The Log

As I’ve worked through Richard Foster’s “Celebration of Discipline” for the second time, the chapter on simplicity has resonated with me much more than it did on my first reading 4-5 years ago. Whether because of my online life and habits or because I’ve just grown older, the ideas represented here appeal to me.

At one point, he contrasts simplicity with asceticism, which can be easy to confuse:

Asceticism and simplicity are mutually incompatible. Occasional superficial similarities in practice must never obscure the radical difference between the two. Asceticism renounces possessions. Simplicity sets possessions in proper perspective. Asceticism finds no place for a “land flowing with milk and honey.” Simplicity rejoices in this gracious provision from the hand of God. Asceticism finds contentment only when it is abased. Simplicity knows contentment in both abasement and abounding (Phil 4:12).

When attempting to deny the trappings and lifestyles of modern society, it is so very easy to go too far and adopt a mindset of denying oneself for the sake of your own righteousness. It’s comforting to find that others recognize this as well.

The scripture Foster references above has always been a favorite of mine. The apostle Paul describes how his experiences had led him to this state of balance, where earthly circumstances no longer dictated his outlook on life:

Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phil 4:11-13

He speaks of a peace I strive for in my life. Foster summarizes his ideas on the subject nicely:

Simplicity is the only thing that sufficiently reorients our lives so that possessions can be genuinely enjoyed without destroying us.

Good thoughts, which are best put in perspective with the rest of the chapter. Give it a read.