Penelope Wilcock: Simplicity is not optional; it’s the path to life!

“I have come to believe that the threshold of the Way of Life is simplicity. We make the choice; we receive the faith; we place our trust in God…How Jesus put it, calling a little child to stand in the midst of them, was ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven’ (Matthew 18:3 NIV)…The entry point is simplicity…

Many people say that simplicity is a personal choice (it is, but not in the sense that they mean it—optional); some are called to it, others are not. Soothingly, reasonably, as to a willful child (my bad attitudes drive them to it, but they’re still wrong!), they explain to me that as long as a person has simplicity on the inside, in the heart, that’s what matters—then it’s okay to embrace all the trappings of worldliness, because what God looks on is the heart. Unequivocally, I refute this. They mean well, but their advice is a signpost that points in the wrong direction.”

Penelope Wilcock, In Celebration of Simplicity (Monarch Books, 2009) 11-12.

“This is why God has allowed you to have more: not for you to waste on prostitutes, drink, or fancy food, expensive clothes, and all the other kinds of indolence, but for you to distribute to those in need…The rich man is a kind of steward of the money which is owed for the distribution to the poor. He is directed to distribute it to his fellow servants who are in want. So if he spends more on himself than his need requires, he will pay the harshest penalty hereafter. For his own goods are not his own, but belong to his fellow servants…For you have obtained more than others have, and you have received it, not to spend on yourself, but to become a good steward for others as well.”

John Chrysostom (347-407) Archbishop of Constantinople in On Wealth and Poverty, trans. Catherine P. Roth (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1999) 49-50.

“I pledge to discover how much is enough for me to be truly fulfilled, neither rich nor poor, and to consume only that.

I pledge to be part of the discovery of how much would be enough for everyone–not only to survive but to thrive–and to find ways for them to have access to that.

Though this commitment to restraint and justice, I am living the teachings of Jesus, healing my life and am part of the healing of the world.”

Evy McDonald in Simpler Living, Compassionate Life: A Christian Perspective ed. Michael Schut (New York: Morehouse, 2008) 66.

“Money motivation is not the best motivation; in fact it can make you down right miserable. It frustrates you and those around you because money-motivated people are never content. They have an insatiable desire for the next deal or the next opportunity to make more. An all-consuming desire for money leads you to compromise common sense and character. Ironically, your family suffers the most even when your desire is for them to enjoy the benefits money may produce…
        
Money motivation is the antithesis of mission motivation. The latter has a greater purpose in mind. The focus is on excellent work accompanied by eternal expectations…Money becomes a result, not a reason, when the mission creates a culture of care and collaboration…There is a discipline in decision-making that characterizes mission-driven people and organizations…Mission is the master of money, so focus on the mission of your Master, Jesus, and you will be much more productive in the long run. Mission motivation keeps you trustworthy, effective, and blessed by God.”

Boyd Bailey, excerpt from Wisdom Hunters daily e-devotional December 30, 2013.

“Simplicity helps us see what has eternal value and what does not, what we dare not live without and what we must let loose from our hands. When learned and practiced well, simplicity gives us the gift of peace and contentment whether life shows us with calm and plenty or harrowing storms and agonizing loss.”

William D. Watkins, The Busy Christian’s Guide to Experiencing God More (Ann Arbor: Servant, 1997) 85.

Simplicity can be described as “practicing a lifestyle free of excess, greed, and covetousness so that we can draw closer to God and reach out to others in compassionate service. As we enter into simplicity, the Holy Spirit empowers us to seek first the kingdom of God, to keep our eyes on Jesus, and to live free of crippling anxiety and lust for money.”

Siang-Yang Tan and Douglas H. Gregg, Disciplines of the Holy Spirit: How to Connect to the Spirit’s Power and Presence (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997) 175.

“We are to be centers through which Jesus can flow as rivers of living water in blessing to everyone. Some of us are like the Dead Sea, always taking in but never giving out, because we are not rightly related to the Lord Jesus. As surely as we receive from Him, He will pour out through us, and in the measure He is not pouring out, there is a defect in our relationship to Him. Is there anything between you and Jesus Christ?”

Oswald Chambers (1874-1917), My Utmost for His Highest (Grand Rapids: Discovery House, 1963), excerpt from September 7 reading.

“Gratitude is an offering precious in the sight of God, and it is one that the poorest of us can make and be not poorer but richer for having made it.”

A. W. Tozer (1897-1963) as recounted by Vernon K. McLellan, Twentieth Century Thoughts that Shaped the Church (Carol Stream: Tyndale House, 2000) 242.

“It is when I turn to Christ, when I give up myself to His personality, then I first begin to have a real personality of my own…There are no real personalities anywhere else. Until you have given yourself to Him you will not have a real self…But there must be a real giving up of the self. You must throw it away ‘blindly’ so to speak. Christ will indeed give you a real personality…

The very first step is to try to forget about the self altogether. Your real, new self (which is Christ’s and also yours, and yours just because it is His)…It will come when you are looking for Him. Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favourite wishes, every day and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fibre of your being and you will find eternal life.

Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in that long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else…”

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (C.S. Lewis Pte. Ltd.: 1980) 226-227.

“It’s Christmas every time you let God love others through you. Yes, It’s Christmas every time you smile at your brother and offer him your hand.”

Mother Teresa as recounted by MariLee Parrish, Love Came Down at Christmas (Uhrichsville, OH: Barbour, 2013).