Last week I defined simple living as “a lifestyle that consciously and intentionally chooses to consume less than one could.” There may be any number of noble reasons to live this way (environmental, eschewing the rat race, issues of social justice, or just to stay out of debt), but I want to look at the simple lifestyle from the viewpoint of being a believer. Should believing the Bible and being a Christian affect one’s lifestyle?
The Discipline of Simplicity
During a formative period in my Christian life, I read a book by Richard J. Foster entitled Celebration of Discipline where he discusses the ancient church disciplines and how they might be practiced in modern life. He divides the disciplines into three categories;
- inward (meditation, prayer, fasting, study)
- outward (simplicity, solitude, submission, service)
- corporate (confession, worship, guidance, celebration)
His chapter on the outward discipline of simplicity is where a number of my thoughts found their start. He actually calls simplicity “an inward reality that results in an outward lifestyle,” emphasizing the point that what is in one’s heart is more important than any specific manifestation of simplicity. Further, to have an outward simplicity for no sake other than its own is to fall into deadly legalism.
Jesus Talks Money
So what does the Bible say about simplicity? To start with, Jesus says a lot about money! Money is not a taboo topic in scripture as it sometimes is in Christian circles (I use the word “money,” but read it in the more general sense of “all the stuff money can buy”). A few examples:
- money is temporary in nature (Mt. 6:19)
- money takes on a life of its own (Mt. 6:21, Lk. 16:13)
- money is not how we should measure our life (Lk. 12:15)
The Bible also says quite a bit about our attitude toward money and the things it can buy:
- we should not love money (I Tim. 6:10, Heb. 13:5)
- we are not to covet what others have (Ex. 20:17)
- we are not to be greedy (Eph. 5:5)
- we are to give to the poor (Lk. 6:9) and be generous with other believers (I Tim 6:17-19), but we can never give enough so that there will no longer be poverty (Mt. 26:11)
- we are not to worry about money (Mt. 6:25-34, Phil. 4:10-12, 4:19)
If I lived a life completely in obedience to all that scripture says, I would automatically be living “the simple life.” Money wouldn’t control me, whether I had “too much” of it or “too little” of it, because my heart would be on seeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all the things I need would be taken care of.
Voluntary Poverty
Voluntary poverty is like simple living, but more so. There is no way to measure it in absolute terms. If a multimillionaire gives away 90% and lives on 10%, he still wouldn’t exactly be in poverty but he’d be a lot poorer than he could be (is that story about R. G. LeTourneau true?). The point is that some believers intentionally live on the barest minimum they can in order to give their resources for Christian service. I don’t know too many people who do this, and that would be the point—I wouldn’t know about them if they were doing it right. I have nothing but admiration for people who make that choice and live out it out with joy — I love a cheerful giver too! Anyone interested in this topic should take a look at the writings of Ron Sider, especially Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger.
No Praise from the Prosperity Gospel Preachers or the Press
If we choose a simple lifestyle we may encounter opposition from some fellow Christians. I see my position on simple living as pretty much in opposition to the prosperity gospel - not so much in what the adherents’ respective bank accounts look like, but more what their hearts look like. I don’t believe God owes us anything except to “meet our needs” and “never leave us or forsake us.” Yes, he does also speak of giving us “abundant life,” but I interpret that to mean inward abundance, not necessarily material wealth.
We may even have our patriotism questioned! One minute ago I heard on the radio news, “The feds have just dropped the key interest rate by half a percent in an attempt to get Americans spending again.” Sometimes it seems we might be hurting America if we don’t spend as much money as we could!
Well, here we go again. I appreciate simplicity personally. But I see this as more of a personal preference than an adherence to a religious conviction.
I will concede there may be excesses where the so-called prosperity Gospel in concerned, but just because those excesses exist doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take into the whole counsel of God where finances are concerned.
I am convinced that God not only is not opposed to our being wealthy, he is in favor of it. We’ve all heard preachers exact money from people by saying, “God will give you $100 for every dollar you give me.” That’s not what I’m talking about.
Consider the fact that Proverbs 3:16 tells us that riches are a direct result of wisdom. Wisdom is key here, because the prosperity of fools will destroy them (Proverbs 1:32).
But, for the Christian, I think there is a striking parallel between what God told Abraham about wealth and the Great Commission Jesus gave. This is what God told Abraham:
But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. (Deuteronomy 8:18)
This is what Jesus told his disciples (and I believes this applies to the modern church as well):
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. (Mark 16:15)
Both of these scriptures have to do with the establishment of a covenant. Jesus is the mediator of the New Testament or new covenant, and in order for people to take advantage of this covenant they must hear the Gospel. So these are the pertinent questions:
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? (Romans 10:14,15)
I know from personal experience that it takes money to go preach the Gospel, and it takes money to send others. It takes a lot of money. Having lots of money is not a problem; the love of money is a problem, because people who love it won’t let it go to affect the Kingdom of God. They would rather spend it on themselves, not that there is anything wrong with spending money on yourself as long as your priorities are straight.
One last point. Remember the parable of the Good Samaritan? He picked a man up on the side of the road, dressed his wounds, put him up in an inn so he could recover, and told the inn keeper that if there was anything else owed when he returned, he would pay it in full. Tell me how you can do deeds like these without lots of money? You can’t.
“Tell me how you can do deeds like these without lots of money? You can’t.”
I’ve only spoken to spending money, not making money.
“I know from personal experience that it takes money to go preach the Gospel, and it takes money to send others.”
Having been sent, I know this as well.
“But I see this as more of a personal preference than an adherence to a religious conviction.”
I’ll assume you don’t mean obedience to all those linked-to scriptures is “personal preference.”
Whoa, thainamu. Don’t misunderstand me. I wasn’t trying to contradict anything you said. I simply meant that, for me, living simply is a personal conviction. I’m with you on that. In other words, I don’t want to come across as judgmental towards anyone who thinks or lives differently.
“I’ve only spoken to spending money, not making money.”
Yeah, I know that. I was just simply trying to explain that I think prosperity is a core Biblical principle, just so people don’t lump me into the category of those whose teaching is not scriptural. It was basically intended to show where I stand on the matter. You said you might expect to receive resistance from prosperity preachers; if you decided to classify me as such, I just wanted you to understand that I am not resisting you.
“I’ll assume you don’t mean obedience to all those linked-to scriptures is ‘personal preference.’”
Honestly, that’s not what I meant at all. Rather than responding to everything you said point-by-point, my intention was to paint a broad picture about some of the more general views of money and the priorities for its use from a Biblical perspective.
Chris, I apologize for coming across so critical; it looks like we don’t really disagree on much here. (As my daughter keeps telling me, I need to assume the best, not the worst, in people. Mea culpa.)
Your use of the term “personal preference” put up a red flag for me, because it our pluralistic society, any number of unbiblical things are accepted as personal preference. In the case of personal spending, two people could both be living according to God’s principles, yet the specific manifestation of that wouldn’t look the same–that is where some personal preference comes in. But I do think that some version of “the simple life” is what Christ asks each and every believer to do.
“I was just simply trying to explain that I think prosperity is a core Biblical principle,”
I’m not sure if we are on the same page here or not. If you mean “prosperous” in the way I used “abundant” in my article, then I’d agree with you. I would interpret prosperity to be in our relationships, in our attitudes, in our view of the world more than the number of sheep we own. (I’m not a Hebrew scholar, but I remember hearing some teaching about the OT concept of prosperity to be considerably more general than material goods–it was more defined like “general well-being.”) And If we are willing to use the word “prosperous” when we describe God meeting our needs (not necessarily our wants), then I’d go with that too.
Some of this comes from just looking at the world–a lot of believers around the world just are not prosperous, if you use a strictly material definition of the word. But they’ve learned to be content because God has not left them or forsaken them.
I would contend that Biblical prosperity transcends material possessions, but it definitely includes them.
I would contend that Biblical prosperity transcends material possessions, but it definitely includes them.
material possessions to what end? I can see God blessing with a place to live or clean clothes. I do not see God blessing with a golden Cadillac.
“material possessions to what end? I can see God blessing with a place to live or clean clothes. I do not see God blessing with a golden Cadillac.”
My first post spells out the priority for the prosperity, which essentially is the establishment of God’s covenant. Or we could say fulfilling the Great Commission by going into all the world to proclaim Jesus Christ.
However, I’m not opposed to people having Cadillacs or whatever. And I don’t think God is either. When you look at the wealth of some of the Old Testament patriarchs, that becomes clear. Besides, the silver and the gold belong to God (Haggai 2:8), and if we are truly his ambassadors we should ideally have it at our disposal. When God made man, he gave him dominion over all the works of his hands. Certainly he never rescinded his original intention when he sent his Son, for the Son is the express image and representation of the Father.
Obviously, as I mentioned earlier, there are excesses. But these excesses generally come about as a result of covetousness and greed. I’m not a materialistic person, but I definitely believe Christians should have all sufficiency in all things so that we may abound in every good work - whether it be feeding the poor, clothing the naked, or presenting the message of hope in Jesus Christ.
Chris, while I do agree with you, I would say that Jesus did seem to call us to something greater than what the OT patriarchs were called to. After all, theirs was not a Great Commission but rather to be set apart from the rest of the world while doing almost anything possible to keep it that way (including killing their pagan neighbors). I don’t know if we can completely apply God’s obvious endorsement of wealth in the OT to our calling as Christians in the NT. After all, Jesus did have something to say about the rich and their difficulty in getting into heaven.
“I don’t know if we can completely apply God’s obvious endorsement of wealth in the OT to our calling as Christians in the NT. After all, Jesus did have something to say about the rich and their difficulty in getting into heaven.”
Let’s look at Jesus’ words in context.
17And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
18And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
19Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
20And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
21Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
22And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
23And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
24And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
26And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?
27And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
(Mark 10:17-27)
Was Jesus saying that the man would have a hard time making it into heaven solely because he was rich? Not at all. It was because he trusted in uncertain riches rather than trusting in God. And, as you know, one can only make it into heaven by believing in Jesus. So the man’s problem was the love of money that prevented him from trusting in Jesus. There are many rich people who are like this today, but they are not corrupted by the riches themselves, but rather their love of the riches; money is their security. This is a condition of the heart.
I agree… I would just say that money, like power, has the ability to corrupt good intentions. One shouldn’t be too secure in their wealth just because Solomon or Abraham were wealthy. I don’t think we are necessarily in disagreement, just that I wanted to clarify for someone who could misunderstand you and think that we can base our lives on OT principles without consideration of NT ones (not that I think you believe this).
Chris, I think we are in agreement.
Yes, the R.G. story is true.