Simplicity
Is your life simple or complex?
Verse of the Day
“The Lord preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me.”
Today’s Devotional
When I looked at the table of contents (of Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline) and saw the discipline I would be studying for May, I was excited to see that it is “Simplicity”. And then I started studying it, and discovered that this is a much deeper concept and discipline than I thought.
We will get into Foster’s teaching on the discipline of simplicity, but not today. Today we will begin to wade into the meaning of simplicity with regard to our faith and the stance of our heart. Even though simplicity is considered an “outward” discipline, it is rooted in our inner being. Another writer, Lauren Elliott, describes the outward disciplines like this: “The best way to think about the outward disciplines is to think of them as the tangible offerings of the time devoted to meditation, prayer, fasting, and study. While some of the inward disciplines certainly have an outwardly visual component, these are meant to be done in private. In contrast, the outward disciplines, while rooted in the depth of our being, can’t help but be visual reminders of the actions that are to accompany our professions [of faith].”
Simplicity is an outward display of an inner childlike faith which causes us to grasp nothing of this world tightly. Not our money, our possessions, our time, our ideas, our words. We hold nothing dear except the Father and His Kingdom.
This makes me ask myself, what am I holding too tightly? And the honest answer is “a lot”. I don’t live a simple life as described in any of the books and articles I have been reading. So I have work to do.
For today, let’s begin our study of the discipline of simplicity by asking ourselves what we hold dear. I can tell you that after our home flooded in Hurricane Harvey, and in the time since then, I have realized that I hold my home too tightly. We need shelter, but we don’t NEED a nice home with lots of OUR things. For me, that’s a desire for comfort, status, possessions, and misplaced security which is out of line with faith in God as my Provider. Look at what Jesus told the disciples as He was sending them out to carry His message: “He told them to take nothing for their journey except a walking stick—no food, no traveler’s bag, no money. He allowed them to wear sandals but not to take a change of clothes.” (Mark 6:8-9) In my current spiritual condition, I would be very uncomfortable with these travel arrangements.
True simplicity is based on absolute trust in God for everything that we need. The problem comes when we decide that our wants and desires qualify as needs.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
What are some wants in your life that you think are “needs”? A certain balance in your bank account? Coffee? A certain amount of free time? A certain type of car? Vacations? Status? Title at work?
What does simplicity mean to you?
What would your life look like if you had an inner childlike faith which caused you to grasp nothing of this world tightly?
What are you holding too tightly?