And the painful process continues

Seriously, y’all … this simplicity thing is killin’ me. I’m on week four of examining Richard Foster’s controlling principles of simplicity and this week booted me all the way back to week one.   You remember week one, right?  The post where I explained why I don’t have a MacBook and confessed my love of gadgetry.   Well, guess what principle number four is:

Refuse to be propagandized by the custodians of modern gadgetry.

Ummm, ouch.

I love gadgets. Sitting on my desk as I type are the following … my Livescribe smart pen, my Kindle 3G, my digital photo frame, my wireless mouse, my cell phone, my digital camera, and video camera.  And on the table next to my desk is not one but two printers.

Of course, my desk isn’t the only place I have a collection of items that only do one thing … I have four different sized curling irons, two flat irons, a crimping iron, two hair dryers, and a set of hot rollers in my bathroom.   In my utility room are various small appliances including a waffle maker, a George Foreman style grill, two juicers, a food processor, and a blender.

We’re a gadget-y household.  I won’t share about the rest of our plugged in and wireless collections … but, suffice it to say, we have a. lot.   So, when I read this in Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, my stomach began to hurt:

Usually gadgets are an unnecessary drain on the energy resources of the world.   The United States has less than six percent of the world’s population, but consumes about thirty-three percent of the world’s energy.  (92)

There is nothing wrong with gadgets … nothing wrong with having “things.”   But, when having the newest and “best” thing becomes our focus, we’ve committed idolatry.

I’m learning, slowly, that the key to simplicity isn’t looking around and seeing less stuff … it’s looking in and being content.

What lessons are you learning lately?

{P.S. I’m also writing at Scripture Dig today … “The Word Made Flesh and Why that Matters.”}

Read the Psalms this summer with Scripture Dig!

Comments

    • I don’t have room on the counter either … hence the reason they are filling up cabinets in my utility room. 🙂

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