VIM:
Matthew 6:25
Matthew 6:22-24
We are dis-eased from being double-
and double-
.
Nothing spreads this dis-ease like the propaganda of
.
“Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, and our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of…. It is they who pull the wires that control the public mind.” —Edward Bernays
“We [have begun] to identify our worth with how much money we made or how many possessions we owned… Our identity has changed: from being American citizens to being American consumers. We now produce very little for ourselves. We have become voracious consumers of not only goods but services, all in an attempt to increase our quality of life.” —Evy McDonald
“Consumerism surrounds us like the air we breathe, and like air, it’s invisible. We hardly even know how much we are influenced by the philosophy that we must buy, buy, buy if we are to be happy.” —Joshua Becker
“Think of the misery that comes into our lives by our restless, gnawing greed. We plunge ourselves into enormous debt and then take two and three jobs to stay afloat. We uproot our families with unnecessary moves just so we can have a more prestigious house. We grasp and grab and never have enough. And most destructive of all… Greed has a way of severing the cords of compassion.” —Richard Foster
The practice of Material Simplicity
The practice of simplicity is removing the number of digital distractions, material desires, and relational dishonesties that keep us from living a joyful life in the kingdom with Jesus.
Luke 12:13-21 CSB
Staying in the posture of
will keep you in the prison of
.
A PLAN FOR MATERIAL SIMPLICITY:
1.
: What do you value most in life?
“MINIMALISM: the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from them.” —Joshua Becker
2. Experiment: I will live without
(possessions) for
days.
“We have to choose between our stuff and our serenity because physical clutter creates mental clutter.” —Jan Johnson
3.
: Decluttering isn’t removal to get God’s approval but it’s making space for God’s grace.
In a world that is constantly calling us to raise our standard of living, what would it look like if our community raised its standard of loving?