Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Simplicity

Well, I'm out in Colorado Springs for a few weeks.  Beautiful place, I'm glad to be able to visit again.  But this post isn't about that.  While sitting in Atlanta for a two hour layover, I read a book, a very good book.  Shane Claiborne wrote The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical.  I could share a lot of it, but really, you should probably just read it yourself.  One part I will share with you, on the topic of simplicity.  I am part of a church tradition that values simplicity, and I will be honest with you, I struggle with truly living a simple life.  Shane wrote: "Simplicity is meaningful only inasmuch as it is grounded in love, authentic relationships, and interdependence.  Redistribution then springs naturally our of our rebirth, from a vision of family that is larger than our biology or nationalism.  As we consider what it means to be "born again," as evangelical jargon goes, we must ask what it means to be born again into a family in which our sisters and brothers are starving to death..." Powerful words.  Please, think about them.  And let me know if you want to borrow the book.