Simplicity is a spiritual discipline that I have never heard of and when reading Foster I learned that it is an inward reality that results in an outward life-style; it is inward focus and unity. Foster states that the central point for simplicity is to seek the kingdom of God and the righteousness of His kingdom first and then everything necessary will come in its proper time.
For this discipline, I chose to examine one of Foster's ten controlling principles and apply it to my life. I chose the second one which states reject anything that is producing an addiction in you; this was a little weird for me because I love buying things that I think i need but i actually don't For example, I love buying clothes even though I have an abundance of clothes already that I don't even wear. Going about days and remembering that I am doing this was hard because I, of course, had the mindset that I "needed" that outfit but knew that I couldn't because I wanted to focus on this discipline. In the end, it was very trying but rewarding because now I think twice about what I am buying and if I really do need it to survive.
I really understand what you are going through! I have that bad tendency to buy because I want (or because it is on sale) instead of buying because I need. Especially right now with Christmas right around the corner, all the advertisements and materialism surrounding us just does not help us at all. If I am buying something for someone else I feel even better about my purchase because I am "giving". I put that in quotations because it isn't really giving if others are expecting the gift. It has to be selfless on both sides. So I guess going into this Christmas season we just need to remember the foundation of simplicity and it's importance when we are surrounded by those thought of "I want! I want! I want!" Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDelete