Whatever Happened to "Living Simply"?

by Esther Epp-Tiessen
Article, November 2004
Peace Ministries

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, a popular slogan went like this: "Live simply so that others may simply live." I remember seeing the message posted on university campuses and hearing it preached from church pulpits.

I liked the slogan it spoke truth. For it conveyed the idea that alleviating need was about resolving the basic injustice of some people having too much and others having not enough.

The slogan has fallen out of use and so, it seems, has the movement. To be sure, there continue to be small groups of people who choose "voluntary simplicity." And there have been other movements over the years, such as "living more with less" and "living with enough," as well as the more recent, "buy nothing Christmas." But in general the call to live simply seems conspicuously absent these days.

Perhaps the message of living simply so that others may simply live is just too simplistic (no pun intended). Just because I eat less meat or tropical fruit, it doesn't follow that a peasant farmer in the Philippines will have more food for her children. Economic systems and structures that perpetuate inequality and injustice need to be transformed.

But the need for change at the macro level does not mean that micro level change – individuals choosing to live simply – is foolish or without value. There are many reasons why living simply is as critical today as ever, perhaps more so. Here are a few:

1. Living simply is an act of discipleship.

Jesus soundly condemned the wealth-seeking of his own day. He called his disciples to seek first the Kingdom and not to worry about what they would eat, drink and wear. He called the poor blessed and uttered "woes" against the rich, telling stories to illustrate his point. He declared that mammom (love of wealth) prevented people from serving God. He warned against "laying up treasures on earth" and told people to give away their possessions. A commitment to Jesus led members of the early church to share their goods with one another. Surely those who claim to be Christ's faithful followers must grapple with his clear call to a simple life.

2. Living simply encourages generosity.

Jesus honoured the poor widow who placed two copper coins, her entire living, into the synagogue treasury. He recognized that, oftentimes, it is the poor who demonstrate the greatest spirit of generosity. The more stuff we humans acquire, it seems, the less we are willing to part with it. A commitment to living simply encourages us to be more generous. When we are less attached to "our" money and "our" possessions, we are freed to share them with others. And when we give more freely and generously, we in turn find ourselves less concerned to acquire more things.

3. Living simply demonstrates resistance.

Our economy is driven by a culture of consumerism. Marketers and advertisers continually make us feel ashamed if our clothes are out of style, our car is old or we don't have the latest electronic gadgets. Living simply is a way of resisting this insanity. It is a way of being conscientious objectors to a society and an economy that depends on people being kept in a state of perpetual dissatisfaction. Someone has written that "conformity to a sick society is to be sick." A tradition of nonconformity has historically been an important piece of the Anabaptist-Mennonite heritage. That tradition, especially as it applies to the culture of consumerism, is worth rediscovering.

4. Living simply fosters sustainability.

Living simply is a way of preserving God's creation. We all know that extravagant and wasteful lifestyles contribute to environmental depletion. Indeed, scientists with the "ecological footprint" movement indicate that if everyone consumed in the way that most North Americans do, we would need 2 to 3 additional planets to provide the resources and process the waste. The earth cannot sustain such a level of consumption. A commitment to live simply is a necessary part of valuing and helping to preserve God's creation.

5. Living simply invites discernment.

A colleague recently lamented that her life was too busy to allow her to live simply. The pressures of time forced her to act in unsustainable ways. Too often she found herself throwing together meals of processed food when there were only 15 minutes to eat or making many extra excursions with the car to get her children to their various activities. Many of us know that reality. A commitment to live more simply makes us consciously confront the stresses and pressures in our lives. It pushes us to make intentional choices about those things which are truly life-giving, perhaps even limiting involvements that are good and worthy. It helps us to be discerning about our lives.

6. Living simply is an act of witness.

A friend of mine chooses to take a bus rather than an airplane to Calgary, not because the bus is cheaper, but because it uses less fuel and thus is less harmful to the environment. The family of a colleague – one with teenagers, no less – chooses to live without a car. Yet another family chooses to shop at a downtown independent grocer than at the big superstore in the suburbs, thus paying considerably more for their groceries; they say they can better support local producers this way. All of these people are a witness and an inspiration to me. They encourage me to take another step on the path of faithful living and they remind me that there are others on the journey.

7. Living simply evokes celebration.

Much of the impulse for the simple living movement has been middle class guilt. But guilt has little staying power. Moreover, guilt-motivated simple living will likely find expression in legalism and rigidity. We will find ourselves judging those who buy a certain house or take a certain vacation. Spirit-filled simple living, on the other hand, is characterized by joy, freedom and peace. It is grounded in God's promise of abundant living and enough for all people. It is the outward expression of a life focused on seeking first God's Kingdom. It is an act of celebration.