It's a gift to be simple, it's a gift to be free. Simplicity is an inward discipline that should result in an outward lifestyle; otherwise it just becomes legalism. It ought to be liberating to us! We crave things we neither need nor enjoy. We insist on possessing everything. We call covetousness, ambition; hoarding, prudence; greed, iondustry.
BUT simplicity is not the same as asceticism. Creation is good and is supposed to be enjoyed! Both asceticism and materialism lead to idolatory. Simplicity becomes idolatory when it takes precedence over seeking the kingdom. If you are not seeking the Kingdom first, you are not seeking it at all. Freedom from anxiety is the inward evidence that you are seeking the Kingdom.
3 inner attitudes:
- What we have, we receive as a gift.
- What we have, we entrust to God to care for.
- What we have, we make available to others.
10 principles for the outward expression of simplicity:
1. Buy things for usefulness, not status.
2. Reject anything that is producing addiction in you.
3. Develop a habit of giving things away.
4. Reufuse to be propagandized by the custodians of modern society.
5. Learn to enjoy things without owning them.
6. Develop a deeper appreciation for creation.
7. Look with healthy skepticism on all 'buy now, pay later' schemes.
8. Obey Jesus' instructions about plain and honest speech.
9. Reject anything that will breed the oppression of others.
10. Shun whatever would distract you from your main goal.
To seek first His Kingdom and understand all that implies is to live in simplicity.
