Simple Living

Use these resources and find ways to eliminate conventional distractions in your life

What is your definition of simple? How about simple living? It can be easy to find distraction at nearly every bend in the road these days—job stress; coordination of children’s schedules; keeping up with the latest technology, gizmos, and gadgets; “running out of time” to be still and reflect on God’s purpose in our lives…the list goes on.

The resources in this section often play up the maxim that “less is more.” Strip away those distractions that you can, and accept or learn to better manage the areas of your life that by necessity cause you to become busy. All of these resources can be used in congregational life, and most lend themselves to practical learnings without a group setting.

LifeLines simple living issue	Sustaining Simplicity: A Journal
One issue of LifeLines, the World Hunger quarterly newsletter, was devoted to helping you “slow down, slim down, quiet down, and step around the temptations to cram your life full.” Included are resources to help you explore this topic even further. [Download PDF]	This book helps you—individually and as a leader—struggle successfully to manage your life in a simple way. By living simply, you can free God-given time, energy, and money from the clutches of a materialistic frame of mind. [more]

Hunger & Hope: Dramas about Poverty, Hunger, & Mission	Living Simply with God: A 40-Day Hunger Calendar
Put on any of these 11 dramas in your congregation or small group, and squeeze new life into the ways you explore and facilitate discussion about hunger and poverty. [more]	Any calendar helps you mark your days on Earth, comparing them to each other, making sense out of each one. This calendar is about hunger that God wants us to abbreviate, alleviate, eliminate. The calendar is also about how you can live a joyous and abundant life, filled with generosity towards others. A life modeled on Jesus’ own. A life that’s lived simply so that others can simply live. [more]

What does God’s word say about simple living?
The prophets, priests, evangelists and Jesus are pretty clear:

• God is a God of abundance, not scarcity. (John 10:10)
• You don’t save yourself by the way you live, by what you have or keep, by how big you build your barn or how tall you stack your CD’s. (Luke 9:25)
• God isn’t exactly all that pleased with hoarding, selfishness or fear about dying. (Luke 12:32-34)
• Be satisfied with what God gives you. (1 Timothy 6:5b-10)
• The only question about “giving your life away” is “How will I do it?” (Matthew 16:24-25)
• The reason you have anything is to get God’s work done, not to make yourself into God. (1 Timothy 6: 17-19)
• The blessings around you? They’re given to you for redistribution. (Proverbs 19:17)
• Most of the important things in life are simple at their core. If you’ve been following along in the Bible, you already know what they are. (Philippians 4:8-9)
• For answers to questions, pray. (Isaiah 65:24)
• For courage, bind yourself to the community of believers around you. (Isaiah 43:1-3; John 17:15-19)