Zeal For Truth

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!