SIMPLICITY
Simplicity
Intentionally removing the items, habits, and behaviors
that are barriers to us becoming more like Jesus.
We are told that the good life is found in accumulation. That more is better.
We search for the things that will make us happy, yet happiness never comes.
Or at least, it doesn’t last. Searching and coming up empty can bring us to a miserable place. The way of Jesus calls us to create space—in our schedules,
in our homes, in our finances—for what really matters. It calls us to life with Jesus,
to abide in his goodness, and enjoy life to the full in the Kingdom of God.
Simplicity Practices
Simplifying Our Stuff
Whether you’re in a 5 bedroom house or a studio apartment, most of us have some kind of space—a drawer, closet, or even a room—where things just collect. When spring cleaning rolls around, we’ll find ourselves thinking things like: “Why do I have so much stuff?” or “When did I start collecting ____?” or even “...maybe I’ll just skip this closet.”
The fact that most of us have a space like this speaks to a principle that most of us have implicitly taken in over time: that more is better. But as we consider the way of Jesus and how to model our lives in the simplicity and power of His, it becomes clear that more doesn’t equal better; often, more equals less: less contentment, less margin, less peace.
Go through each room in your home, and sort items into five categories:
Giveaway: items to give away to a friend, a neighbor (perhaps via a group like Buy Nothing), or to Goodwill.
Sell: items in good condition you’d like to sell.
Throwaway or recycle: for items beyond repair or further use.
Wait: this pile is key. For sentimental items or things we think we “might need” in the future, put them away in a box or bag in a closet and put it out of sight for a set period of time, perhaps 3–6 months. If at any point you want something, go get it out! Revisit the box when time is up, and you may discover the items are easier to give away.
Keep: whatever you feel is useful, beautiful, and has a purpose in your life as a follower of Jesus.
A few rules of thumb as you get started:
Start with the easy stuff.
Save the hard stuff for last.
Hold each item and ask a few basic questions: Do I need this? Is it useful or beautiful? Does it aid me or hamper me in my quest to become more like Jesus?
Avoid duplicates. Most of us don’t need two dozen mugs.
Avoid the trap of, “but I may use this someday…”
Simplifying our Speech
Most of us know the feeling of saying something and then later regretting it. The problem is, most of what comes out of our mouth isn’t something we consciously think about, but happens automatically.
Jesus’ haunting teaching is that, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Meaning that what we say is a reflection of our inner world, for better or for worse. This is where the practice, or spiritual discipline, of simplicity comes in. Simplicity of speech is a serious attempt to discipline our speech to take on the quality of Jesus’ speech in what we say. It involves what we do say and what we don’t say. In simplicity of speech, we resolve to use fewer words, and to use our words purposefully; to tell the truth, to express our desires clearly, to build one another up, and to bless.
To that end, this week we’ll begin with a discussion about the nature of our speech and then provide a practice for the week ahead that will be an exercise in simplicity of speech.
The Practice:
Set a goal to catch yourself 1–3 times per day before you speak and choose to be silent instead. This could be a moment when you would interject your opinion, share how you feel about someone, provide advice, or just fill the space. Instead, choose not to say anything. Then, take some time to reflect on how choosing silence over words made you feel.
The goal here is not for you to feel hesitant or self-conscious in every conversation in the week ahead, but to notice what happens when we choose not to speak.
Recommended Reading
To continue the conversation on Simplicity, here are some resources we recommend.
