Day 12 – The third aim: to live simply
Personal spending is limited to what is necessary for our health and well-being and that of our dependents. We aim to stay free from all attachments to wealth, keeping ourselves aware of the poverty in the world and its claim on us. We are concerned more for the generosity that gives all, rather than the value of poverty in itself. In this way we reflect in spirit the acceptance of Jesus’ challenge to sell all, give to the poor and follow him.
My latest purchase – oh, the joy it brings –
a joy that never lasts. It's not enough.
An empty heart cannot be filled with things,
but only love: I will not worship Stuff.
I will not hug my treasure chest to me,
be Scrooge, or Silas Marner with my gold:
fling wide the lid! And throw away the key –
a locked chest makes the heart grow stale and cold.
What joys our lavish, reckless maker shares:
fresh water; Ave Verum; birds at dawn;
electric cars; wind farms; well-crafted chairs;
a fox in sunshine basking on our lawn.
We prize them when this truth is understood:
God saw all God had made, and it was good.
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