Seek First the Kingdom of God

I have been writing some reflections for the master classes I have been taking this summer. Seems such a shame to waste all my thoughts on an e-mail to an instructor, so I've decided to post a few here. :D

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How do we care for nature without worshiping it?  We must cautiously walk the line between care for our world and embracing animism.  “Nothing must come before the kingdom of God, including the desire for a simple life-style.” “The person who does not seek the kingdom first does not seek it at all.” (Schut p. 185 &186)  If we put nature before God we cease to care and protect it; instead we move toward idolatry.

            This idolatry manifests its self in the subtle forms of animism, pantheism, Wicca, and New Age.  All of these religious expressions begin by seeing nature as more than the created.  Each of the beliefs has been woven into some Christians’ belief systems.  Such worship is deadly to the true Christian walk.

            Satan does not wrap his forms of religion in unattractive vessels.  His lies have some truth carefully mix in as to draw you unawares.  Each form of nature worship holds the truth that we were made to care for our world.  Yet it artfully wraps this and exalts the creation above the creator.

            When we fall for these kinds of worship we loose our grip on God’s principles.  We can no longer find the true rest in a simple life.  Contrary to scripture, we come to care more for the perceived “soul” of the natural world than for the hearts of the people for whom our Savior died.  In the end, even our successful efforts to better that planet’s natural systems have failed. 

            The best way we can care for the planet, is not to seek first global life-styles, but to seek first God.  When we seek first our Lord, He cleans the inside of our hearts.  The natural out growing of this process makes us the global citizens we should be.  His love in our lives kills the selfishness that dwells within and guides us to give of ourselves in a life of simplicity.

Simplicity is NOT Optional

I have been writing some reflections for the master classes I have been taking this summer. Seems such a shame to waste all my thoughts on an e-mail to an instructor, so I've decided to post a few here. :D

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Simplicity is often presented a optional. It is one way of responding. While its true the ways simplicity manifest its self should be an individual question, for Christians, simplicity is undeniably mandatory.

Those who have gone before us (the “great cloud of witnesses”-Heb. 12:1) all walked lives of simplicity. There were rich men and poor men. Yet they were not obsessed with worldly ways or passions. They walked in simplicity before their maker and lived in harmony with world around them. Paul noted that he had not been burdensome to the church at Corinth. (2 Cor. 12:13, 14) He could not have done this had Paul not been living a life of complete simplicity. This is also true of more modern men of faith. It can be said of the reformers that “The simplicity of their lifestyle gave integrity to the Gospel they preached.” (Schut p. 157)

The questions that the Desert Fathers asked themselves: “What can I do without? …How can I lose myself? … How can I love God?” (Schut p. 152) are the questions we must be asking ourselves. These questions are essential. The answers will reveal to us what it means to walk a Christian path.

I fully believe that “We must once again ask what it means to live faithful lives in our day. But we must ask fully expecting to receive an answer and full expecting to be given the power to obey the call.” (Schut p. 157) The important part, however, or this asking is the believing and following through upon the answers we receive.

These are the questions I am myself constantly seeking to answer more fully. For me the answers are just now becoming clearer. If I am to follow the witness of those who have gone before me, to follow in the footsteps of Christ, I see a life of simplicity that demands my full devotion. I want a life where it can be said that my lifestyle pointed to the God of my heart.

Creation: A Reason for Sustainable Living

 I have been writing some reflections for the master classes I have been taking this summer.  Seems such a shame to waste all my thoughts on an e-mail to an instructor, so I've decided to post a few here. :D

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            If our world was created by slow eons of time then it is nothing special.  There would have been many climates and eco-systems that have come and gone.  We would not be etching out a living on limited resources, but only a blip on the great continuum of time.  Nothing can have inherent value if it is just the result of a lucky catastrophe. 

The importance of simplicity, of conservation and restoration, of compassion is tied implicitly to the literal days of creation.  “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day…” (Ex 20:11)  It was created perfect; a world that knew no sin.  It stood before Him as a jewel.  Each element, each day, God saw that His work was good. (Gen 1: 12,18, 21,25)  Then in a crowning act, God created one more creature.  “And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness; … So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”(Gen 1:26-27)  Only after creating man did he add the word “very” to his observations.  “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” (Gen 1:31)

Because our world issued forth from the mouth of God we have a duty to protect and care for nature.  We have, as decedents of Adam, received a command from God to protect the world in which we live.  “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”  (Gen 2:15)  The duty is undeniable.

Further more; we have an obligation to the natural world as mankind brought in distress.  “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.”  (Rom. 8:22)  It was man’s choice of sin that caused the world to suffer as it does now.  Thus we are compelled to care for it and to restore it as our Lord would have us to do.

How Much Is Enough?

 I have been writing some reflections for the master classes I have been taking this summer.  Seems such a shame to waste all my thoughts on an e-mail to an instructor, so I've decided to post a few here. :D

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             Alan Durning poses the question “When does consumption cease to add appreciable to human satisfaction?”  (Schut p. 91) Yet the question begs to be asked, does consumption every really add to true satisfaction?  It does add to personal comfort and at the most basic levels sustains life.  Perhaps, though, the answer of how much is enough can be found not by looking at amounts of “stuff,” but by considering the true source of satisfaction.

            We have become so hung up on consumption that we do not even know how to consider life outside of these terms.  “Traditional measure of success … [have been] gradually supplanted by a simple, universally recognized indicator of achievement-money.” (Schut p. 91-92)  We selfishly judge our success by those who are under us and those who are ahead of us.  “Cars today are almost the exact equivalent of the great Gothic cathedrals…” (Schut p. 93)

            Durning even suggests that while Moses could count the ethical rules, now they are innumerable.  (Schut, p. 97)  Though, if we went back to counting by ten we would find the solutions as natural outcomes of our principled choices.  Matt 22:37-39  “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the lord they God with all they heart, and with all they soul, and with all they mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself.”  These verses sum up the Ten Commandments found in Ex 20. 

If we are searching and following these Ten Commandments we will find the answers to the question: “How much is enough?”  As we follow the commandments we will become less and less inwardly, selfishly focused and more outwardly, selflessly focused.  Selflessness, compassion, and putting Christ first and foremost will answer the questions that quantifying never can.

Compassionate Living

I have been writing some reflections for the master classes I have been taking this summer.  Seems such a shame to waste all my thoughts on an e-mail to an instructor, so I've decided to post a few here. :D
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            Is simple living synonymous with compassion?  A case could be made that the choices made in simpler living provides for others to live better lives, thus it is a compassionate response.  Yet I wonder, is it inherently compassionate?  Or does the level of compassion resonate with the one choosing the simpler life?  Can one choose a simple life and it have the opposite effect of compassion?

            My aunt knew a family in her church that lived a very simple life.  They always wore the same clothes, week after week, to church.  They had a mid sized family with three or four children, yet lived in a tiny cramped house.  It’s not that they were dirty, just very simply.  Their church community saw a need and began to support the family in small ways.  Everyone assumed that the family did not have the means to provide a better life for their children and the family never corrected the view.  Once the children had grown and left the nest, the parents left their poor life style and began to better provide for themselves.   It seemed that they were the “poor” millionaires. They had given their children a much lower standard of living than necessary.  They took away resources from those who truly could have used them.  Their choice for a simple life was purely selfish. 

            Others may choose to live simply as a matter of “salvation.”  They become self-righteous and look down their snub noses at those around them who do not choose to live as they do.  They carry a martyr’s cross, their simplicity is their suffering.  They are free from the sinful wants of this life.  Or so they believe.  Simple living is not intrinsically, compassionate living.

It is also most important to remember that “Global living doesn’t attempt to impose limits on others.”  (Merkel p 16)  Education and loving examples are powerful ways of encouraging a wider participation in compassionate life styles.  “Lasting change happens when people see for themselves that a different way of life is more fulfilling than their present one. Eknath Easwaran” (Schut p. 11)  If we attempt in any way to force people to comply, or share our choice of a simpler life, we will not be successful and only become counter productive.

            Compassionate living is a fundamental Christian life style.  In Matthew chapter 25 Jesus shows that compassion is what separates the sheep from the goats.  Those who enter into His kingdom are those who have: “done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,” (Matt 25:40).  When one chooses a life of compassion, a life which embraces “a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.” they will consider how each of their actions effect others.  (dictionary.com)  Thus compassionate living is synonymous with following Christ.  It is inherently selflessness.  If then selflessness inspires simplicity then one could suggest that a compassionate life is tantamount with a simple life. 

            So one may choose a simple life out of compassion; yet simple living does not always result in compassion.  

My Prude Manifesto

The word prude originally meant a discreet, modest, excellent woman. To be prudent means to have discretion or economy. So I wonder, how has society turned this, word which should be desired, into an insult?


Modern society does not value discretion or modesty. The more careless and unguarded you are the more desirable. Freedom is spelled in the giving away of all caution. The less attached to values or civility the more admirable. While claiming to be enlightened, they are still searching for peace. Void, they have gained the world and all it's logical knowledge. They are set "free" from the confines that have bound previous generations.

Looking at the wreck of broken unhappy people this philosophy has in it's wake, I don't care much to prescribe. So call me a prude. I'll bear the title with pride. It's true. I am committed to the values that so many scornful call prudish.


My value is not found in how much I can flaunt, nor in the brightness of peacock feathers. It is not found on the latest catwalk, nor in my ability to stick-it to fashion. However I am committed to bear my self with dignity. To modestly, tasteful, care for my body.


The depth of my mind is not measured in the amount of human babble I can consume. It is not found in the diversity of philosophy. My mind is expanded by the lessons from the one who gives all breath. The literature I choose to consume delves into the mysteries of the universe as given by the ruler of all that is and is not. There is no higher pursuit!


My character is not counted by the number of exploits I achieve. I cannot be judged by the onlooker. Instead, it is only found by my intimate connection with the Prince of my heart. Only He can rule upon the state of my affairs. Only He knows me.


Here is my true value, my ultimate prudishness. I hide myself in the Savior. His wisdom is of the highest quality. I seek to be a discreet, modest, excellent woman, by His grace.

The Inherent Value of Human Life

{Recent conversations with people have lead me to consider the value of human life.}

What value does a single life hold? It has been said that if you add up the monetary value found in one human body the total would be about $4.50. This doesn't really make you worth very much. At that rate you are certainly replaceable. (http://www.coolquiz.com/trivia/explain/docs/worth.asp)

Beliefs about the value of human life boil down to two systems: contingent value and inherent value. Contingent value makes the value of a human life dependant upon variables. Therefore the value is conditional. On the side of inherent value, life's value is a quality that cannot be removed. The value of human life is permanent and consistent; it cannot be separated or changed. Inherent value simply is.

Contingent value has a long history and finds many supporters in various philosophies. One characteristic that these groups share is the desire to impose their own pursuits upon others (to elevate themselves or their group to some advantage). These form their own variables upon which they measure the value of a life. The ancient Greek Stoics found value through virtues. Those who did not poses these "virtues" were not considered worth as much. Those who were ill, maned, disabled, orphaned, etc were considered unable to posses these "virtues" and were thus not valuable.


The Stoics, however, were not alone in their philosophy. Many ancient peoples placed similar conditional value on life. The ancient philosophers valued "virtuous men." These men of virtue were mostly comprised of the educated, or those connected by specific kinship or state citizenship. Confucianism taught the suppression of individual differences for the greater common good. Value was here placed upon the group good, leaving the individual little or no value. Hitler taught that value could be based upon a person's European blood line.


Fundamentally, contingent value leads to oppression. Slavery, caste systems, the Holocaust, and mistreatment of the disabled, ill, or orphaned all arise from the belief that the value of human life is dependant upon a set of variables.

Taken even further, to the ultimate result, contingent value does not allow society to react to ones personal choices which may effect the quality or status of life. This means that anti-drug or self mutilation laws have no basis. What one chooses to do to or with ones life is based upon their own set of variables. Variables by their very nature can change. Thus we can also not speak against murder or genocide when they are based upon dependant variables. "Without inherent value in human life, at most these acts would be socially impolite or culturally distasteful, but never objectively wrong." (http://talk.thinkingmatters.org.nz/2008/the-inherent-value-of-human-life/)

Inherent value also has a long historical tradition. The Hebrews, and their forefathers, were the first to assign unconditional value on human life. While the Hebrews believed in just punishment of the guilty, the Talmud taught that innocent life should be guarded, even at the cost of other lives. The Torah also held that all life should be valued while the quality of life should never be a factor in its preservation. Jewish tradition mandates the preservation of all life (Jewish legal sources call this pikuach nefesh). One source puts it this way "When one destroys a single individual, it is as if that person destroyed the whole world. (Sanhedrin 4:5)" (http://judaism.about.com/library/3_intro/level2/bl_war.htm)

This belief is illustrated by the story of David and his punishment of the messenger who brought news of the death of King Saul. The messenger claimed to have happened upon Saul while he lay wounded on the battle field. Saul called out to the man and asked him to end his life that he might no longer suffer. The messenger hoped that by claiming to have taken the life of Saul himself he would secured for himself favor with David who's life had been relentlessly sought after by Saul. David, however, valued the life of Saul and was greatly distressed by the news of Saul's death. "And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the Lord's anointed?" (II Samuel 1:14, KJV) It was obvious that King Saul would have eventually died of his wounds or by the hand of the enemy army which was in hot pursuit of the Hebrews. Yet David was horrified by the messengers boldness to judge the King's life worthy of being cut short. The messenger himself died for his confession to the crime of murder.


Beliefs of inherent value where later shared with Judeo-Christian believers. These beliefs that all are of an equal inherent value were developed and expressed in a variety of ways. One example of the expression of this belief can be found in the United States Declaration of Independence. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." (http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/freedom/doi/text.html) They believed that this value could not be taken away and should be preserved.


These two schools of human value are connected to the believers notion of God. Contingent value is connected to a lack of belief in God. The ancient Greeks and other philosophers, while they often believed in some form of deity, did not hold great personal connection with these deities. Their gods where not personal creators who loved and cared for their creation. Some cultures held that they themselves were smaller gods working their way to divinity. Many of the more modern embracers of contingent value do not believe that there is any divine being or purpose for humans. They hold that humans sprang from eons of evolution and have only accidentally achieved their modern state. By this humans cannot have inherent value because one is only an accident, survival of the fittest. So by these standards life's value can change based on the conditional variables one chooses to place upon it.


In inherent value ones life is locked with a creator God. The Hebrews and their forefathers, as well as those of Judeo-Christian thought, hold to a personal God. Genesis chapters one and two describe the creation of man in the image of God. Again, in Genesis 9:6 this connection is referred to when condemning murder. "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man." (Genesis 9:6, KJV)