Thursday, March 1st, 2012click here for past entriesThe Call to Simplicity
As Lent begins, we hear the call to store up “treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Mt. 6:20). This is, of course, as opposed to storing up treasures here on earth, which can always be taken away from us in an instant. How often do we hear these verses without realizing the depth of the wisdom that they contain?
A number of studies have been done in recent years that have discovered that those among the wealthiest tend to be far less happy than the average person. One of the reasons for this is that the more people have, the more they worry about losing it. Another truth is that, the more you have, the more time you spend looking after it all. Yet, we live in a culture that tells us that we always need more and that grossly over-inflates how much we need to actually live a contented life.
Simplicity, on the other hand, involves freeing ourselves from the tyranny of consumerism and simplifying our lives. Simplicity is often named as one of the spiritual disciplines, as our spiritual health is very much affected by our level of attachment to earthly things. Simplicity means focusing on what we actually need, as opposed to what advertising tells us we need.
For a radical picture of simplicity, we need only look as far as John the Baptist or Jesus. In John’s case, he spent the bulk of his time out in the wilderness and ate locusts and wild honey for sustenance (Mt. 3:4). In Jesus’ case, he traveled around from place to place, often sleeping out in deserted places, and owned nothing more than the clothes on his back. For each of them, their focus was on doing God’s work. They didn’t need an abundance of possessions weighing them down.
Of course, as I indicated, this is radical simplicity. For those of us who live in a Northern climate, we do need a place to live, and some heat in the winter, and warm clothes, and food to eat. However, how much of the other “stuff” that we accumulate do we actually need?
Some days, I’m actually amazed by the messages that the media puts out there. I recently heard a report indicating that economists were worried that people would stop buying “non-essentials” and thus hurt the economy. “Wow!” I thought. Apparently our economy depends on people buying stuff that they don’t need! How warped is that?
All of this makes me think that perhaps we need to look at the story of the rich young man in a different way (Mt. 19:16-22). I suspect that many of us are horrified when we hear Jesus tell this young man to sell his possessions and give the money to the poor. However, perhaps this is exactly what this particular young man needed to do in order to be set free. Perhaps he was being “possessed” by his possessions and needed radical simplicity in his life in order to find life in all its fullness.
After all, Jesus came that we might have life, and have it abundantly (Jn. 10:10)! Sometimes finding this life means challenging our assumptions and listening to the wisdom of the Scriptures. And so, during this Lenten season, listen for the leading of the Spirit. Are you, too, being called to simplicity?
In Christ,
Pastor Lynne Hutchison
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