An Overview of Simplicity
What does simplicity look like?
Verse of the Day
“But I did find this: God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path.”
Today’s Devotional
I love it when I am struggling to know what to write and God sends me exactly what I need. Today’s thoughts come from Valerie Hess’s Spiritual Disciplines Devotional.
Maybe a spiritual discipline (or holy habit) called “simplicity” conjures up romantic images of earlier eras or fantasies of simpler times that we sigh about but feel we can never regain. Let me encourage you: the discipline of simplicity can be practiced at any economic level because it is first of all an inner attitude toward possessions.
Sometimes people who have very little economic wealth are obsessed with acquiring more. And the reverse can also be true: people with a lot of wealth can fully engage in the discipline of simplicity if they hold that wealth lightly, as belonging first of all to God.
The discipline of simplicity also deals with the way we use our time and the way we use words. It is an overall attitude of contentment and gratitude manifested in a visible way of living that includes not trying to do too much or have too much. It is a way of speaking that lets our yes be yes and our no be no, as Jesus commands in the Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 5:37).
Poverty in and of itself does not indicate a life of simplicity. Spending all of your time trying to keep body and soul together because of unemployment, or going from agency to agency for help tends to make for a complicated life.
In the discipline of simplicity, we seek to have adequate housing, clothing, food and transportation for the needs of the season of life we are currently in. If we can afford more than what we truly need, we give that extra money to help others. We also seek to have a balanced rhythm in terms of work, play and rest, and we strive to say what needs to be said simply and in a straightforward manner.
In short, through the discipline of simplicity we seek to live a life that is pleasing to God, life-giving to ourselves and has an element of availability to others. We can live a life of goodness, joy, peace and balance if we will engage honestly with this discipline.
If we look at today’s verse, we see that God created us to be virtuous, which would be evident in the simplicity with which we lived our lives. However, I can see evidence of where I have followed my own path, like using money to give me security. Or deciding that if I have certain things you will think well of me. Or if I worry about something I can fix it. Or if I explain things just right you will accept my “no” and not think any less of me. These things are not God’s best for any of us. But if we want God’s best for us, we must get back on the path He set out for us.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
What is your current attitude toward your possessions?
How tightly do you grasp your time?
How would you rate your contentment and gratitude?
How often do you over-explain things?
Is the rhythm of your life balanced?
How can you invite God to show you where and how you need the simplicity of God?