Less is More: Simply Trust Him

In my last blog, I wrote that attempting a more simplistic life is so much easier said than done. While “simple” may denote effortlessness, I have concluded that living simply is more complex than at first observation. However, in this blog, it is my hope that a small sampling of these veiled mysteries will be revealed and that an understanding of Scripture will allow you to turn understanding into action.

You have already learned that trust in God is the single most important lesson needed to begin our new journey on how to live more simply. But sometimes, there is a struggle to learn how to live and how to make decisions that affect our life. For example, do we buy the new dishwasher or car? Are music lessons more important than braces?

Throughout the ages, God has emphasized that He seeks those that trust and obey His word. In order to trust, we must be convinced that God is faithful to keep His word and promises to us. We will now look at two profound instances in the Bible that will reveal the depth of the trust issues.

1) Starting from the beginning is a very good place to start. The very first laws that God sent to His children to give them order and direction into their life are found in the Ten Commandments. The first three commandments staccato warnings against idolatry. Idolatry is anything that attempts to align itself higher than God. The last commandment strikes at the very heart of sin…the spirit of covetousness, or the undisciplined craving of attainment for more and more.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not proponing that having things is wrong. What I am stating is that when ambition or acquisitions become our focus or our idol, then like an alcoholic, we become so engulfed by the disease that we do not recognize the problem. God clearly warns us in His commandments that diverting from His law will lead us toward living a life separate from Him.

2) The second instance voices what Adam and Eve stated just after the fall, “We will provide for ourselves." Independence, or the attitude of self-reliance, comes at a high price. We are designed to look to God solely for our dependence and trust. When we truly realize that all we have comes from His gracious hand, then we can begin to foster a deeper trust; then we can begin to let go of our false notions that we must acquire on our own terms. Simplicity means a return to that dependency. Our intrinsic value is not tied to wealth, status, accomplishment, or position. What we have is a gift.

When we look at our material blessings, we then begin to realize that they are not for us alone, but for the good of all. God’s great generosity to us allows us to model that generosity to others. Because He gave, we are enabled to give. Living simply means that we trust God for His provisions and that what we have comes from a generous Father. Trusting frees us to give from a grateful heart, knowing that we give because we were given. Idolatry and covetness are replaced by obedience and blessing.

As we progress in our attempts to live more simply, we shall see this blessing is not in terms of materialism as touted in today’s mass media. Material blessings, while pleasant to have, turn sour when too much of a good thing becomes clutter. God’s blessing is His peace or Shalom. The vision of Shalom is captured by what Bishop John Taylor calls “the theology of enough.” I pray that you have enough understanding to begin to put thoughts into action.

In my next blog we will learn that living simply is not an action that we must strive to do, but rather, it is from God’s grace that allows simplicity to reign in our lives.

~Eileen Koff, CPO
To The Next Level

GET GREEN: How many light bulbs does it take to change a world?

You can fix a leaky facet, block the draft beneath the front door, and use higher efficiency light bulbs. These are such simple deeds that I bet you wouldn’t think twice about doing them. But, by taking “living green” to the next level, you can make an even larger impact; not only on your wallet, but for the planet. Here are two green-conscious things you can do right now that you might not have ever considered…

1)Junk Mail: Return to Sender
Here’s a BIG “beef” of mine. Everyday I find at least one or two credit card mailers from banks asking me to open up another credit card account. Here’s what I’ve started doing.

Inside the mailers are useless materials that don’t have your name or any of your ID information. There is also a return postage envelope. I stuff the envelope with the material that does not have any ID information and mail it back to the sender.

Remember: Do NOT put a return address sticker on the envelope. That way, the sender is then paying for their useless garbage. Now, I know it’s a VERY small protest, but if more people started dong it, I'd hope there would be less mailers.

Why is this in the "GET GREEN" section? At least 100 million trees are destroyed each year to produce junk mail and 28 billion gallons of water are used to produce the paper. All of these resources are wasted to produce items many people don't even look at. About half of all junk mail is thrown out unopened or unread, and the rate of response to junk mail is less than 2 percent. The result is that more than 4 million tons of paper are wasted every year, according to the Native Forest Network (now known as the WildWest Institute).

Junk mail also has a direct negative economic impact as well. An estimated $320 million of local taxes are used to dispose of junk mail annually, and transportation of junk mail costs about $550 million per year, not to mention the air pollution generated during transport.

You can fight back. Read about effective ways to reduce and even eliminate junk mail.

But, better yet, stop the junk mail from coming into your home for GOOD! Go to: http://charityguide.org/volunteer/fifteen/junk-mail.htm.

2)You Don't Know What You Don't Know

If you’re like me, you don’t even know you’re paying for energy that you don’t know you’re using. Even if you hit the off switch on many appliances they continue to draw power. Anything that has an LED bulb that glows even after you turn it off will continue to suck energy. The TV, cell phones, computers, and printers are just a few vampires lurking in your home.

It’s very easy to just unplug them from the wall sockets and plug them into a power strip instead. Then when you leave the room or go to bed just flip the switch and that will cut the flow to the appliances. The “glowing appliances” could be sucking the average home owner $200.00 a year. Now that’s worth knowing about!

To read more about what you can do, go to:http://charityguide.org/volunteer/fewhours/global-warming.htm.

~Eileen Koff, CPO
To The Next Level