What is Simplicity?

There is no missional living apart from simplicity. Jesus was not caught up in the accumulation of stuff. Nor did he allow the tyranny of the urgent to catch him in its controlling grasp.

Too often, I struggle to remain free from things that want to thwart my pursuit of His mission. Simplicity is a prime asset in missional living. When I am controlled by neither calendared events nor costly things, I am free to prioritize my life according to the will of the Other.

Every so often, I need to go back and read Richard Foster’s Freedom of Simplicity. The rereading is not because I have forgotten, but because I need to be reminded of the possibility of living in a way that runs counter to contemporary culture.

Whether I am reading Foster or going back to St. Francis, I am reminded that value has little to do with cost. In fact, some of the most valuable things in life are those which money cannot buy and death cannot take away.


Today, I am thinking again about my lifestyle. I am inventorying my calendar and possessions. I am asking myself what I am holding on to that has become a stumbling block to my pursuit of God’s purposes.

Cluttered closets and busy calendars may be symptoms of a deadly spiritual disease. I am not at ease without simplicity. That is a place where I evidence faith in the Father’s capacity to meet my needs. It is the place where the song of a common bird becomes valuable. It is the place where my library card is as important as my Visa card.

It is the place where I can set aside a day to be alone with God in Sabbath rest. It is a Quietplace of simplicity that frees my soul of any pursuit that separates me from knowing God.

Living Missionally

Consumerist and missional lifestyles are opposite ends of the cultural perspective. One seeks to obtain more, the other gives itself away. While culture at large may applaud a giver, it does so because giving is considered atypical. If all people were placing the desires of others first, seeking to give rather than to receive, any uniqueness would be lost. The applause would dissipate in light of what would be typical behavior.

Of course, that typical behavior was Creator’s intent. The missional lifestyle is learned from the original Giver, not from consumerist culture. It consistently disregards personal comfort in view of pleasing the Other. The missional lifestyle serves Christ by serving others. It is expressed through a sacramental personality in which Christ is allowed to have His way. Those seeking to live missionally, relinquish their own desires to Christ. His will matters more than their own. They pray with Jesus, “nevertheless not my will, but yours be done.” And they mean it.

As I think about people who have influenced me through their own missional lifestyles, I think of humble servants whose countenance and behavior reflected the character of Jesus. They are those who have abandoned themselves to Him. They loved to serve others. Oswald Chambers said it best, “If we are abandoned to Jesus, we have no ends of our own to serve.” He is the end …and the beginning …of the missional life.