David Thornton - Monasticism

I think a very interesting lifestyle people have chosen to focus on their personal communication with the Sacred is the idea of monasticism. This involves people giving up the material things of world in search of a better relationship with the Divine. Christian monks of the early church gave up all worldly things like family, friends, homes, money, and comfort to pursue Sacred Communication. Celibacy and fasting are biblical and are things that are used to lead people to a stronger connection with the Lord. Abstaining from sex with your wife as Paul discusses in 1 Corinthians is something that should bring you closer to the Lord and turn closer to your spouse. Fasting is also a great way of reminding yourself of your body’s physical needs and your natural human dependency on God. This idea of creating a dependence on the Divine gives the individual a focused and intense intentional life of communicating with the Sacred. I respect people that have chosen to live this way a lot because they show the priority of their own lives in communicating with the Sacred.