Devotion Time about Simplifying

My new year has had a rough beginning.  I got sick on New Year's Day with a nasty cold.  And so, the last couple of days have consisted of me trying to kick this illness.  I have had a lot of time, however, to begin my devotional studies for the year.  

While I am waiting to begin one that I have to order, I decided to read a devotional on the YouVersion Bible app.  Joshua Becker has written a book by the same name, The More of Less  which I am also reading.  

I am also going through Praying The Names of Jesus by Ann Spangler.  I have had this devotion for a couple years, and I never stuck with it. 

 

Ironically, the two devotions seem to be reinforcing the same things.  My devotion in Praying the Names of Jesus today was on Jesus being the Bread of Life.  Ironically, I'm gluten free and don't eat a lot of bread.  However, I loved bread...  a LOT!  When Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes to feed the five thousand, the bread was barley.  Wheat was the bread of the wealthy. Jesus gave them cheap but miraculous bread to sustain them.  The best day the people followed Him, wanting Him to give them more bread.  But He was the Bread that could satisfy eternally, not loaves of barley... no matter how miraculous.  It's the difference of living off of McDonald's French fries instead of a gourmet meal. 

Too many Christians are satisfied with the cheap bread or the happy meal. Joshua Becker makes the same point in The More of Less.  We fill our lives with excess possessions.  We buy the big houses and the nice cars and the large televisions and call ourselves blessed.  But... is it a blessing?  What if all our "stuff" actually gets in the way of our spiritual growth? 

A few years ago I read two books that opened my eyes.  First, I read Crazy Love by Francis Chan.  Then I read Radical by David Platt.  Both books planted seeds in me about what a sold-out life for Jesus would look like.  

The American Dream with all its comforts and niceties, it's the cheap bread.  It's the Happy Meal.  On the surface, than American Dream is shiny and looks new.  It would seem as if that American Dream was the blessing of God.  But is it?

Blessing isn't about stuff. Joshua Becker writes about how excessive accumulation of possessions is actually keeping us from being happy and content.  Ann Spangler writes that when we are full of the cheap bread, we may not be hungry for the Lord.  John Bevere once said that if we aren't hungry for God, we should look to see what is filling us.  Chances are we are full of the world. 

There are many ways to be full of the world.  We can be filling up on the world with the movies and television shows we watch, with the magazines we read, and with the sites we browse on the internet.  We can be filling up on the world with the people we call friends and spend time with. Having things doesn't mean we are full of the world.  

This is my personal journey.  My husband and I homeschool.  We live on one income, and it is a working class income that is stretched as far as we can.  The decision to homeschool our children has meant that we purposely live with a little less.  We don't take fancy vacations.  We don't buy expensive anything.  We save for big purchases.  We buy curriculum at tax time.  We are careful, because homeschooling is important to us.  

Living with less money can be difficult.  We don't order pizza all the time.  We go out to eat a handful of times per year.  We drive a much older vehicle.  We take cheaper vacations (the few times we can afford to)  usually staying with friends.  

Watching others can create a lot of envy.  When I walk through the nice homes of family while I live in a small apartment, I have to keep my heart in check.  I don't begrudge others their nice things and nice lifestyles.  I really don't.  But I can feel a bit jealous at times.  I have to remind myself that I choose to homeschool, to put my children first. 

Having less money can make a person a great "bargain" finder.  And, I was also a bit of a pack rat. Despite a limited income, my home was full.  Cluttered.  And I felt weighed down by the stuff.  While I can't afford the buy new stuff often, I don't want a life full of junk.  I want peace and less stress.  I want the items I own to be nice things, things I love, things I want to keep.  I want contentment, even if I can't afford a lot of things.

Even more, as a Christian, I feel like all this stuff keeps me from the life God wants me to have.  I feel like Jesus didn't die so I could have a bunch of stuff.  He doesn't want me living off the cheap bread.  I agree.