#Simplicity - Part 1

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It’s Instagram doctrine: a simple life is a happy life.

Is it true?

That depends on your definition of simplicity, I suppose, but I don’t think campfires, guitars, and Edison bulbs are necessary to happiness.

This is my definition of “simple life”: A life organized around the values of the one living, excluding what detracts from the pursuit of those values.

That is probably the definition someone’s using when they share a cheesy Instagram post with campfires and Edison bulbs, but I think that definition is also worthwhile for Christians to live by. Christians should be known for simple lives--that is, lives organized around their values (Col. 3:17; 1 Cor. 10:31).

The thing is, your life already reflects your values, whether or not you consciously chose to prioritize those particular values. In Renovation of the Heart, Dallas Willard insists that what you do actually does reveal your character, and I think he’s right.

Right now, you actually are the sort of person who would read this blog post. Maybe yesterday, you actually were the sort of person who would scroll through Facebook for 30 minutes without a specific goal. Maybe at Christmas, you actually were the sort of person who would spend money and time to maintain your hope of inheriting wealth from someone.

Your actions reflect your choices. Your choices reflect who you are. However cluttered your life may be, right now, you are living out your values.

A simple life is one in which you don't try to hold onto opposing values. You reflect on your values; you release the ones that are inconsistent with who God made you to be.

The spiritual discipline of simplicity is not about owning little, but about choosing which values are going to run your life.

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