Living More with Less

I just finished the book Living More with Less by Doris Janzen Longacre.  Truly, it was really a book compiled by Longacre because most of the text was actually written by people across the U.S. and even across the world.    I believe that the purpose of the book was to motivate reconsideration of the way we live and do things and then provide practical options for change.  Although this book was written 30 years ago, I found it entirely thought-provoking and relevant.  One attraction to me was the it was written by Christians (Mennonites!); I so rarely find another Christian with an interest in simple living, so it's nice to have two of my passions shared by a group of people.

Although the book was filled with wonderful suggestions, I want to talk a little bit about how a different part of the book affected me.  There were themes tied in throughout the book that included "Do Justice" and "Learn from the World Community."  These two themes really stirred me.

The following is one of the verses in the Bible that always inspires me:

And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:8

Quoting Longacre, "Do justice must become the first standard for living by which Christians make choices.  Our knowledge of others' needs and our guilt must resolve itself into a lasting attentiveness.  This means being mindful, conscious, aware, so that never again can one make a decision about buying and using without thinking of the poor."  While I think that ultimately it is love that is the first standard for living by which Christians should make choices, doing justice certainly is part of love.  

Certainly part of doing justice is the way that we spend our money.  Throughout the book, there were beautiful examples of churches choosing to do without large buildings, remodels, new equipment, etc and instead giving money to others.  I think this also connects with the idea that we should be buying less so that we can spend money on ethically made products, save some money instead of going into debt, and give some money away.

Beyond personal choices, Longacre also addresses the fact that our political and economic system are an important part of creating justice.  In fact, our system is currently broken in the sense that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer despite working hard.  We are turning into a society of the "haves" and "have nots", and our lawmakers are being paid by corporations to make decisions that are bad for people and good for corporate profit.  Even people in our rich nation are struggling to get health care, food for their children, and other basic needs.  Of course, there are many others struggling even more than this around the world.

As we vote, and as we have civil conversations with others where we express our opinions, we should be considering who is benefiting from the policies being considered.  Who will benefit from tax cuts?  Who will get hurt?  Who will benefit from deregulation?  Who will get hurt?  I understand that some people believe in allowing the free market to do what it does without government intervention, but is our market really free?  Will the free market really benefit people in need and/or is the free market more important than fighting against unfair labor practices?

I love the way that Longacre introduces the idea of learning from the world community:

"If you as a North American travel to an economically poor country such as Haiti or Bangladesh, your first reaction is likely to be shock... After a time, shock gives way to ideas for development projects typically conducted by church agencies...These reactions are certainly warranted.  God help us when poverty no longer shakes us into action.  But how rarely we realize that person from other countries often go through a similar thought process when living with us!... For we, of course, have problems too.  No one wants to hear the whole sordid list again, but it begins with materialism, violence in streets and homes, family breakdown, drug and alcohol abuse, automobile accidencts, poor diet and degenerative diseases, waste of material resources, pollution, and nuclear proliferation.  What if we became as concerned with our overdevelopment or maldevelopment as we are with the underdevelopment of poor nations?"

Throughout the book there are stories involving Mennonites in others nations, and I appreciated hearing new points-of-view.  I think that it is a great idea to learn from those who have the wisdom and knowledge to live well and find joy with few possessions.  Our society is not perfect, and I believe that the imperfections have slipped into the church in ways that are ignored.

So indeed, as I live, I wish to do justice by be thoughtful about my actions and consumer purchases and by giving to those in need.  I also wish to learn to view our country in an even more humble manner.  Just because we have a high GDP does not make us wealthy in worthwhile manners, nor does it mean we have God's favor.