Simplicity

Good morning brothers and sisters in Christ!

I hope and pray that this morning has been a productive one so far. The text that I read this morning was 2 Corinthians 4:8-13 in which the Apostle Paul put forth their physical struggles as apostles. And there is even a tone of sarcasm as he semi-accused his readers of self-sufficiency. In any case, the whole idea of how "materialism" impacts our daily walk continues in this portion of Scripture.

Yesterday I mentioned how part of our walk as disciples was to acknowledge that all of our blessings come from God. One question that was raised as part of my devotional reading was, "Are there ways that I can simplify my lifestyle in order to be a better steward and offer more to God?" I think that we all would agree that there is a "power" to money and material goods. There is something about it that attracts us to it. We would like more of it. And sometimes we think, "If I only had ____ dollars, life would be perfect..." Not realizing that if we would only simplify our lifestyle, life could very well be "perfect."

To simplify my lifestyle would mean that there are some areas of spending that I would reduce or dramatically reduce in. To simplify my lifestyle means that I would have to drastically modify my spending and become more intentional as to how and where my money is going...all the while remembering that ultimately it is not my money, but that it all comes from God and belongs to God. To simplify my lifestyle means that I would be more generous when it came to giving to the things of God. That doesn't "sound right", but it's true. When we simplify our lifestyle, we are in a better position to be generous...all with a cheerful heart.

I am not a financial analyst, but I do know that human nature tendency is "the more I earn, the more I spend (over spend)", and I also know that to simplify our lifestyle cuts against the grain of our human nature. Why? Because it all begins with our hearts and mind. When we come to Christ, our way of living and thinking must change. When we realize just how God's grace has redeemed, restored, and reconciled us to Himself, we want to be good stewards of all that we are before God. We want to please God in all that we are and do. A redeemed heart will be a grateful heart, a restored heart will be a giving heart, and a reconciled heart will be a generous heart.

How can you and I simplify our lifestyle in order to honor God? What area of our lives needs to be simplified?

Prayer: Lord, You are the giver of all things. Your word says that all the gold and silver are yours. You give us the strength and ability to earn a living. Help us to simplify our lifestyle and be better stewards of your gifts to us. Give us a disciplined, thankful, and a generous heart. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.