SIMPLY

They're powerful words for a culture smitten with more...and more. “Live simply. Be grateful.” I spotted this sign in a gift shop for a small tourist attraction in central Washington. By “small,” I mean seasonal and certainly no Disneyland. It included a few home-brew “attractions” like a corn maze, jumping pit, a basic farm animals “zoo,” and old barrels turned into wheeled kiddy cars pulled by a tractor. But it was enough to charm our little granddaughter, who turned four that day. Her family lives 200 miles away but it could have been a thousand with nearly a year of being apart during the coronavirus pandemic. But that day we were grateful for our short reunion midway between our homes. Yes, we wore masks (hers featured “Frozen”-motif fabric, her current little-girl love) for the masked mini-party in the shelter of the gift shop.

There, amidst acres and acres of various farm crops, some of them mega-farms, I considered again the plaque's message of “live simply” and “be grateful.” These words from Proverbs came to mind: 

Two things I ask of you, O lord; do not refuse me before I die; Keep falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches, But give me only my daily bread. Otherwise I may have too much and disown you and say, “Who is the Lord?” (Proverbs 30:7-9)

One day a friend and I talked about contentment and the materialistic pull of our culture. As one example, how the computer changed our world. Forty years ago, they were an expensive novelty in homes. Now, they (and the tiny computers called “smart phones”) are considered “essential” for modern life. When you fill out a form, you're asked your E-mail address. You're told to “text” for something via your phone. (A disclaimer: our cell is old and doesn't text...and its monthly fee relatively cheap.) Computers helped us weather the pandemic's quarantines with virtual school and virtual work. It's now how our culture works. But that doesn't mean it has to dominate our lives. There is an “off” button, and a world outside.

I find the “essentials of life” given in these few verses of Proverbs very insightful. The writer wants these qualities in his life before it ends.

1. Honesty and transparency. “Keep falsehood and lies far from me.”

2. Enough for basic life. “Neither poverty nor riches.” “My daily bread.”

3. Gratitude to God for “enough.”

Our consumer-focused culture chafes at such advice. It preaches bigger and better. More and more aps. More and more television channels to entertain us. But God's way is “just enough.” If we have more than enough, we share, glad for the opportunity.

I didn't buy that sign, but it expressed my outlook. Less stuff. More gratitude. Spiritually as well as physically.