The Power of Simplicity in a Consumer-Driven World

6 Mins

A middle-income man from the U.S. traveled to a rural village in Africa. While visiting a family in their makeshift shelter, he said, “I’m sorry you have so little.” The mother replied, “I’m sorry you have so much. It must be difficult to focus on God.”

This modern parable points to what I believe is one of the greatest spiritual obstacles in the Western world: distraction. More specifically, we’re prone to distract ourselves by accumulating more than we need.

The average American home has over 300,000 items.
The U.S. has as many self-storage facilities as Starbucks, McDonald’s, and Dunkin’ locations combined.
The average American home has nearly tripled in size over the past 50 years. Yet one in four people with a two-car garage can’t park in it because it’s too full of stuff.

Our hunger for “more” goes far beyond material goods. More than half of Americans (52 percent) said they’re usually trying to do two or more things at once. When we’re not busy working, we’re spending, on average, nearly 2.5 hours a day on social media. We know this is often less for connection, as we’re promised, and more for accumulating hits of dopamine.

Our closets, calendars, and credit cards shout a singular message: More.

The temptation to accumulate is nothing new. About a quarter of Jesus’ parables deal with money, wealth, or material stewardship. He knows our hearts are bent toward gathering more than we need, which is why many of his teachings are strong warnings around materialism, like: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15).

Perhaps Jesus constantly warned us that “no one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24) because it’s the first temptation he saw us fall for in Eden.

What’s driving us away from Eden

Something that sets us apart from animals is that God created them to be ruled by their desires. If a lion is hungry, it can’t help but chase what it craves. As God’s image bearers, our desires don’t have to rule over us. We can control what we chase.

Everything created by God is good. But good gifts become terrible gods when our hunger for them surpasses our desire for Jesus. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “Earthly goods are given to be used, not to be collected.” When we collect more than we need, we place creation on the throne of the Creator.

The Fall was a result of Adam and Eve ignoring their limits to indulge every ounce of their desires. Ever since then, we’ve lusted after more and distracted ourselves from God’s best.

When the Israelites gathered more manna than they needed, they found it rotten with worms (Exodus 16:20).
When the prodigal son demanded his inheritance, he ended up dining with pigs (Luke 15).
When the wealthy man built barns to store his excess, Jesus called him a fool who would die that night (Luke 12:16-21).

Scripture is the long story of humans chasing more than we need, only to have God rescue us from the disasters created by uncontrolled desires. Our accumulation wounds us and leads us away from the abundant life Jesus promises. God’s continual rescue and provision prove that he is all we need.

Reclaiming a lost spiritual discipline

A.W. Tozer said, “The man who has God for his treasure has all things in One.”

But how do you and I make God our treasure?

One way is to practice the lost spiritual discipline of simplicity.

Simplicity goes beyond an aesthetic trend popularized by minimalists and modern architects.. It’s a posture of the heart that prioritizes God above His gifts. As Richard Foster puts it, “Simplicity is an inward reality that results in an outward lifestyle.”

What you accumulate is a mirror of what your heart desires the most.

Maybe you…

Find yourself planning your next vacation while still on vacation.
Have a growing list of cosmetic changes you want to make to your house.
Get more excited about packages arriving than actually using what’s in them.
Experience dopamine from just the anticipation of checking your phone.
Think more about your list of restaurants to try than your list of people to pray for.

If these apply to you, these are all indicators that you need to practice simplicity.

In a culture that encourages and celebrates accumulation, simplicity calls us to resist these pressures so that we can trust in God’s provision and find contentment in Him alone. Self-restraint opens us up to trust in God’s sufficiency.

The practice of simplicity is an invitation to reduce the clutter from your mind and material life. It paves a path for undivided devotion to God. The beauty of simplicity is that the benefit goes beyond yourself. Since you’re less attached to possessions, you’re able to be more generous, knowing that everything you own is a gift from God.

A common danger in the Western Church is that many of us have come to believe that God cares most about our tithe. But God cares as much about how we steward what we don’t give as what we do. And when you’re not enslaved to stuff, you’re free to give in abundance.

Content in Christ

“Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content” (1 Timothy 6:6-8).

Contentment with God’s daily bread offers the world a glimpse of the hope found in Jesus. This is a life not consumed by comparison and consumerism but where peace and generosity replace envy and greed. It’s a life that’s no longer a slave to stuff and, instead, free to love.

I’m still learning how to simplify my life for undivided devotion to God, but here are a few practices helping me:

I don’t shop for new clothes. I only receive them as gifts, thrift, or from friends who are donating.
I have all notifications turned off on my phone.
I don’t have email (or Slack) on my phone.
I limit my social media use. I use Strava and Goodreads to support my two main hobbies, running and reading, and LinkedIn for work.
I don’t make plans on Sunday. The Sabbath is a 24-hour opportunity to practice simplicity. For me, this looks like attending church and having dinner with the same 10 people in the neighborhood. Besides those two commitments, I make no plans other than stopping, resting, and delighting in the Lord. An empty calendar can be an offering of thanks to God.

Like any other spiritual discipline, simplicity is a means to a greater end: a deeper love of God and people. St. Augustine once said, “God is always trying to give good things to us, but our hands are too full to receive them.”

I pray that we would open our hands and loosen our grip on stuff to be more receptive to God’s best for us. Because when we have less, we’re better positioned to receive the greatest good: more of Him.

Questions for Reflection:

Where in my life do I feel the pull for more?
Is God inviting me to say “no” to unnecessary busyness or consumption?
How can I practice greater generosity?

In what ways do I see God providing enough for me right now?

Scripture References

15.Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

24. “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

20.However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep 1.Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2.But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3.Then Jesus told them this parable: 4.“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5.And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6.and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7.I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. The Parable of the Lost Coin 8. “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins 15:8 Greek ten drachmas, each worth about a day’s wages and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9.And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10.In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The Parable of the Lost Son 11.Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12.The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 13. “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14.After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15.So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16.He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17. “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18.I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19.I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20.So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22. “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23.Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24.For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. 25. “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26.So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27.‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ 28. “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29.But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30.But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ 31. “ ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32.But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ ”

16.And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17.He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’18. “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19.And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’20. “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’21. “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

6.But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7.For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8.But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

Luke Baker

Luke Baker is a freelance writer based in Atlanta, Georgia. Over the past decade, he's written for nonprofits like Catalyst and New Story. When he's not in a Google Doc, he's likely reading, running, or watching Georgia football. He lives in Atlanta with his wife, Sarah, where they love hosting dinners, game nights, and Survivor watch parties.