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Simplify Integrity:
Let's not throw our consciences out with the Dom Perignon
When we don't have a lot to spend, trying to stick to our own budget can seem more pressing than making sure what we do spend is being used ethically.
Ruth Valerio challenges us to think about how to use our money and time in ways that reflect our kingdom values - savouring the richness of God's creation as we do so.
"Do your toes curl when you hear the word 'simplicity'? Do you think of woolly jumpers and mung-bean stew? I can't say I blame you if you do, but I hope to show you that simplicity is actually about something far more exciting.
Henry Thoreau, one of the great writers on this issue, said that 'a person is rich in proportion to the things they can leave alone' and, in many ways, this sums up what simple living is all about. Partly, it's about our choices. As we look at our lives, do we know how we've ended up living how we're living, and why? What choices have we made that control our present lifestyle? When we wanted that new house or car, were we aware that the trade-off would mean working longer hours to pay for them and seeing less of the people we love? Too often we find ourselves on the treadmill of life, paying the consequences for choices we hardly knew we were making."
Ruth Valerio runs A Rocha's Living Lightly 24:1 initiative. She lives with her husband and two young daughters in Chichester, England. When she's not speaking on the Bible and ethical issues, Ruth enjoys working on her allotment, and minding chickens and pigs.
S is for Simplicity has been adapted from material written in L is for Lifestyle: Christian living that doesn't cost the earth.
www.lisforlifestyle.com
