so also is the body of what each individual possesses." (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 7)

If we are to find the excellent, we must cast off all that is superfluous in our lives. We must learn lives of simplicity and frugality, traveling light through this world in which we are merely sojourners. Clement reminds us that the necessary cares of life are not a burden to those who know how to live simply while the "stuff" of the rich weighs them down and encumbers their every steps and causes them to stumble in the way. The one who lives a simple life is always ready to go while the one encumbered with the things of this world finds it difficult to respond to God; their possessions calling to them even while they try to respond. It is the same lure of life that caused Lot's wife to look back, "But his wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt." (Genesis 19:26)

"He who climbs to the heavens by force, must carry with him the fair staff of beneficence, and attain to the true rest by communicating to those who are in distress... For as gushing wells, when pumped out, rise again to their former measure, so giving away, being the benignant spring of love, by communicating of its drink to the thirsty, again increases and is replenished, just as the milk is wont to flow into the breasts that are sucked or milked." (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 7)

Wealth is not to be horded, nor is it to be spent on the superfluity of life, but is to be stewarded and used for the relief of those in need. Solomon reminds us, "There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, and there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want." (Proverbs 11:24) Those who give out of the wealth God has given them are like wells that never runs dry. They keep giving and God keeps increasing. The are blessed and those they give to are blessed, and all give thanks to God.

"For the Word is a possession that wants nothing, and is the cause of all abundance. If one say that he has often seen the righteous man in need of food, this is rare, and happens only where there is not another righteous man... The good man, then, can never be in difficulties so long as he keeps intact his confession towards God. For it appertains to him to ask and to receive whatever he requires from the Father of all; and to enjoy what is his own, if he keep the Son. And this also appertains to him, to feel no want." (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 7)

The key to living a simple and frugal life is knowing that God cares for us and will always provide for us. Where there is want, there is a place where righteousness is lacking or where righteous men have failed in their call and duty. God has promised to provide and, when righteous men live lives in keeping with God's word, God will always provide for what is needed. 

Finally, God desires us to live a life where we want for nothing. Can you imagine the blessings of such a life, to be in need and want for nothing? To be free from the desire of all the world has to offer? To live a life knowing that, whatever you may need, God will provide, would be a life most blessed in deed. To love in want of nothing would be to live in the image of God.

David Robison

Who is truly rich? - The Instructor on Christians alone are rich

This is a continuation of my series on Clement of Alexandria and his book, "The Instructor." If you are new to this series or are unfamiliar with Clement and his book, you may want to first read the introduction to this series.

"But, as is reasonable, he alone, who possesses what is worth most, turns out truly rich, though not recognised as such. And it is not jewels, or gold, or clothing, or beauty of person, that are of high value, but virtue; which is the Word given by the Instructor to be put in practice." (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 6)

To understand who is truly rich we must first identify those things that are worth the most. Also, we must identify who is the most competent to assign value to determine if things are worth much or little. In this case, the best judge of value is Jesus for He created all things and assigned to them their value. Based on this, it is easy to see that things of this creation, such as gold, money, or real estate are not those things that are of real value. Rather it is those things that are meant to inherit eternity that possess true value. Therefore, the most precious thing a person can possess is virtue. Virtue being that quality of soul that expresses the very image and nature of the one who created it. So how does one achieve such a quality of soul? By putting the Word of God into practice in our lives. When we live the Word of God we live in virtue and show forth the image and nature of God.

"So that it is not he who has and keeps, but he who gives away, that is rich; and it is giving away, not possession, which renders a man happy; and the fruit of the Spirit is generosity. It is in the soul, then, that riches are." (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 6)

This understanding of true wealth makes it almost comical that, in the world, we judge richness based on what a person holds not on what they give away. If I have a lot of money, how does that make me rich? How does that add anything of value to my life? In truth is is how we use the stockpile of wealth that makes us "rich" or "poor". I could possess billions and billions of dollars, but as long as I just hoard them and hold onto them, it benefits my life little. Even if I use my wealth to spend it on my every wish and desire, what little value, in the end, has it really brought to my life? However, when one uses their wealth to give to help those in need, their wealth makes them truly rich; rich in soul and rich in gratitude towards God.

"Let it, then, be granted that good things are the property only of good men; and Christians are good. Now,  fool or a libertine can neither have any perception of what is good, nor obtain possession of it. Accordingly, good things are possessed by Christians alone... For righteousness is true riches; and the Word is more valuable than all treasure, not accruing from cattle and fields, but given by God—riches which cannot be taken away." (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 6)

For those of us who live so distant from the great philosophers, such logical constructions seem foreign, but they were not so to the great Christian thinkers of the early church. Let's stop and consider Clement's preposition that good things are the property of good men alone. Is this true? Consider how Jesus warned His disciples, "Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces." (Matthew 7:6) Those who belong to this world do not, and cannot, understand the things of heaven nor can they perceive and understand those things that are of great value. Paul confirms Jesus' words when he said, "But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one." (1 Corinthians 2:14-15) True wealth and true riches are not to be discerned by worldly means but must be discerned and received by the spirit. Thus, for certain, good things are the property of good people, those made good through the redemptive work of Christ, and those good things are the things of the Kingdom, those things that can never be taken away.

"For he whose it is to desire nothing that is not in our power, and to obtain by asking from God what he piously desires, does he not possess much, nay all, having God as his everlasting treasure? 'To him that asks,' it is said, 'shall be given, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.' If God denies nothing, all things belong to the godly." (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 6)

So how does one live truly rich in this life, by not desiring what we do not have and by asking God for what we need; by accepting what God provides as sufficient for our lives. When we view riches in worldly terms, we can view ourselves as poor, yet when we view ourselves in light of God's Kingdom, we find we are truly rich. It reminds me of when the nations of Israel entered into the promised land and the land was divided to all the tribes except the tribe of Levi. It was said of Levi, "They shall have no inheritance among their countrymen; the Lord is their inheritance, as He promised them." (Deuteronomy 18:2) On one hand it appears as if they got "ripped off", not getting any inheritance in the new land, however, they got something of much greater value, God, and when God is your inheritance, you have access to everything. One is never as rich as when he has God in his possession!

David Robison

Purpusful wealth - The Instructor on Christians alone are rich

This is a continuation of my series on Clement of Alexandria and his book, "The Instructor." If you are new to this series or are unfamiliar with Clement and his book, you may want to first read the introduction to this series.

"Riches are then to be partaken of rationally, bestowed lovingly, not sordidly, or pompously; nor is the love of the beautiful to be turned into self-love and ostentation; lest perchance some one say to us, "His horse, or land, or domestic, or gold, is worth fifteen talents; but the man himself is dear at three coppers.'" (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 6)

Wealth should be approached rationally and with purpose rather than emotionally and for the purpose of spending it on our every impulse and desire. Wealth is not good or evil, it is amoral. What makes wealth good or evil is how we use it. Do we spend it on our self-love and our "love of show" or do we use it for the benefit others because we love them above ourselves? We spend our wealth on what we value. Unfortunately, for some, what we value is "stuff". Too often we see ourselves and things as being of greater value than other human beings. If we would stop to recognize the true value of others, as also being those where were created by God, then we would treat our wealth very differently; our wealth would take on a whole new purpose. We would understand that, as those to whom He has entrusted His wealth, He has not done so that they might satisfy our own lusts and desires, but that we may be the ones who come to the aid of the poor and needy, that we may be the arms of God's grace to those in need around us.

"This best of maxims, then, ought to be perpetually repeated, 'That the good man, being temperate and just,' treasures up his wealth in heaven. He who has sold his worldly goods, and given them to the poor, finds the imperishable treasure, 'where is neither moth nor robber.'" (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 6)

A maxim is a fundamental truth that is true everywhere and for everyone. It is not relative nor does it change with the times or circumstances. It is always and everywhere true. This "best of maxims" teaches us that true wealth resides in heaven and cannot be purchased and horded here on earth. Worldly wealth pails in comparison to true wealth; one tarnishes, rust, and fades away while the other, "is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you." (1 Peter 1:4) A life spent in pursuit of this worlds wealth and riches is a life spend in futility. For worldly possessions may delight for a while, but of what use or value are they when we enter into eternity? Far better to live a life to gain eternal treasures than treasure whose end is certain.

"Wealth seems to me to be like a serpent, which will twist round the hand and bite; unless one knows how to lay hold of it without danger by the point of the tail. And riches, wriggling either in an experienced or inexperienced grasp, are dexterous at adhering and biting; unless one, despising them, use them skilfully, so as to crush the creature by the charm of the Word, and himself escape unscathed." (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 3, Chapter 6)

Many want to be rich, but how few really know how to be rich? Solomon said, "It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich, and He adds no sorrow to it." (Proverbs 10:22) However, I know many who, though being very rich, have with it great sorrow. Their wealth has not brought them the happiness and enjoyment they wished. Instead it has become a burden that destroys families, relationships, and godly morals. Instead of elevating, it has debased. Instead of making the them great, it has lowered them to the level of their lusts and sordid desires. For the man who does not know how to be rich, riches can be his destruction! Clement likens riches to a snake that twists and bites until it finally destroys its holder. To be rich with no sorrow attached, one must first come to find those things that are of true value and learn to despise worldly wealth. They must learn to treat riches, not as something to obtain and to spend for their own enjoyment, but as a tool to be used for the benefit of many. Wealth is not a measure of our stature, nor is it a means to never having to work again, but it is simply a tool, a tool to be used to extend the grace and love of God to others in need. Wealth is given by God, not as a possession, but as a stewardship. It is God's wealth and we are merely its stewards, to steward it according to His plan and purpose. If we can come to know wealth in this way then safely will we be able to handle it and to avoid its spiteful biting.

David Robison