Try simplicity over shopping
It’s Black Friday!
Your social media and emails have probably already been filled with advertisements letting you know about the latest sales and deals to get you to purchase that thing you’ve been wanting to get or that item you had no idea you wanted until today.
The average American will spend $430 on Black Friday.
Online shoppers spent $9.2 Billion in 2022 on Black Friday
It is nice that we no longer have to wait in line all night long to get the item we want (remember those days?!) We can simply open up our laptops or phones and purchase it at the click of a button.
What if we tried something different? Consider the Discipline of Simplicity
Mark 1.6 - “John [the baptist] wore a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.”
Materialism is so tempting.
Social Media makes everything look so good with the sponsored Ads that continually pop up making me feel like I “need” that thing.
Why was John the Baptist tied to this description? I believe it revealed his character and calling to completely focus on pointing people to Christ.
I’m not saying that you should wear camel hair and eat locusts, but I am challenging us to consider the discipline of simplicity.
“The christian discipline of simplicity is an inward reality that results in an outward lifestyle.”
- Richard Foster, author of The Celebration of Discipline
What do you think is the cause for the desire for more? More clothing. More items. Etc… Why do you think people feel tempted by materialism?
I think a desire for more often comes from :
Lack of trust
Temptation of Comparison
Jesus fought against the materialism of his day.
In Matthew 6, as he delivers the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, “don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?”
When Jesus sent out the disciples in Luke 9 he told them, “don’t take an extra shirt.”
Let me say, I don’t think it’s bad to have possessions. We obviously need stuff. But I do think that a lack of simplicity comes from a lack of trust that God is going to show up, and also a desire for validation from the world.
But the challenge Jesus gives us in Matthew 6 is to remember how valuable we already are, and to seek the Kingdom of God first.
Here are some practices that you can try:
Purchase for usefulness, not for status.
Reject anything that might produce an addiction.
Practice the habit of giving things away.
Don’t let social media advertisements get you (this one’s for me…).
Learn to enjoy things without owning them.
Simplify your schedule.
Seek the Kingdom of God first.
Try this one today:
Count your clothes.
Before counting, guess how much you think you have then find out how much you actually have. To make it simple for today, start off with just your tops (shirts, sweaters, jackets, hoodies, etc…).
We often choose to wear the same items even though our closets and drawers are full of stuff. So after you count, consider what you DON’T already wear and give it away.
