Simplicity

I love simplicity. I love going back to the basics. When life gets complex, I return to the foundation, Christ. When my theology gets out of hand and my theories become frayed at the edges, I cut off the all the excess and return to the Source. Maybe its because of how complex my mind can be that I value simplicity so much. The simplicity of going out for a run and communing with nature and God is one of the most effective means to quiet my restless mind, heart, and soul. Maybe that explains some of my life choices.

One might describe me as a minimalist. I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm anti-materialistic, at least not in the way ancient philosophers might have asserted. I'm the kind of guy who doesn't value money very highly. I use it to meet my basic needs for which it can provide (only a few of my basic needs, the others of which money has no bearing) food, clothing, and shelter. I feel no need to seek a career that will give me loads of money. I don't even feel like seeking a career that would provide any money at all. I like to serve people with no monetary benefit to myself. I don't like to accumulate property. If it were up to me, anything beyond my immediate needs I would rather give away most of the time (my books are one apparent exception, but I tend to lend them out and sometimes not get them back, so not really). I like to go hiking and spend time with friends, things that take no money. I like to run in my Vibrams because they are closer to my bare feet than a regular pair of shoes and maybe someday I really will run truly barefoot. All of this to illustrate something that I believe that affects me in all these ways, that nothing truly belongs to me. Everything I see around me, my clothes, food, trinkets, books, air, and even my own body are not mine. I am simply a steward of these things that I call "mine." I suppose thats why I don't care how much money I have or what I eat. I could eat high class food just as well as I eat rice and beans. I could live indefinitely off of whatever God gives me because I don't worry about how He uses what belongs to Him, including my self.

I've been thinking about this recently and realizing some of the repercussions of this belief and this lifestyle. One is that it dramatically reduces my desire for and ability to get married and have children some day. Don't get me wrong, I sometimes long for such things, but there are some difficulties. On the one hand these lifestyle choices will make the transition to the mission field, wherever that may be, an easier one as I can adapt to basically any condition. However, it also means I would have trouble providing for a family. Maybe I'm not supposed to and rely on God. But I have to admit there would be tension there between my minimalist attitudes and my family. To be sure it probably wouldn't be possible with any woman that didn't share most if not all of these views to begin with. I don't know about you, but women like that are exceptionally rare, at least among those I've met. I'm not particularly worried about it though. I don't think its really up to me anyhow.

For His Glorious Name,
Jason