Simplicity

Simplicity.

Some want it. Some hate it. Few have it.

What is it? Is it having a product that combines three of your commonly used items into one device that costs you fortune? Is it getting rid of everything that is unnecessary? Is it a daily life of purging and feeling guilty any time you buy something new? Is it really even about the stuff you own? What is the point of this complex word we called simplicity? Ironic, is it not?

Since my freshmen year of college--and likely since before then in little ways--I have had a fascination with this concept of simplicity. This fascination really began to take root through my ongoing love of community. I found that the more that simplicity was embraced the more community was able to thrive. But what does that mean? Can you have community and also not live a life of simplicity? Yes, but I wonder if we miss out on something. It was Mahatma Gandhi who once said, "Live simply, so that others may simply live." How can we apply this to our lives today?

I recognize that I am writing this as someone who has input in my top strengths. If you are unaware with the Strength Finders 2.0 having input as a top strength simply means that: "You are inquisitive. You collect things. You might collect information -- words, facts, books, and quotations -- or you might collect tangible objects such as butterflies, baseball cards, porcelain dolls, or sepia photographs. Whatever you collect, you collect it because it interests you. And yours is the kind of mind that finds so many things interesting. The world is exciting precisely because of its infinite variety and complexity."1 This strength is very evident as I like to collect books (I have far too many to count), mugs, and old keepsakes. So then, how does one claim to strive towards simplicity when they also tend to have input as a top strength? It is all about understanding simplicity.

Simplicity is put simply an inward discipline with outward lifestyle results. It is a freedom that is found internally which will liberate us in our lives. Richard Foster tells us that when we experience simplicity our speech becomes honest and true, we are freed from a lust for status and position, we cease from showy extravagance out of principle, and our goods become available to others. We lack simplicity when we lack a Divine center or when we feel a lack of security. It is this lack of security and belonging that can lead someone to gain an insane attachment to things.

Simplicity is not about getting rid of everything--although as we heard Jesus' command to the rich young ruler, sometimes that is what is needed to be done. Simplicity, very much like the discipline of fasting, is one that reorients ourselves so that possessions can be rightly enjoyed without destroying us. Most items we own are not inherently bad, but it is all about whether or not they control our lives. If you feel like you could not live without something then maybe it is time to let that go.

The point is not to create legalism on "How much is too much?" or "I have more stuff so I must not be simple enough." No. The point is to seek first the Kingdom of God. When we put the Kingdom of God first in all that we do then everything else will come into place. Ecological concerns, the poor, equal distribution of wealth, and many other things that God cares about will be given their proper attention.

In the end, this inward reality of simplicity is a life of joyful unconcern for possessions. It is a life of putting people above possessions and not accepting society's love of instant gratification. So let us embrace simplicity, not worry about life, trust God, and give what we have to others because God has given it to us to begin with.

If you are a list person (like myself) here is a list of outward signs of simplicity that I found from Richard Foster's book Celebration of Discipline.

• Buy things for usefulness instead of status
•  Reject anything that is producing an addiction in you. 
•  Develop a habit of giving things away
•  Refuse to be propagandized by the custodians of modern gadgets
•  Learn to enjoy things without owning them
•  Develop a deeper appreciation for creation
•  Look with a healthy skepticism at “buy now, pay later” schemes
•  Obey Jesus’ instructions on plain, honest speech: Yes be yes, and no be no
•  Reject anything that breeds the oppression of others
•  Shun anything that distracts you from seeking God’s kingdom first

1. http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/688/Input.aspx 
2. I also referenced Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster and Soul Feast by Marjorie Thompson