Simplicity Contradicts an American Trend

Try showing up at an American dinner party, or cookout and start talking about the need for simplicity, or the practical ways we can live simple lives and your likely to be asked to leave. Americans are noted for their love affair with the latest gadgets, electronic toys and plain old stuff. We are awash in possessions that scream "affluence" to Third World and emerging countries struggling to break free of the chains of poverty and injustice.

We are a nation of pack rats. We tend to collect and keep our stuff. An article by Tim Jones in the Chicago Tribune a few weeks ago shed some light on our affection for stuff. He wrote:

"We may no longer be the top dogs in the production of steel,
cars, televisions and other manufactured goods, and we may be losing our
edge in science and technology. But the explosion in the number of
self-storage facilities clearly suggest a recurrent America, indeed a nation
of stuff. There are at least 55,000 self-storage facilities
scattered around the nation."

Jones cited a cultural observation made by Robert Hartwig, the chief economist at the Insurance Information Institute who sounds more like a sociologist:

"Thirty or 40 years ago people had more kids and less stuff. Now they have
fewer kids and more stuff. Part of this is simply affluence in America. Each and every family member now has more possessions."

Few, if any of us have a clear conscience much less garage, shed or storage building in this matter. Christ-followers should take the lead in scaling down, reducing and simplifying our homes. Afterall, our very leader declared in Matthew 8:20, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Granted, this statement was about the cost of following Jesus and not an inventory of His earthly possessions. However, the point is well made, Jesus led and modeled the simple life. No matter how hard you try you can't read the words and teachings of Jesus and square them with a lifestyle that consumes more stuff than we actually need.

In his classic best-seller, "Celebration of Discipline," theologian Richard Foster devotes an entire chapter to the outward spritual discipline of simplicity. He shares ten controlling principles for how Christ-followers should live out the discipline of simplicity. Here are five of them:

1. Buy things for their usefulness rather than their status.
2. Reject anything that is producing an addiction in you. (e.g., chocolate, food,television, etc.)
3. Develop a habit of giving things away.
4. Learn to enjoy things without owning them.
5. Shun anything that distracts you from seeking first the kingdom of God.

Perhaps it's time we all went through the garage, basement, attic or storage barn. Here are some questions that should guide our journeys into storage areas: What can I live without? What do I have that someone else in need can use? What am I hoarding, that I do not use and could really give away? How can I acquire less "stuff," and still realize much more substance or fullness of life? Are there consuming areas of my life that have captivated my wallet and held my heart hostage as well? What does the Bible say about possessions, wealth, etc.? These are all good questions and an excellent starting point for a simplicity self-examination . Let's keep it simple and search ourselves as well as our homes as we try to keep life simple. Jesus maintained a simple life, so follow His lead and resist the temptation to make it more complicated and cluttered than it's supposed to be!