Rev. Jane-Elizabeth Brakhage Presents
'Spiritual Discipline'
Rev. Jane-Elizabeth Brakhage, Missouri West Conference UMC
(a good friend of Rev. Michael Lee Burgess, shared with permission).
The Spiritual Discipline Of Simplicity
This month's Spiritual Discipline is simplicity. When we think of simplicity,
some of may think of people who don't have many possessions. We may think of people
who dress plainly or wear outdated clothes. We may think of people who walk or ride a
bicycle instead of driving a car. While it is true that these behaviors may be an
outward sign of simplicity, they are not guarantees of it.
The reason for this is that simplicity is more than a lifestyle. Richard Foster,
in his book The Celebration of Discipline tells us that "[t]he Christian Discipline
of simplicity is an inward reality that results in an outward life-style. Both the
inward and the outward aspect of simplicity are essential" (The Celebration of Discipline, p. 79).
To learn more about simplicity we will look at what the Bible says about economic issues and
then turn to the inward aspects of simplicity and see how they lead to the outward aspects.
The Bible is full of passages about economic issues, both in the Old and New Testaments.
In fact, "[t]he Bible challenges nearly every economic value of contemporary society.
For example, the Old Testament takes exception to the popular notion of an absolute right
to private property. The earth belongs to God, says Scripture, and therefore cannot be
held perpetually (Lev. 25:23)" (p. 82).
The idea of the earth belonging to God is behind the practice of the Jubilee Year.
The Jubilee is described in the following passages: Lev. 25:8-17, 23-55; Lev. 27:16-25
and Numbers 36:4. The Jubilee Year was to be held every 50 years and during that year
"all land was returned to its ancestral owners and all Israelite slaves were freed"
(Harper's Bible Dictionary, p. 511).
In addition to the Jubilee Year, the Bible also provides for a Sabbatical Year
every seven years. This celebration was again based on the belief "that the land
does not actually belong to any one person to dispose of at will, but to God" (Harper's , p. 889).
In the Sabbatical Year, the land was to lay fallow and anything that grew on its own was to
be left for the poor and the wild animals. Also, all debts were to be forgiven.
"This remission of debts is designed to provide the means to correct social
inequities. . . .Rabbinical law still requires the observance of the Sabbatical Year in
modern times" (Harper's, p. 889). Some passages to look up regarding the
Sabbatical Year are: Exodus 23:10-11, Lev. 25:1-7; Deuteronomy 15:2; Nehemiah 10:32
and 1 Maccabees 6:49-53.
These practices tried to redistribute the wealth among the people so that all would
have what they needed. This idea flies in the face of our American notion that we work
for what we need or want and that we get to keep it to ourselves. Foster states
that "[h]ad Israel faithfully observed the Jubilee it would have dealt a death blow
to the perennial problem of the rich becoming richer and the poor becoming
poorer" (Foster, p. 82). A recent report said that the gap between the rich and the
poor in this country is widening again and that even families with two wage earners
are struggling to provide basic necessities for their families, let alone the luxuries
that some of us take for granted.
Not only does the Old Testament speak about economic issues, but in the
New Testament "Jesus speaks to the question of economics more than any other
single social issue" (p. 83).Some passages to look up are The Parable of the
Dishonest Manager (Luke 16:1-13); The Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:20, 24); Put God
first (Matthew 6:19-34); the Story of the Rich Young Ruler (Matthew 19:16-23);
and the Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:16-21).
In Matthew 6:33 Jesus says "But see first [God's] kingdom and [God's] righteousness
and all these things shall be yours as well." This is the central point for the
Discipline of simplicity, to see the kingdom of God first, above all else (p. 86).
According to the Matthew passage, when we do this, seek God's kingdom first,
"freedom from anxiety is one of the inward evidences. . . .The inward reality of
simplicity involves a life of joyful unconcern for possessions" (p. 87).
According to Foster, this "freedom from anxiety is characterized by three
inner attitudes" (p. 88). These attitudes are:
1) what we have we receive as a gift from God,
2) what we have "is God's business, and not ours, to care for," and
3) what we have is available to others (p. 88).
These are the inner aspects of simplicity.
A few words about these three. When we receive what we have as a gift from God,
"we work but we know that it is not our work that gives us what we have. We live by
grace even when it comes to 'daily bread'" (p. 88). And what we receive from God,
God takes care of for us. "It is only common sense to take normal precautions,
[like locking doors,] but if we believe that precaution itself protects us and
our goods, we will be riddled with anxiety" (p. 88). Nothing is completely secure
except those things which we leave in God's care.
The inward aspects of simplicity lead to an outward expression in our lifestyle.
One thing that Foster warns against is an outward expression of simplicity that has no
inward aspect. This can lead to legalism which leads to spiritual death. But he does
give us some brief examples of what the outward expressions might look like. How
simplicity might show itself in your life will be different from how it is seen in
another person's life. I will briefly list them here. If you would like to know more,
please ask me or read Foster's book, Freedom of Simplicity.
Here are some examples of what outward simplicity might look like:
1. buy things for their usefulness rather than their status
2. reject anything that is producing an addiction in you
3. develop a habit of giving things away
4. refuse to be propagandized by the custodians of modern gadgetry
5. learn to enjoy things without owning them
6. develop a deeper appreciation for creation
7. look with healthy skepticism at all "buy now, pay later" schemes
8. obey Jesus' instructions about plain speech
9. reject anything that breeds the oppression of others
10. shun anything that distracts you from seeking the kingdom of God first (p. 90-95).
Until next time, may the peace and grace of Christ be with you always.
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