Considering the fact that John the Baptist was the greatest man born of women, little is told us about him, but we do know what he wore and what he ate. Usually we would say that it does not matter what people eat or wear. You cannot tell much if anything about what Noah, Moses or Paul wore, or about what Samuel or David ate, but in John’s case it is important enough that Scripture focuses on these details. John was “in the the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel” (Lk. 1:80) and “had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leather girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey.” Evidently there is a lesson here in the life of a man “filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb.”
For John, being in the desert meant being alone with God. It appears that this isolation in the desert was not forced on John. His parents had lived in society. But John was determined to keep himself uncorrupted and unspoiled by the prevailing attitudes in the surrounding society. And this self-imposed solitude showed in his demeanor. If his focus had been on acceptance by the world, he would have dressed differently; and if his focus had been on pleasing his natural appetites, he would have eaten differently.
Instead he shunned luxury. His lifestyle was characterized by practicality, self-denial and contentedness. The clothing was durable and the food nourishing. He ate and wore what was close at hand. And while his menu was limited, we assume that John was not a complainer. “With food and raiment” John was content.
When fame came to John, he did not alter his priorities or practices. He was not swayed by the winds of popularity. As a result, Herod’s court utterly failed to drape upon John their soft raiment. Had John succumbed to the debilitating self-indulgent influences of Herod’s court, he could never have spoken for God as he did. From our Lord’s praise of John we gather that he maintained his habits of self-denial to the last.
Time spent with God, being filled by God, being taught in the school of God, walking with God, and being led by God were the reason for his resolve.
True communion with God necessarily molds our habits of life. This attitude today will set a man apart as much as it set John apart in his day. And while the details of John’s situation are unique, still the great idea applies now as ever. I know there is a reader who will object that the uniqueness of John disqualifies him as an example. John was extreme. Granted. His lifestyle was as extreme as was his communion with God. But “every man who strives for the mastery is temperate in all things” and certainly in that “all things” is included how we dress and what we eat. As a rule, holy men and women we have known are modest, practical, disciplined, and happy. By contrast we read about the fleshly, self-indulgent woman, that “she that lives in pleasure is dead while she lives.” Like the whore Babylon, who “has glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her.” “Woe unto you that are rich! for you have received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full! for you shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for you shall mourn and weep.”
It is to believers like John that our Lord is able to say, “Blessed are you poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you that hunger now: for you shall be filled,” and “I know your poverty, but you are rich.”