Spiritual Practices: Simplicity

Our modern lives rarely can be called “simple.” Yet, as Christians, we are called to one thing. One thing perhaps ought to be simple enough. One thing – Seeking God first. Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” The simplicity that is a spiritual discipline is understanding what God wants from us and doing it.

Simplicity

Simplicity as a discipline has often been looked at as an economic consideration, that we should not have “mammon and God” (Matt. 6:24). The economic portion is certainly one to consider. We are called to care for our fellow man and remember the rich who struggle to enter the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 19:24. However, the struggle is about what is first. Is God and his kingdom first or is something else?

Simplicity is about any idol coming before God and His priorities, not only money. While we may see many other idols accompany money, I don’t think it is the only thing that keeps us from the simple priority of God.

First the Kingdom of God

Once God and his priorities are established, the other things fall into place. Anxiety lessens, it is easy to share what we have with others, our attitude about sacrificing is different. When we focus on Him, the rest of our worldly concerns fade into their proper place. Justice, peace, education, ecology, economics, and much more come into perspective and receive the attention that God wants us to place on them.

Richard Foster is one of the better known experts in spiritual disciplines and he even outlines ten outward expressions of an inward simplicity. One of his ten steps is to develop a habit of giving things away. I find this particularly challenging as living overseas we aren’t able to replace something that we may need. It makes it difficult to truly identify what is “needed” and what is only hanging around because it might be useful one day. If you would like more details on simplicity, his Celebration of Discipline is quite good.

What struggles do you have with simplicity? Drop a line below.