The Wrong Avoidance Rules
Jesus came to earth so that His people could put to death what is earthly in them, not so that they could get off the earth as quickly as possible. Jesus took on flesh so that all who believe in Him would no longer be slaves to the flesh. He condemned sin in the flesh, so that we could walk in bodies of flesh without walking around consumed with the demands of the flesh (Romans 8:3-4 bibrefromans8 bibrefromans8v3 bibrefromans8v4).
Those who have been raised with Christ are called to seek the things that are above, where Christ is. We are called to set our minds on things that are above, not on the things that are on earth (Colossians 3:1-2 bibrefcolossians3 bibrefcolossians3v1 bibrefcolossians3v2).
The problem for pietists is two-sided: they don’t properly understand what are “the things of earth” and in so doing they end up defining their spirituality by “the things of earth.”
Command: put to death therefore what is earthly in you (Colossians 3:5 bibrefcolossians3 bibrefcolossians3v5). Think on above things, kill the earthly things. But what are the “earthly things”? The rest of the verse says: “what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”
We’re not called to put to death Christmas gifts but gossip or ungratefulness. It’s not wine we must avoid but whining. Decorations aren’t a problem but lies are. Enjoy cookie exchanges but not glory exchanges (Romans 1:23 bibrefromans1 bibrefromans1v23; Psalm 106:20 bibrefpsalms106 bibrefpsalms106v20).
Again, God sent His Son to earth so that we wouldn’t be enslaved to earth but so that we would actually enjoy it. Pietists make avoidance rules, yet those avoidances “are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” (Colossians 2:23 bibrefcolossians2 bibrefcolossians2v23).
“Christ said ‘Seek first the kingdom, and all these things shall be added unto you.’ Buddha said ‘Seek first the kingdom, and then you will need none of these things.’” —Chesterton