Simplicity?

Why are we so content with our lives?  Why do Christians just sit where they are and, even though they are promoting good and “fighting” for a change in the world, we are so content with what we have and we don’t want to give up the luxuries that we have and go to help those who need it?  There are some who do, and we celebrate those who do, but it is so hard for us to do it ourselves.  Yet that is what Christ commands us to do.  “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”  We know this, yet we don’t do it.  Churches don’t even preach on simplicity anymore because people would hate to listen to that message and, chances are, the very pastor who would be preaching that sermon does not practice it.  I wonder what would happen if a pastor in an affluent church would preach a sermon on simplicity and how important it is to forego our worldly possessions and work to spread the love of Christ.  What would happen? Would people be mad, would they say the pastor is twisting the words of the Bible?  Or would it start a change?

On another note, what is the definition of simplicity in today’s culture?  Jesus told the rich young man to sell everything he had so that he could be called a son of God, that was what simplicity meant to Jesus.  Yet today our simplicity consists of not having the newest HD TV, or the newest Ipad, or the biggest house, or a nice car.  But Jesus taught to sell everything.  That is a little different from the simple life that we Christians live in today’s society.

I am not saying that I have this down, not at all.  I am currently typing on a Macbook Pro, I have three guitars and three guitar amps, I have tee-shirts up the wazoo, I have a 32” flat screen TV, I have more shoes than I know what to do with.  That is not simplicity.  It isn’t what Jesus preaches.  And because of this I am stretched for money.  But how can I give these things up?  Well, I could give up the shoes and the shirts pretty easy, I definitely don’t need those, but everything else?  I am attached to them, I paid for them, they are mine.  I don’t want to give them up.  But maybe I can give up part of my things, I don’t know.

If we look at the Amish, or the Quakers, there is some simplicity in this culture.  But is God calling us to have so much simplicity that we separate ourselves from the culture and, therefore, forgo most of the witness that may have with those in our society that have a lot of possessions.  I don't believe it. Yet, at the same time, are we so eager to not offend anybody with the Gospel that we tell them that they can have anything and everything they want as long as they believe.  I don't think that is what the Bible teaches.

What I want to do in life is not something that is going to make me rich, it isn't something that will give me an affluent status in life, and that is what I want.  Does that mean simplicity?  Does simplicity mean stretching to make ends meet our entire lives?  Or does it mean something different? What does it mean?

Feel free to help me out with this.

Proverbs 20:5  "The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters, 

but a man of understanding draws them out."

I Google imaged "simplicity" to find a picture to go along with this, and I found the one at the top, but I also found this one.

Is this what simplicity means?

Do less, have less, for yourself?

Or is it to do less, have less, for others?

There is a difference between what this world sees as simplicity and what Christians are supposed to see.

"Live simple so others may simply live" is one way I have heard it put.

 

Life, love, liberty, and conflict minerals.

So, what is life?
What is love?
What is liberty?
And what are conflict minerals?

Well, I will get back to the first three, but conflict minerals are minerals from Africa (in this case, the Congo) that are being mined and sold and the revenue is being used to fund the armies (rebel and government) that are around the area fighting for control.  Well, the revenue isn't exactly, well, it partly is, but mostly it is the high taxes that the armies impose on the people that live and work in the mines. 
So these minerals are then used to make our phones, or computers, or etc. etc.  You know, stuff that us first world countries have and, literally, cannot make a decent living without anymore.
Why does this pertain to you and I?  Because we are the consumers of these products that are being made to finance wars, basically.  And to support slavery, because that is what happens in these mines.  Slavery. 
So yeah, this is a little scrambled, but here is my main point.
Pressuring these big corporations (like Nokia) to use conflict-free resources is a good thing, and and important thing, and I think that it needs to be done.  But realistically, that will just be an endless cycle.  I don't know for sure, I haven't done research on it, but I feel like there aren't enough conflict-free resources around for companies to not use conflict-minerals without prices going extremely high and everybody complaining.  Yeah, the companies may stop buying from suppliers that they know use conflict-minerals, but once they start using another supplier and this huge demand comes onto this supplier and the new supplier realizes that it needs to reach out somewhere else to fulfill this demand, where will it look?  Well, inevitably it will most likely look back to conflict-resources, because they are most readily available and they produce a lot.  So yes, stopping the use of conflict-resources by means of pressuring companies is a good thing, but isn't a long-term solution in the eyes of myself ("myself" being junior in college who hasn't done any first-hand research but goes off of what I hear other people (seemingly reputable sources) saying and intuition).
So where do I find the means to end this horrible thing?
Education.
Not just education for us, or education to be abundant in our country or other first world countries, but in third world countries.  And not done solely by us, but teaching those in third world countries how to become teachers, so that they can provide more jobs other than working in the mines.  More jobs need to be available in the country (I have no solution for that myself, except by providing teaching jobs) and people need to be educated to know that working in the mines is funding the very wars that they are trying to escape.  Of course, this leads to needing more job opportunities in the countries, which again, I have no solution for.  But people need an alternative to doing the jobs that are funding the wars which are killing their people.
So yeah, this was a very conjumbled blogpost thinger.  I apologize.  It was hastily contrived after viewing the film "Blood in the Mobile" and learning about this topic and before going to sleep.
I will leave you with one last thought on this subject, think about it.  Think about what can be done about it.  Whether this means pressuring the corporations or doing the dirty work going into the countries and educating people, or something else, what is it that you see needs to be done about it?  Just think about it.  If you want to go further than thinking to doing, then great, if not, oh well.  But at least think about humankind.


I cooked today.  Like, a ferreal dish of food.  For the first time, by myself, in this suite.  It was very good, but my beans were squeaky.  Here is picture.

Or two.  I guess I didn't mean to put two there, but it happened.  It is Barbequed Green Beans.  Yumm!