“The word ‘poverty’ has come to sound so negative and extreme in our ears that I prefer the word ‘simplicity’, because it puts the emphasis on the right points…Our enemy is not possessions but excess. Our battle-cry is not ‘nothing!’ but ‘enough!'”
John V. Taylor (1914-2001), Bishop of Winchester, in Enough is Enough (London: SCM, 1975) 81-82.
I am learning that until we draw the line of how much is enough, which is linked to simplicity and contentment, we can’t embark on the journey of generosity. It is hard because our society reinforces the opposite message that enough is never enough.
In response, Bishop John V. Taylor, friend of John R. W. Stott, calls us repeatedly to ask and answer the countercultural question: How much is enough? For instance, as we look at townhouses in our process of downsizing, we ask ourselves: How much is enough?
As we take our time in answering the question, we have found that the path of simplicity becomes more clear. We are coming to grips with the fact that we need a whole lot less than we thought we did. Join us. Ask and answer this question for yourself.