23. New Testament Simplicity

23

NEW TESTAMENT SIMPLICITY

Learning to use earthly things correctly is one of the greatest challenges facing Christians today.

Extremists and false teachers abound, teaching asceticism on one hand and the prosperity gospel on the other. For those seeking reality, we must avoid both extremes and learn the balanced teaching of the Bible on how we are to handle money.

Let’s say you knew for certain the future of international relations, and you knew there would be a nuclear war soon. Let’s say you also knew the exact targets, and they included your hometown, your working place, your house—in other words, everything you have in this world.

How would you live with such a knowledge? Your material things wouldn’t mean much to you, would they? Or your career, home, car, art collections or whatever else you now prize. I’m sure you’d want to do everything you could to save your family, friends and loved ones.

Such knowledge would create a radical shift in anyone’s priorities. Yet, as Bible-believing Christians, we have just such an urgent knowledge. We know with absolute certainty that everything in this world will soon be completely burned up (see 2 Peter 3:10) and that everyone we know and love will die within a few years. And we know that billions of others around the world also are on their way to an eternity without Christ.

With this knowledge and what the Bible teaches about sharing, love and detachment, just how should we be living?

The conclusion is inescapable: In light of the present world condition and the commands of Christ, we must give everything above basic necessities to complete world evangelism.

Each of us is assigned a different place in the harvest field. The meaning of simplicity will therefore vary from time to time and place to place, but no Christian is exempt.

We need to learn to live the lifestyle that we read about in the Bible. In Luke 14:25–35, Jesus is talking about nothing less than a radical life of sacrifice—one in which we count the cost and decide that we will pay the price by turning our backs on the luxury lifestyles our culture has conditioned us to expect. “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33).

If you are living for Christ, you don’t look at your living room and dream of what kind of furniture you can buy. Instead, you find ways to do without or wait on God to supply.

Paul wrote to young Timothy, “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier” (2 Timothy 2:4).

We are already at war. The day we acknowledged Christ as our Savior we signed up for battle. Let us start living in the light of spiritual reality.

Join the mighty minority in a radical, far-out life of simplicity that will seem crazy to many of your family and friends. You can live a greedy, self-indulgent life. Or you can choose the way of the cross, living for others as Jesus did and still calls us to imitate today.

I want to encourage you as a family to try this: Sit down with a pen and paper and ask the Lord to show you some very practical ways you can start simplifying your life right now. I am offering a list of suggestions below as a catalyst to stimulate your thinking. These ideas were gathered from people of many different ages and walks of life. As a result, the suggestions touch on diverse topics, not all of which apply to everyone. They also vary widely in how much money they could free up for the Lord’s work. But even those suggestions that are not huge money-savers can help build discipline into our lives. And remember, even a one-penny Bible tract can save a soul for eternity!

As I reviewed the suggestions for application to my own life, I was personally very challenged by several of them. Although it is not a perfect list, I believe the Lord will use it as you prayerfully seek His heart on this matter.

Personal Finances

Give to the Lord the first fruits of your income. This is not only a spiritual principle; it will also cause you to be a better manager of what is left.

Refinance your mortgage at a lower interest rate.

Review your family insurance needs every year. Shop around for the best total value, and ask about discounts for having safety devices, taking defensive driving or having a claim-free history.

Make a budget for expenditures, and plan your purchases based on your budget.

Manage your money to avoid unnecessary finance charges, such as penalties for paying a bill late, annual credit card fees or bank fees for checking accounts, ATM withdrawals or online bill paying.

Stop using credit cards altogether if you’re not paying them off each month.

Shopping

Consider buying quality used items instead of new.

Take time to compare prices before buying anything expensive.

Do not be persuaded to pay more for extra features you don’t need.

Do not buy specialized tools you will rarely use. Rent or borrow instead.

Shop with cash instead of debit or credit cards, and don’t take more cash than you need.

Plan your meals before shopping for groceries. Make a shopping list and stick to your list.

Buy generic and house brands.

Buy in bulk, but only on items you will definitely use. Or form a shopping co-op with friends. Together you can purchase large quantities and split them up.

Do not window shop; it only stimulates the lust of the eye. Today’s “windows” include store catalogs, shoppers channels and online auction websites.

At Home

Do preventative maintenance on your home in order to fix things cheaply before they get worse.

Evaluate your total household bill for Internet, phone and television service. Can some things be eliminated, combined or shared?

Reuse the items that you have. For example, you can save gift wrappings, wash and reuse certain kinds of food containers or line your wastebaskets with plastic shopping bags.

Make your own household cleaners. You can find recipes on the Internet.

Trade services with others, such as car maintenance, home repairs, yard care, sewing and mending, haircuts, music lessons, cake decorating, and so on.

Cancel newspaper and magazine subscriptions if you can get the information you need free somewhere else.

Agree with other like-minded adults not to exchange presents.

Prayerfully weigh the costs and benefits of having pets.

Set your thermostat a few degrees lower in the winter and higher in the summer. You might also consider investing in a programmable thermostat.

Use a fan instead of air-conditioning as much as possible.

Turn off the lights when you leave a room, and put your porch lights on a timer.

When cooking, be diligent to use up perishable food items before they go bad.

Cook your favorite meals in large quantities and freeze meal-size portions for later use.

Whenever possible, pack your own food and drink for meals outside the home. By planning ahead, these meals can be fun as well as nutritious and economical.

Serve desserts only for special occasions.

Hold a “garage sale for missions” event every year and sell off the things you don’t use. Invite your neighbors to donate items too.

Clothing

Whenever possible, avoid buying clothes retail. Shop for clothes at warehouse/outlets, thrift stores or garage sales.

Borrow one-time-use items, like a formal dress or a snowsuit for a day in the snow.

Swap hand-me-downs with friends. This is especially effective with kids’ clothing.

Coordinate new clothing with old clothing, so your wardrobe is versatile. You won’t need as many pieces.

Mend clothing instead of tossing it.

Families with Children

Make your own baby food by pureeing real food. You can freeze it in ice cube trays for later use.

Organize a baby-sitting co-op with friends and neighbors.

Teach your children principles of stewardship at an early age, and encourage them to find ways to simplify their own lives.

Organize carpools to transport children to events.

Be moderate in giving toys to children. As often as possible, give them quality attention instead.

Transportation

Maintain your car regularly to reduce costs of expensive repairs. Keep your tires inflated properly to improve fuel efficiency.

Depending on your situation, consider buying a more fuel-efficient vehicle or reducing the number of vehicles in the family.

Explore alternate ways of getting around, such as carpooling, riding a bike, walking or taking public transportation.

Combine errands on trips around town.

Plan to refuel your car when you are down to a quarter tank. This way, you can avoid refueling at the nearest, most expensive station when your car is on empty.

Drive your car longer before replacing it with a newer one.

Medical/Dental

Understand the medical/dental policies you have, and ask questions to avoid unnecessary out-of-pocket costs.

Ask your medical provider or hospital for a discount if you’re paying cash.

For prescription drugs, look into generic brands and mail-order options.

Find inexpensive ways to care for your body now to reduce high bills later. This might mean taking a good multivitamin, climbing the stairs at work instead of taking the elevator, eating an apple instead of a cookie as a snack, going to bed an hour earlier or flossing your teeth.

Entertainment

Save restaurant meals for special occasions.

Organize picnics, potluck dinners, game or video nights and other activities with family and friends instead of more costly entertainment options.

Take your vacations out-of-season to get better prices. Also, look for vacation options closer to home, or take a vacation every other year rather than every year.

Whenever you can, use a coupon or a “groupon” to reduce the cost of entertainment.

Reduce or eliminate costly hobbies or expensive recreational activities.

If you are an avid reader, find a good library near your home. Also, consider the long-term cost savings of purchasing an e-reader.

Enjoy free activities in your community, such as libraries, parks, museums and events hosted by local colleges or area churches.

Church Leaders

Review the entire church budget every year to direct funds away from self-centered uses and toward missions.

Take steps to measure the fruitfulness of your current investments in mission programs.

Set aside at least five percent of your gross budget to support frontline indigenous missions. Cut other programs as necessary to make sure this minimum goes overseas.

Use Material Goods for the Kingdom

Again, let me stress that these suggestions are only ideas to spur your thinking. You will need to tailor them to fit your unique life, including where you live, your livelihood, your family situation and other realities.

I also want to encourage you to start with one or two ideas and make them a habit before adding more. One way to become discouraged on this journey is to try to do everything all at once. Give yourself and your family plenty of grace as you learn new principles. The important thing is to keep trying to obey what the Lord is asking you now.

As you continue to grow in this area, you will discover situations where time is a more valuable commodity than money. That is, spending a little money to save time will sometimes be more fruitful for the kingdom than spending more time to save money. Only the Lord Jesus can show you the balance He wants for you.

Please also realize that what the Lord shows you may be quite different from what He will show to others. So it is very important that you not judge others based on the light and the grace He has given you to walk this narrow road. Let the Lord lead you for your own life. All Christians are called upon to find ways to simplify their own lifestyles as the Holy Spirit directs them, and not accordingly to any one guide or standard.

The goal in all of this is to employ material things for the kingdom of God rather than ourselves. This is one of the truest tests of where our affections really lie. Christ demands nothing less than lordship of our whole being, including the material blessings we have accumulated in this life.

It’s not how much we give that counts—but how much is still left sticking to our fingers. That is the only way to measure correctly the simplicity of one’s life. It remains one of the most private, spiritual self-examinations we are required to make, but absolutely essential if we are to have the spiritual reality we seek.

John Wesley once said, “To lay up treasure on earth is as plainly forbidden by our Master as either adultery or murder.”[1]

Wesley, had he lived today, would have been a millionaire many times over. Yet he diligently operated his affairs so that he never had more than a few dollars in his pocket. He conducted a worldwide ministry, yet he always said he handled his financial affairs with such simplicity that there would be no need of a will or executor for his estate.

And he was true to his word. By the time God called him home, friends and family were amazed to find Wesley had indeed quietly and systematically given it all away to the Lord’s work. Nothing was left but the loose change in his pockets.

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