“There are two ways to get enough: one is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.” G.K. Chesterton
Simplicity is almost lost in our culture. We have believed the lie that more is better, in both possessions and activities. If you have less, it must be because you can’t have more or do more. We are a “go go go” culture and though simplicity still sounds like a virtue and goal, few people really want to attain it. If you have fewer things, you might be poor. If you aren’t working all the time, you might be lazy. If you don’t go to everything, you might be unsocial. And so on.
But simplicity is a beautiful thing. When we fill our minds and our schedules with so many things, we often lose sight of what is most important, or even what is important at all. We forget to pursue God and His glory and we have a hard time building meaningful relationships. We are just too busy.
The Bible says that “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” (Matthew 6:21) and to “Be still and know that I am God,” (Psalm 46:10a) but it is so easy to become distracted!
Busyness is a cycle that is hard to break out of. Let’s imagine a typical American dream family. Both the husband and the wife work full time, so that takes up most of their time. The kids are in school and extracurriculars and have homework and maybe a job and time with friends. That’s all of their time. The husband and wife have to attend all of their kids’ events as well as spend time on their own hobbies and friends. There might be a vacation, activity, or family get together on the weekend. If the family is in church, they have that on Sundays, as well as youth group and Bible studies and volunteering during the week.
Because this imaginary–not so imaginary– family has so many things going on, they need at least 3 cars or everyone won’t be able to get to where they need to. They probably have a big house, because it’s easier to store all their stuff for all their activities and jobs. They will probably eat out a lot and buy a lot of easy food because they don’t have time to cook dinners (or any other meals for that matter). Because of the cars, house, clothes, sports gear, and fast food, they will need to make more money. So mom and dad will have to work more to make up for that. And so it gets busier and the cycle continues indefinitely, until the parents retire, exhausted, and decide to sit back and do nothing for the last 30 years of their life.
Compare that to something like Laura Ingalls Wilders’ family as depicted in Little House in the Big Woods. The family raised pigs, chickens, and a cow and had a big garden. This took care of most of their food. Pa also hunted and trapped and he sold the furs for any other supplies they needed like flour, sugar, and cloth for clothes. They had no other expenses. Ma made their clothes and she also made all their cheese, butter, and sausage. They canned to preserve food for the winter. They went to town once a year and took a bath once a week. They saw their cousins, grandparents, and neighbors occasionally. They played music and games to entertain themselves. Everything was simple.
We don’t have to all live like pioneers or become Amish (and these things are busy in their own way with a lot of hard work) but we could all simplify our lives more and feel better for it.
There are many good things about modern society and technology (such as multiple showers a week 😉 ) and even the Ingalls family got busier later in their life. It’s fine to enjoy your job, friends, and activities. But with all these things, we have lost the beauty of simplicity.
Over the summer, my husband and I lived pretty simply. We mostly stayed in a camper on our land with what clothes and food we need for the week. (No, I didn’t make the clothes, and no I didn’t cook it all over a fire). We don’t have electricity or water on the land yet, so we charged our phones, got water, and used wifi about twice a week. My husband still had to go to work every day, and we still had a lot of expenses, especially for the house, but it was a lot simpler than the American Dream, or even our life at our apartment in town.
One day, I commented on how we pretty much had everything we needed in the camper. My husband replied, “And yet, we still have an apartment full of stuff that we apparently don’t need and haven’t missed all summer.”
We both laughed, but it’s true! How many things do you have that you wouldn’t miss if they were gone? How many outfits or pairs of shoes do you have that you haven’t worn in years? How many dishes or tools or crafts are there that you’ve never used or maybe never even opened? You can probably find a lot!
There are two main types of simplifying: simplifying things and simplifying time. The stuff is easier for me, but it isn’t for everyone. I’m one of those weird people who actually enjoys getting rid of things, and there have been a couple times when I’ve thrown things away that maybe I shouldn’t have. Oops. 🙂 I can be sentimental about some things, but often I am not. I enjoy getting new things sometimes, but I am usually pretty good with what we have, or else I will get rid of the old to make way for the new.
There are often so many things we don’t need or use, and if you aren’t sure about something, try putting it in a box or bag somewhere out of sight for a certain amount of time (such as a month, or even a year, depending on the item). If you haven’t missed it after that time, get rid of it!
Simplifying time is much harder for me. There are always so many things striving for our attention. And these are usually good things! But sometimes we have to say no. Maybe even a lot of times we have to say no. Even if it’s a good thing. We don’t say no for selfish reasons, but so we can pour our time and energy into the things that really matter. We need time to be still. There are busier seasons of life, but if you feel stressed and rushed all the time, you are probably too busy, and something needs to go.
Romans 8:5 says: “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.” Are we setting our minds on earthly things or on that which is eternal?
If you would like to read more about simplicity, there is an excellent book called “The Freedom of Simplicity” by Richard J. Foster. It’s been quite a few years since I read this book, but it was really insightful!