Sermon Cloud

Epiphany 6 – Simplicity

 

In the Name of God: + Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

 

You can never get enough of what you don't really need.  -  Alan Watts

 

The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat.  - Lily Tomlin

 

Some years ago I came upon a story of a very wealthy Industrialist who was being interviewed.  The interviewer went through a series of questions about how he had acquired his wealth then he asked a simple question: did the industrialist worry about anything?  Yes, he answered – I worry about how I might lose it, and who might try to take it!  He responded: When you’re on the way up you worry about making it, once there you worry about loosing it. He went on to say life wasn’t as simple as it once was.  And some days he longed for the old days before he was so wealthy.

 

We’re getting very close to the end of Epiphany, which means Lent is right around the corner; therefore it’s appropriate to look at the issue of “simplicity” as it relates to being more like Christ.

 

There is a difference between poverty and living in simplicity.

 

Poverty is when you have no money, goods or means of support and as a result live simply or plainly out of the necessity of your circumstances – poverty may be inherited or born into or it comes about by tragic downturns in the economy.

 

Poverty can result from mental illness or lack of education.  Due to the lack of goods, money and a means to support ones self poverty is the end result. Poor sections of towns; ghetto’s and slums are often the places tagged as where the poor live.

 

A person may voluntarily live in poverty but most people will not.

 

Simplicity is freedom from complexity, intricacy (as in simple life forms); it’s the absence of luxury, ornaments or pretentiousness – it’s simply plainness.  Simplicity is seen when people voluntarily living a sparse lifestyle, out of choice and intent.  Money may be a precipitating factor behind a simple lifestyle as may religion, or philosophy of life.

 

Whereas a life of poverty is often not a choice; A person by-in-large would choose to live a simple lifestyle.

 

My mother once told me that until someone told her that growing up she was poor, she had no idea that was the case. In fact even after that revelation was dropped on her she had serious doubts if they were really poor or not; she described their lifestyle as simple, ordinary where she lived – everyone pretty much lived the same way.

 

She was raised in a company owned house, she went to a company school. Her father was a coal miner and was paid in company script; he was out of work fairly often; the mines had frequent accidents; her mother made all of the children’s clothes; her father both worked in the coal mines and tended a small field of crops; they kept chickens and a cow. 

 

She once took a bus to Bluefield, West Virginia, and was surprised to discover they sold women’s underwear in a “five and dime”.  Her best memories were playing in the mountains and picking berries so her mother could make a pie or cobbler.

 

Some could say they lived simply because they didn’t have enough money to live any other way.  That would be a fair way to describe it.

 

Is there any virtue in living simply?  In this day of a shaky economy perhaps this is an opportunity to imitate the Lord and learn how to imitate Him in deeper ways?

 

So I would ask, “what can be learned from imitating the life style of Jesus?”

 

From what we know He seemed to have his base of operation in Capernaum;

 

The Gospels never say whether he owned a home or where he lived (maybe with Peter or James or John) . . . . . we don’t know for sure. . . . even though Matthew 8.20 tells us, “Jesus replied, (to the teacher of the Law)  "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

 

He’s called the carpenters son – did he earn his living the same way?  Probably.

 

He’s described as moving about Galilee, Samaria, and Judea with any number of people following Him.

 

He gleaned food from fields.

 

He celebrated the Appointed Feasts faithfully, therefore He traveled to Jerusalem at least twice a year, if not more often.

 

He took great care for the lives of people.

 

He prayed often and for long periods of time.

 

 

He was focused on His Father’s desire to save His people from their sins.

 

Our focus on Christ will help determine the level of simplicity we pursue in our daily lives.

 

To a greater extent than we might imagine on the surface.

 

How much of His lifestyle can be copied to grow more like Him?

 

I want to focus on two aspects of Simplicity found in Christ’s life that will serve us well in our quest to grow deeper into the Life of Jesus;

 

The first is to - Reject the LOVE of Money:

 

1 Timothy declares, “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil”.

 

Money by itself is of no value; a stack of $1,000 on a table has no power if it just sits there.  It only has power when it’s exchanged for something.  It’s at this point where it becomes potentially evil because when our hearts are too focused on acquiring and we know the only way to acquire is to have money then our focus turns to acquiring money so e can acquire the “things” that set our passions on fire.

 

The result is God becomes less of our passion and things take priority over the Lord.

 

Luke 16.13-15, “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight.”

 

I was raised in a family in which the topic of money was fought over frequently.

 

The pursuit and anguish over money made life very difficult and yes, complicated.

 

My father owned his own business – it failed twice – and resulted in my mother being the first woman on our block to work outside the home.

 

My father took that as an assault on his manhood and eventually they were divorced only to be remarried three years later – but never really got along.

 

Money occupied the majority of his thoughts and time.  It became the measure of his personhood.  In his mind it determined his worth and value.

 

When I graduated from High School and went to college – the first in my entire family – I was told I had to earn my way through school.  He wasn’t going to give me a handout.

At the time it made me bitter toward him.  But through the years the LORD helped me to confess my bitterness and seek restoration with my father before he died.

 

Matthew 6.19, “"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”

 

The wisdom of Proverbs is helps us further: Proverbs 30:7-9. 

 

⁷ "Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die:

⁸ Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches,
       but give me only my daily bread.

⁹ Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD ?'
       Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.

 

The writer speaks his need of God’s provision (give me only my daily bread) and at the same time moderation (give me neither poverty nor riches).

 

He knows that too little or too much provision brings its own sets of evil –

 

He then prays for moderation so he can maintain the proper passion for God and not turn from Him nor dishonor Him.

 

I would suggest such an attitude is where the fruit of simplicity grows in our lives. 

 

It’s where we are neither impoverished nor head long focused on the material world. . . . God continues to reign.

 

Craig Blomberg has written a book entitled, “Neither Poverty nor Riches”.

 

In it he concludes through a survey of scripture that material possessions are a good gift from God meant for His people to enjoy.

 

We’d all agree to that.

 

But in the same breath we all can agree that material goods are the primary means of turning our hearts away from God. 

 

Adam and Eve coveted that attractive but forbidden fruit; most property laws in the Torah set limits on the amount of property one can accumulate; Jesus equated mammon as the rival to God; In James’ community the rich unbelievers judicially murdered the poor Christians.

 

It’s no wonder then that the New Testament portrays a redeemed life as one that among other things experiences a transformation in our stewardship.  Generous almsgiving is commended as is care for orphans and widows.  James and John go as far as to say that anyone who is aware of the need to help a brother/sister and doesn’t cannot be saved (James 2.14-17, John 34.17-18). 

 

Secondly, trusting in God for adequate provision – and being satisfied with that.

 

If you’ve ever had to pack to go to another continent you’ll recall there is the constant question, “What do I need to take?”  What can I not take?  As a novice going to Africa for the first time I took way too much – this last time I took much less – next time will be less yet.

 

It does raise the question – what do we really need to live.  What’s essential and what’s discretionary even opulent.

 

I understand a magazine titled, Yes! Carried a story of a woman that kept here entire possession to 300 items!  Which 300 would you keep?  How hard would it be to pare our possessions down to 300 items?

 

God is our good provider – it seems as though it is us who have been given the freedom to pick and choose what we latch on to. . . . and how much we allow ourselves to be attached to it.

 

Provision comes from God and as He provides for us we are then to share our wealth and thus give provision to someone else.  We must set limits on what we acquire – and give away what we have.

 

God blesses us so in turn we can be like Him and bless others.

 

It’s not that we have earned a higher degree of material possessions and therefore can proudly keep our wealth for ourselves.  Our wealth is given so some of it can be shared.

 

Simplicity in life comes from giving away that which in the end only complicates our lives and sets our possessions above God.

 

Looking to God who cares for the birds and plants, and adorns the lilies so wonderfully - whose promises are for an abundant life, filled with His love for us is sadly and increasingly overshadowed by runaway consumerism.

 

You’ll recall the bumper sticker that was popular years ago that read “Whoever dies with the most toys wins”

 

Consumerism is an addiction to satisfying one's needs through material things.

 

Consumerism is further encouraged through the use of credit cards, loans, and other instruments of debt.

 

In 1996, a writer named Tim Vasquez wrote, “Consumerism is rooted in the suburbs. It was the automobile, cheap gas, and sprawling road networks that encouraged people to move to the suburbs. . . . Parents make frenzied trips from one McDonald's restaurant to another in pursuit of the latest gimmick toy. Highly expensive SUV's comprise 15% of all new vehicles sold, yet many of them are simply used for one person to commute to and from work. Parents take on second jobs to get that third vehicle or that new computer system. Where does it end?”

 

Across the country Christians only give about 3% of their income to their church or mission organizations . . . . . In hard times this is sadly the first place to be cut.

 

Evangelical church parking lots in Louisiana were filled with expensive SUV’s and Trucks. 

 

One pastor was known to have told his members not to bring their old cars to church and mess up his parking lot!

 

There is an old saying that “We spend the first half of our lives collecting things and the second half giving them away.”

 

What if, like Jesus, we never consciously made an effort to collect anything but instead the things we found necessary were acquired and appreciated for their utility not price or value.

 

What if, like Jesus, we sought after justice, loved mercy and walked humbly with God the Father.

 

What if, like Jesus, simplicity lead to a profoundly rich and rewarding life – filled with memories of making a difference in the life of someone in need.

 

An author named Tom Sine (has downsized his household and gives 30% of his income away) has written a book called, The New Conspirators”. 

 

In it he tells the story of a family from Grand Rapids, Michigan, who willingly sold their large expensive home and purchased a much small, less expensive home.  The reason was to save money which could be used in their churches outreach program.

 

He goes on to suggest the church can educate people in downsizing, living simply, looking for ways to consciously cut back expenses and tastes for latte’s and cars and clothes and discretionary spending that amounts to hundreds and thousands of dollars per year.

 

We are entering Lent; we are in the front end of a growing economic situation that will challenge many.

 

Our government thinks it can spend money to right the ship; this will only put generations after us into long term debt and dependence.

 

Our country does not have a clear grasp of how it can truly help the poor; or how we as a nation should use our wealth or share our prosperity.

 

I’d suggest that we all can live more simply - not necessarily out of necessity, even though that may be true in some cases, but out of desire to use our wealth to minister to those in need.

 

We can intentionally incorporate the simplicity of Jesus into our lives in an effort to simplify complicated lives and therefore free us to be more at peace and appreciate the abundance God has given us. . . . then share some of it.

 

We have so much that we don’t appreciate much of what we have.  Too many just assume they deserve whatever they want; or take for granted that what they want they will eventually have – mostly through debt.

 

I can only imagine how this must grieve the Holy Spirit as many live anxious, material dominated lives that leave little or no room for listening to or being guided by the Lord.

 

My prayer for all of us is that we steer clear of loving money; that we seek proper balance of possessions in our lives and trust God for our provision and be happy with it.

 

In doing so we live in the simplicity of Christ – possessing things without being possessed by them.

 

Giving freely – loving neighbor – honoring God – enjoying life to the fullest in simple ways.

 

Let us pray.