Thoughts of A Ragamuffin, Part 7: Simplicity, Contemplation, Freedom
Since the beginning of the year we’ve been in a series of messages inspired by the
book “An Arrow Pointing To Heaven.
It’s a look into the life of Rich Mullins one of my favorite song writers and
more so one of God’s prophets.
A prophet is one who speaks the truth.
There are not many popular prophets in the Old Testament,
many of them are killed by those they are prophesying to.
2 Chronicles 36:15-16 (MSG)
God, the God of their ancestors,
repeatedly sent warning messages to them. Out of compassion for both his people
and his Temple he wanted to give them every chance possible. But they wouldn't
listen; they poked fun at God's messengers, despised the message itself, and in
general treated the prophets like idiots.
I think one of the main reason prophets are treated badly is because
they are outside the norm, and ,
they say some very difficult things for people to hear.
They prick the conscience.
They stand back and give God’s view of things.
They point out how we have missed the point .
They tell it like it is.
They live a radical type of life, some might even say a strange life.
Rich Mullins was a prophet.
Some of the things he said, and did,
some of the ways he lived his life,
makes me kind of uncomfortable.
He points to my complacency and says: “Really Mike?”
“Is this all you’ve got?”
His views on a life of simplicity is one of those things.
Today that’s what we need to explore.
I’d like to pass on this one because there’s a lot that its real close to
home,
in fact there’s a couple of direct hits in
Chapter 7, My One Thing.
It’s a message about finding freedom in simplicity.
Its about discovering your one thing,
The one thing that you are going to build your life around and
upon.
When you leave here today one of the messages I’d like for you to
walk away with is insight into the Apostle’s Paul’s secret of
contentment.
Philippians 4:11-13 (MSG)
I've learned by now to be quite content
whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much
as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry,
hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through
anything in the One who makes me who I am.
The secret to the Apostle’s contentment is that God was his one thing.
I am definitely going to invite you to struggle with me as we try to figure out how
to live lives of simplicity in order to live our lives to the full.
We will explore what disciples are supposed to do with money and
possessions.
Let me bottom line that for you right now:
John Wesley said:
“Earn all you can,
Save all you can,
Give all you can.”
(John Wesley on giving,
Serving God with Mammon)
Now if we just walk out of here today and start doing what Wesley encourages we
will begin to live a life of simplicity.
If you read the gospels, especially Luke,
you will find that Jesus speaks frequently about economics.
Some enterprising proof texters will tell you that 1 out of every 7
verses in Luke address an issue or gives an illustration tied to
economics.
That money is so frequently addressed really shouldn’t be such a surprise since the
Christian faith has so much to do with heart and what’s motivating you.
Luke 12:34 (MSG)
It's obvious, isn't it? The place where
your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.
Simplicity has a lot to do with economics.
Simplicity calls for a whole new way to look at money and possessions.
A whole new way of relating rightly to the Earth.
As with most of the ills humanity contends with
we can trace things back to the Fall.
It’s amazing what one act of disobedience can set into motion.
When Adam and Eve helped themselves to what God had forbidden in effect the
whole human race said “I will provide for myself.”
(Richard J. Foster, Freedom of
Simplicity, p. 19)
The Apostle Paul’s secret to contentment was his radical dependence on God.
He knew that God would provide what was necessary.
Everything else was inconsequential.
God was Paul’s one thing.
“Simplicity means a return to dependence on God.” (Foster, p. 19)
Simplicity is radical dependence on God.
I have to use the word radical because what is the norm for the saints
of yesterday seems to be so strange to us today.
C.S. Lewis wrote:
“One of the great dangers of having a lot of money
is that you may be quite satisfied with the kinds of happiness money
can give and so fail to realize your need for God.
If everything seems to come simply by signing checks,
you may forget that you are at every moment totally dependent on
God.”
(C.S. Lewis, Mere
Christianity, Chapter 10)
Maybe that’s why Jesus told His disciples:
Luke 18:25 (NIV)
Indeed, it is easier for
a camel to go through the
eye of a
needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom
of God."
Just a note of great importance.
If you are an American your standard of living makes you a rich person,
even if you are living on welfare checks or social security.
Its amazing but true.
The average per capita income,
The average amount of money people make when you consider the
entire workforce of the world is $8,200 per year.
Where the Stars and Stripes waves over the land of the free and the
home of the brave, the average income is $38,000 per year
for working adults. That’s the average.
Based on the 2009 figures the average income in California is $42,000
per person per year.
When we consider just Huntington Beach it drops to
$40,000.
Lets say you are making is minimum wage at 40 hours a week that amount is
still more than double the world average at close to $17,000 per year.
Now granted the cost of living in California is larger than the incomes we receive.
If you are fortunate in this economy you are just scraping by paying your
taxes, putting a place over your head and food on the table.
You take a vacation—you’re rich.
You eat out –you’re rich.
You have discretionary income –you’re rich.
If you have money in a savings account—
You’re rich.
When you have money you have to be mindful of the eyes of needles.
When we have enough to take care of ourselves we don’t depend on God.
We trust in our ability to make money.
We end up treasuring our assets instead of our relationship with
God.
If we are not careful we won’t make it through the eye of the needle because
we are trying to bring too much stuff with us.
Simplicity boils everything down to One Thing,
Nothing is more important than your relationship with God.
Not money, not possessions, not success, not fame,
Not health, not a full belly,
what matters is relationships lived righteously.
When its all said and done the only thing that will matter is the quality of the
relationship you shared with God and with others.
“Simplicity is an inward disposition,”
Of trust in God that results in being content with having your needs meet;
which frees you from the desires “wants” create.
(James Bryan Smith, An Arrow
Pointing To Heaven, p. 125)
Don’t really need it, I may want it, but don’t need it, why buy it?
Don’t use it any more, why keep it?
Get rid of as much stuff as you can.
Give your excess away.
Simplicity is the “firm conviction that the things of this world are nice but passing,
that money and fame cannot buy us happiness,
that what we really need and deeply desire is to be in union with
God” and each other.
(Smith, Arrow, p,125-126).
The old hymn of the church sings—
“take this whole world but give me Jesus.”
(I Have Decided To
Follow Jesus)
Captures the concept of having God as your one thing.
It’s an incredible change of perspective,
A paradigm shift from depending on yourself,
To total dependence on God,
which brings contentment.
Everything rises and falls on relationship.
When you make God your one thing it frees you to pursue
relationships.
Success in the eyes of the world is no longer a concern.
What you have isn’t a measure of your worth.
You let your righteous relationships set the agenda.
Simplicity means we change our understanding of ownership to one of
stewardship,
we view material possession not as our own,
but to be used for the kingdom.
It’s the freedom not to be possessed by possessions,
and empowerment to be able to give them all away for the cause of
of Christ.
Rich said: “poverty is being a steward of whatever resources you have,
as opposed to being the owner of those resources.”
(Mullins, Smith, Arrow, p.
139)
It harkens back to the book of Acts:
Acts 2:44-47 (NIV)
All the believers were together and had
everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they
gave to anyone as he had
need. Every day they continued to meet together in the
temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and
sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the
Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
What I have is ours, what you have is ours,
together we will be wise stewards of what is ours.
Can you imagine really living this way?
I don’t want to live like the seagulls in the film:
Finding Nemo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4BNbHBcnDI
To live without possessing requires a radical change of attitude.
You can fake it, it has to be an inner transformation,
A miracle in the heart.
Join me in seeking God for this kind of miracle.
{bring your extra stuff}
Simplicity is living like you don’t need anything but God in your life.
Friends this has not been an easy thing for me to master.
I seem to identify better with the rich young ruler.
Mark 10:21-22 (MSG)
Jesus looked him hard in the eye—and
loved him! He said, "There's one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give
it to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come follow
me." 22 The man's
face clouded over. This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked
off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not
about to let go.
All I have to do is look in my garage and in my closet and see
that I’m holding on to stuff I need to let go of,
so that I can grab unto Jesus’ hand and not let go.
For Rich “quite often discipleship meant enduring suffering,
giving away one’s treasures,
and sacrificing for the good of others.
It certainly meant letting go of the things that possess us,
and for most of us,
that would be the false sense of security that comes from
relying upon money and possessions.”
(Smith, Arrow, p. 130)
Rich Mullins lived this way.
Popular recording artists even in the Christian realm make decent money.
Rich made a deal with his accountant to only pay him an average
salary of the average working adult, in 1998 that was $24, 000.
When he died Rich had saved 4 months salary.
Now granted Rich was single,
he didn’t have the responsibilities that you do caring for a family,
so he could live the way he felt the Lord wanted him to.
He could be that free spirit,
Who had nothing to lose because His one Thing was
God.
This gave me new insight into the Apostle Paul’s encouragement to stay single if
you can.
1 Corinthians 7:32-35 (MSG)
I want you to live as free of
complications as possible. When you're unmarried, you're free to concentrate on
simply pleasing the Master. 33 Marriage
involves you in all the nuts and bolts of domestic life and in wanting to please
your spouse, 34 leading
to so many more demands on your attention. The time and energy that married
people spend on caring for and nurturing each other, the unmarried can spend in
becoming whole and holy instruments of God.
35 I'm trying to be
helpful and make it as easy as possible for you, not make things harder. All I
want is for you to be able to develop a way of life in which you can spend
plenty of time together with the Master without a lot of distractions.
Rich could live like a homeless person because he didn’t have many of the worries
that I have chosen to take on by getting married,
having children,
putting a roof over your head,
and all the bills and responsibilities that go along with
those kinds of choices.
Hasn’t there been times in your life when you felt that God wanted you to do
something, maybe something wild and radical,
and you got home and decided you wouldn’t do it because you had
financial responsibilities or
you just couldn’t imagine putting
your family through what it seemed God wanted
you to do?
We say where God’s guides, He provides, but we play it safe,
We trust in ourselves to take care of ourselves,
And we’re right back committing the same sin as
Adam and Eve.
Rich’s last place of residence was a small travel trailer on an Indian reservation in
New Mexico where he spent free time building hogans.
One of Rich’s passions was teaching music to native American kids.
His long time friend Jim Dunning said:
“Six weeks after Rich died,
we went down to the reservation to get all of
his possessions and give them to family…
We stored them temporarily in an eight-by-ten storage room…
here was this guy who, in his entire life,
could fill up only eighty square feet” with his stuff.
(Smith, Arrow, p. 143)
Simplicity for Rich “is a right attitude,
An attitude that allows you to have and enjoy what you need,
and praise God for it without being captive to it.”
(Smith, Arrow, p. 142)
When you’ve got God,
and God is your one thing,
you understand that the material stuff of this world is passing,
you don’t get attached to it.
When you’ve got God,
And God is your one thing,
You see “material things for what they are –
goods to enhance life, not to oppress life.” (Foster, p. 3)
When you’ve got God,
And God is your one thing,
“People once again become more important than possessions.”
(Foster, p. 3)
Jesus tells His disciples:
Matthew 6:19-20 (MSG)
"Don't hoard treasure down here where it
gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile
treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars.
“The treasures we store up in heaven are the lives we helped to change,
the moments we gave ourselves for the good of others,
and the things we gave away in order to help someone who was in
need.” (Smith, Arrow, p. 143)
I want you to leave here today determined to stockpile treasure in heaven.
Go out there and use what God has entrusted you with,
Use your money, use your talent, use your time,
To love on people that’s the way to grow your heavenly savings
account.
The great secret to contentment in all situations is having God as your one thing,
Having faith that He will meet your every need.
The secret to contentment is utter dependence upon God.