Keep it Simple

I am re-reading the book Living With Less by Mark Tabb. I understand why folks say they are sickened by "The America Way." But we have no one to blame but ourselves. Think about it. We are all in debt because we want more stuff than we can really afford. We want this stuff because the advertisers have spent a lot of money telling us how wonderful our lives will be if we have it. Besides, everybody else has it. Is it the advertisers' fault? No. If the ads didn't work, if we didn't go spend the money, they would quit doing it. We can't blame the ad companies or pop culture spreaders any more than we can blame the government for our materialism. The desire for more is human nature. God gave us minds to think about decisions before we make them, so we don't have to be slaves to that urge to grasp for more. The capitalist system is not responsible for greed in America any more than the NRA is responsible for gang related shooting deaths. Individual responsibility has to come into play somewhere. We want to blame someone or something else, but the fact is we choose most of what happens in our lives. If we refuse to make a choice, that is also a choice to let things happen instead. If you don't like greed, start by looking into your own heart and root out the greed there. Live more simply yourself and be an example to others of the lower stress and higher level of quiet joy that can be had. Don't expect the government to legislate to others something you are not willing to do and espouse yourself. So. In many ways I am preaching to myself. We have a lot of stuff. Stuff I don't even see anymore because it's in boxes stored away. The next project at the Johnston household is to go through the stuff and only keep what we really love, need and use. The point of life is not the stuff we have. Our stuff has nothing to do with who we are. Our relationships define us. God created humanity because He wanted somoeone to love Him of their own free will. Did you ever wonder why He gave us a choice when He knew we would abuse it? Think about it. Would you want a love that was coerced or given mindlessly from someone who didn't know they could choose any other way? Of course not. We all want to be loved by someone who has a choice and chose us. How much more the God Who created us? So what are you doing with your free will? Don't give it away to pop culture or the propaganda of the hour. THINK and CHOOSE. Don't drift and wind up where everybody else is going.