The Simple Life

My roommates and I have spent the past 4 months reading, researching, and discussing an idea- living simply. For us this means having an apartment full of donated furniture, kitchen wares, and linens. We also make very intentional decisions about where we buy our food and which companies/farms/businesses we want to support through our spending.

Our most recent reading, Freedom of Simplicity by Richard Foster, introduces the idea of simplicity through the lens of faith. From a faith perspective, simplicity is appealing and satisfying. God becomes the center and the self (for the sake of self) fades.

Now these sorts of self-help or lifestyle changes can be difficult. People have strengths and weakness, likes and dislikes. We have the self we present to the world in a business setting which is different than the self we present to our best friend, and those other selves can sometimes be different than our selves we discover in time spent alone. Foster discusses the goal of bringing these parts into one being-- that is focused on God. That's the kicker. A whole person; focused on God, not on "me." That's hard, really hard.

The way I've been approaching becoming a whole self while being focused on God is by simple living choices. Like I mentioned, our house has decided that a life of intention is how we want to pursue focusing on God. Our choices about what eggs to buy and whether to go with organic or fair trade sugar, if we can't find a organic and fair trade source, may seem trivial but there are a lot of threads to a simple choice in sugar. When you become aware of how workers are treated, how sustainable the farming practices are, who receives the profit and so forth, the threads start to unravel. The decision suddenly becomes much larger and starts to feel overwhelming.

To remain focused in a problem much larger than myself I think of how my spending contributes to the world and specifically God's kingdom. Does my money go to overhead costs or does the money keep workers employed in fair wages jobs? Are the farms taking care of Creation or exploiting it?
We keep our decisions intentionally focused on God and his kingdom, therefore making the choices easy. When God is the focus, the self or selves lessen, and a whole person follows.