Just a little bit more

John D Rockefeller, one of the wealthiest men in history, was once asked how much money it takes to make a man happy.  He famously replied, “Just a little bit more.” His comment was meant to be tongue-in-cheek but it does put into words the mindset many of us subscribe to, whether we think so or not. I think we can all relate to how all-consuming the pursuit of wealth can be. It’s easy to get sucked into what modern marketing moguls want us to believe: that if we just had more money, we’d be able to buy the next thing (insert your consumer item of choice) which would make us happy. A world pushing constant accumulation feeds off our discontent. We are made to feel ashamed to wear last year’s fashion or drive cars until they are worn out. We pursue progress, aiming at bigger, better and faster. We call greed, ambition. Hoarding, we call prudence. “This psychosis permeates even our mythology. The modern hero is the poor boy who purposefully becomes rich rather than the rich boy who voluntarily becomes poor.”¹

In the past, people turned to God for purpose, identity and belonging but in the 21st century, our main purpose is to “get ahead”. We find our identity in our possessions: the clothes we wear, the houses we live in and the cars we drive. We hope to find significance and belonging by owning the right stuff. “Without a clear sense of self, a strong identity and a community of purpose, it seems our default mode is to identify ourselves by the things we own.”² The new maxims, “Greed is good”, “It’s all about me” and “I want it now” have replaced old virtues of contentment, community and patience.³

the new religion

Consumerism has become the secular god of the West. But consumerism, while promising the life we’ve always wanted, hasn’t really delivered, has it? Its predomination has had damaging consequences, wrecking our economy, our planet, our families and our very souls. “Many are now asking: is living with such economic aspirations and pressures what we really want, and what will give us the most ultimate satisfaction?”⁴

Researcher Murray Sheard writes, “New responses are needed for the 21st century—responses that are difficult to make while we chase dreams dedicated to huge mortgages and personal entertainment. We need pockets of ‘prophetic simplicity.’ We need voices of dissent pointing to another way.”⁵

the prophet voice

The word “prophet” may conjure up images of doomsayers predicting the end of the world. But Franciscan priest Richard Rohr points out that prophets say exactly the opposite! “They insist the future is highly contingent on the now . . . the prophet opens up human freedom by daring to tell the people . . . that they can change history by changing themselves.”⁶ Embracing simplicity is not only countercultural, it’s living prophetically.

Simplicity has been practised by many down the ages. “It has been a recurrent vision throughout history.”⁷ Buddha traded a palace to live under a bodhi tree. Gandhi spun and wove his own clothing: 600 million followed suit. St Francis of Assisi reformed the Vatican and brought back the vow of poverty. Yoda raised an X-Wing from a bog and defeated an evil empire from his hut in Dagobah.⁸ And, most significantly, Jesus left the glory of heaven to be born in a stable.

Jesus not only lived a lifestyle of prophetic simplicity—His teachings were also fundamentally at odds with the logic of a consumer society. The relentless pressure of advertising tells us that “you do not have enough” and that you should worry constantly about what you eat and drink, what you wear, whether your future is secure, and more. Jesus said exactly the opposite.⁹

In Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount, He said, “Don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen colour and design quite like it? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving” (Matthew 6:25–32, MSG^*).

Jesus also warned, “You cannot worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you’ll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. You can’t worship God and Money both” (Matthew 6:24, MSG).

Jesus knew that worshipping money, believing it would give us the significance, belonging and purpose we long for, would ultimately leave our souls anxious, exhausted and unsatisfied. Jesus is about moving people towards freedom. The writer to the Hebrews further unpacks the teachings of Jesus when he counsels, “Keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have” (Hebrews 13:5, MSG). As the old hymn “Simple Gifts” goes: “‘Tis a gift to be simple, ‘tis a gift to be free.” Practising simplicity frees us from anxiety and teaches us to be content with what we already have. “Simplicity involves a life of joyful unconcern for possessions. Neither the greedy nor the miserly know this liberty”.¹⁰

what we stand to lose—and gain

Simplicity gives us back the options of time and money. We are able to grow in generosity when we embrace simplicity. “It’s all about me” and “keeping up with the Joneses” is replaced with making sure that the Joneses are okay—and learning that “caring for the poor is not just a moral duty but part of our own enlightened self-interest”.¹¹ We realise that there is enough for everyone and that our own good is tied to the common good. But perhaps most importantly, living simply allows our souls to flourish. As the writer of the Psalm says:

“Why is everyone hungry for more? 

‘More, more,’ they say.

‘More, more.’

I have God’s more-than-enough,

More joy in one ordinary day

Than they get in all their shopping sprees” (Psalm 4:6-8, MSG).

As Christmas approaches, it takes courage to reject the anxiety, stress and ridiculous consumption that so often characterises this time of year. But Jesus, the Hero who left the riches of heaven above to enter human history as a wee baby, born in a manger in a stable, the very reason for the season, offers us freedom, contentment and peace. May we embrace God’s “more-than-enough” with joy this season. 

* Scripture taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

1. Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline. Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1989. 
2. Jim Wallis, Rediscovering Values: A Moral Compass for the New Economy. Hodder & Stoughton London, 2010. 
3. Wallis, 2010. 
4. Wallis, 2010.
5. Murray Sheard, Living Simply: Studies in learning to live as Jesus did. World Vision of New Zealand, Auckland, 1999.
6. <cac.org/daily-meditations/the-example-of-the-prophets-2022-10-16/>
7. Foster, 1989. 
8. Sheard, 1999.
9. Wallis, 2010.
10. Foster, 1989. 
11. Wallis, 2010.