Living Simply

I read an interesting article today about three people who have chosen to simplify their lives and live on $18,000 or less income per year. Here's a link to the article:

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/RetirementandWills/PlayingCatchUp/weston-living-on-18000-dollars-a-year-by-choice.aspx

Their ages are 25, 44 and 60. They're all college-educated and have chosen to live frugally so they can pursue their own interests.
In spite of the generational differences, these three people have several things in common when it comes to managing their resources. They have chosen to not listen to the culture of consumerism. Instead, they live simply. They seem to have clear understandings of the difference between wants and needs. They are able to focus their lives on the things that really matter to them because they are not slaves to material things.
As I read this article, I kept thinking about Jesus' words from the Gospel of Luke:

"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. - Luke 12:27-31, NIV

While these three people who have chosen lives of frugality may or may not be people of faith, they have certainly come to understand what Jesus was talking about. They do not live by the same standards as the rest of the world. They have jumped off the treadmill of success that causes so many people to earn more so they can have more. Instead, they choose less. They choose live simply and trust that it will be enough.
My favorite quote in the article are these sentences from the last paragraph:

I emerged from these interviews with a big smile on my face. These three people were so delighted with their lives -- and excited about the future -- that it was positively contagious.

What a wonderful thought - to be delighted with one's own life. How delighted God must be when we understand that less can truly be more and that God will provide for our every need.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!