In short there are a few main elements to St. Benedict’s
Rule. He required that life kept in a certain manner unlike Basil; he provided
his monks detailed instructions about what to do and when it needed to be done.[1] Some
of these things included that his monks would eat two meals a day with two
cooked dishes along with fruits and vegetables, along with a moderate amount of
wine.[2]Also,
each monk would have a bed that included a cover and pillow, but if times were
hard the monks should be happy with what they had.[3]
Benedict
also felt that there should be physical labor on the part of everyone, except
in severe cases of illness or unique giftedness; everyone was to take turns in
every task.[4]
He also felt that prayer was an extremely important part of the monastic
lifestyle.[5]
Order ruled everything that Benedict did or chose to establish. According to
Ferguson, “It introduced stability into monastic life in contrast to wandering
monks or the small groups that had no discipline. The life of Benedictine monks
was to be a balanced regimen of divine praise, spiritual reading, and physical work.”[6]
There are
many things that modern evangelical Christians can take away from monasticism.
For the most part I believe we do not practice discipline as much as we should.
I do not mean physical discipline but the spiritual kind where we read
Scripture often or other works that would help us to edify the body; or as I am
guilty no praying as often as we feel lead to. Or practicing the presence of
God, how often we enter into a place of praise to God outside of the “sanctuary”
of the church. If we are the church then everywhere we go should be a sanctuary
unto the Lord. Something many of us do
not realize that work is a great thing and can ALWAYS be used to the glory of
God. John Piper has an article
about glorifying God at work that may be found as an encouragement. I will
struggle with this because I suffer from fibromyalgia and have a hard time
doing most things anymore; my ultimate goal no matter what should be to glorify
God in all things. I hope these principles help you grow closer to Jesus each
day.
[1] Everett
Ferguson, Church History Vol One: From Christ to Pre-Reformation. (Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 2005)317.
[2] Justo
L.Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity Vol One: The Early Church to the Dawn
of the Reformation. (New York: Harper Collins, 2010)278.
[3]
Ibid., 278.
[4]
Ibid., 279.
[5]
Ibid., 280
[6]
Ferguson, Church History, 318.
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