Something we talk about quite a bit at Boston Faith & Justice is living simply and it seems like it makes sense to define what we are talking about.
I always like to start with the dictionary. Its seems too much to ask Webster or Miriam to define simple living for us so I started with simple:
: free from guile : INNOCENT
: free from vanity : MODEST
: free from ostentation or display – a simple outfit
: of humble origin or modest position – a simple farmer
I think a combination of these first 4 (out of 10) definitions gets us close. When I think of simple living I do think of having less (no ostentation or display) and relatedly finding your value in less or not in material goods at all (modest and humble origin). I also like the 1st definition – free from guile/innocent. This feels very connected to what it means to simplify, to be content with less and value simple things – it helps get us beyond just the stuff part. Simple living is fundamentally connected to the practice of owning less and being content with less but it is also about how we view and use our time – a resistance to hustle culture.
Using these interconnected definitions I think we can land on – living simply envisions a journey to be intentional about finding our identity and value outside of material possessions, actively resisting our culture’s glorification of consumerism and busyness and working in humility to understand our own abundance.
This frees us from much of what hinders our ability to put God first in our lives – No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. (Matthew 6:24 NIV)
And frees up resources to meet the needs of others – What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (James 2:14-17 NIV)
Much of my journey toward more simple living began with Session 3 of my first Lazarus at the Gate group. That week’s study is entitled – Live Simply. Like every session, the leader’s guide starts with goals for that week’s group. They are:
- Introduce biblical theme of wealth as danger to our spiritual lives
- Encourage critical thinking about the spiritual danger of American consumer culture
- Empower participants to actively resist consumerism through concrete lifestyle choices
Yes to all of this!
I wish I could say I mastered that list after processing the curriculum with my group, but of course living simply is much more a journey than an item (or items) that you can check off of your to do list. And I do love to check items off of my lists! But I am still working on each of the goals from Session 3. I deeply appreciate the resources, people and community spaces that have and are helping me on this journey. I think one of the biggest challenges to consistently leaning into living simply is how counter-cultural it is and as a result how lonely it can feel to pursue and value a way of life so contrary to almost all of the messages we receive from all around us about what matters, what we need and how to ground our identity. So one of the most important things to find, to create, to cultivate in order to be able to really live simply is a community of people who share this value and can help sustain you as you sustain them in this counter-cultural way of being.
This can be done in many ways – with families, friends, neighbors, church (or a combination of all of that!). I do want to offer a shameless plug – this is one of things we work for at BFJN. To be a community of Christians who strive to follow Jesus with how we live – which includes the choices we make about how we spend our time and money and how we use what we have been given to love our neighbors. So check out our resources – our podcast, Generous Living Foundations series, Lazarus at the Gate study and our Micah program. Connect with us on social media. And join our upcoming book group (online) where we will be reading Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger together. These groups are a great place to learn from and with other believers who are trying to understand our call to live like Jesus and what that looks like in our world today. Always reach out if you have questions and let us know how we can support you!
This post is a reminder of why I love following your blog. Excellent content as always.