Lately I've been diving into the pool of information about simple living and community building and it seems to me that the two go hand in hand. This has been both a refreshing and daunting concept for me to learn. Refreshing, because I have seen movement by the wealthy toward being willing to live with less and recognizing the wisdom of the phrase, “live simply so that others may simply live.” But daunting because, though I subscribe to the belief that it is close-knit communities are what will help change our individualistic, selfish agendas, I also find it hard to get out of my comfort zone and take the initiative to create these types of communities. However, my values outweigh my fears and it is for this reason that over the past year I have tried to reduce my consumption and the amount of ‘things’ I have that clutter my life. I have also worked on building communities that care about their neighbours (you can ask me if you want details). But I have also recognized that individual change is not the only thing that will have an impact. Not everyone is going to want to ‘regress’ to a simpler life and live in these close-knit communities (though I could give you many reasons as to why having less things and less money and living in community is, in fact, no regression at all). No, we will need change on a larger scale. We will need economic and social change; we will need policy change. People are becoming discontent and this, oddly, makes me happy, for discontent breeds change!
Today I will be continuing my exploration by heading to the Occupy Newmarket movement’s first general assembly at Fairy Lake. The Occupy movements started this September in New York with a group of protesters sitting in on Wall Street to protest the wealth gap and the gross power that major banks and multinational corporations have over the global economy.
As I head to the Occupy Newmarket GA I take the time to recognize that I myself am part of the global rich. I am in the top 15% of the wealthiest people in the world (globalrichlist.com) and therefore am not innocent. It is a scary and overwhelming thing at times, this thing called ‘having money.’ Scary because most of the time I don’t feel very rich; overwhelming because some mornings I wake up and feel anxious about all of the things cluttering my large bedroom. There is a balance that I am trying to find, one that has never been easy for me, even when living in a less-developed country for 4 months. But I hope that as I continue to read stories of people who have transitioned to simple living and as I read my Bible and support social change initiatives such as the Occupy movements that I will begin to discover what this ‘balance’ thing means for me as an individual, and through that I will be able to reveal truths to others about the danger of our consumption habits, and the hope we can find in old ideas and new passions.
I really do hope that the Occupy protests will be productive and inspire the policy change that we need, but I also want to take the time to highlight my personal beliefs about social change and helping the poor. These beliefs are not based on government responsibility for taking care of the poor (though this is the widespread view), but rather that I as a Christian am part of a body of believers that needs to step up. The Church is Christ’s hands and feet and as His body we need to respond to our mission. This is not just about giving donations to important projects or spending a few hours every month volunteering at the soup kitchen (though those acts are important too). This is about loving our neighbours as ourselves in an honest way. Jesus blessed the woman at the temple not because she gave those two small coins out of her wealth, but out of her poverty. Jesus is calling us to love our neighbours sacrificially. He is calling us to enter into suffering with them as He entered into suffering with us both in His life (John 11) and in His death. This doesn't mean that we necessarily need to sell all we have and become poor (though there are Christians who have been gifted with the spiritual gift of voluntary poverty; Google Shane Claiborne and Brandt Russo for more info), but rather that we need to build solidarity with our neighbours (poor or not) through offering our time, our hearts and at times, our wallets. It isn't going to be easy, at least not if you try and do it through your own strength, but through the power of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit we can begin to sacrifice for the sake of Christ.
Mark 10:25 says that “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God." It is hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom because the rich often fall in love with their money and end up committing idolatry. It isn't impossible (for nothing is impossible with God - Luke 1:37) for a rich man to enter, but it is increasingly difficult. This is why Jesus talks about money so often and warns His followers of its snares.
This isn’t about being ashamed of your wealth, we've talked about that before. It’s not about what you have but what you do with what you have, or what you would be willing to do if called to do so (Matthew 19:21). It’s about building solidarity with the poor and about giving out of your poverty, not just out of your wealth. It’s about being willing to sell everything you own for the sake of Jesus Christ; it’s about valuing eternal things over earthly things; it’s about storing your treasures in the right place. It's about not committing idolatry with your money. It’s about loving your neighbour as yourself and maybe, just maybe, acknowledging that loving your neighbour could hurt sometimes.
