According to a recent article in Newsweek, teenagers send and receive an astounding 3700 text messages a month; that's well over 100 a day. And before you start thinking "well that's not me," the same article points out that the average person processes about 400 texts a month. Of course, that does not take into account responding to emails, checking Facebook status updates, tweeting, posting on Pinterest, or partaking in whatever the current flavor-of-the-month social network might be. Add a plethora of regular daily activities that fill our lives – pursuit of career success, soccer and swim practices, church activities, yoga (to relax!), housework, errands, and volunteer work – and it is obvious that our über-caffeinated lifestyles are spinning out of control.
It's not that any of these things are necessarily wrong. In and of themselves each of them can actually be a good thing. But the problem often is (at least by way of personal experience) that "things" – whether they are material things or activities – can easily clutter and complicate our lives. We quickly find that continual acquisition acts as a drain on our resources that should be spent much more profitably elsewhere. Worse than that, the general "stuff" mindset drains away our time and energy and causes us to act in ways that negatively affect our communion with God and with the people around us.
A quick pop quiz: how many of your neighbors have you talked to in the past few weeks months? How many of them have you spent any meaningful time with? If you and your family were to suddenly have to move, how many of your neighbors would notice your absence for more than a few minutes?
And, we can move that whole discussion to the level of your church (if you attend one) as well. If, tomorrow, your church were to disappear from the face of the earth, would anyone in the surrounding community really notice your collective absence in any tangible way?
Much of the time it is likely that these questions would be answered in the negative. Clutter, busyness, and the insulating bubbles that we place around ourselves mean that we can easily forget those around us. Sometimes we can even forget about those who are closest to us.
Is this how we are meant to live? Are our overbooked, overworked, overachieving lives glorifying to God and edifying to others? Is there, in fact, a better way? And, if so, what are some practical, day-to-day steps that we can take to slow down and downsize?
Nancy Sleeth, author of "Almost Amish: One Woman's Quest for a Slower, Simpler, More Sustainable Life" answers that question by using the Amish lifestyle and aspects of their faith as a bit of an extended metaphor for how the rest of us might live in closer communion with God, others, and God's created world.
Now, it needs to be said right now that the Amish are by no means perfect. They are humans like the rest of us, and it would be very easy for critics to ignore the larger message of this book by getting fixated on that fact. Sleeth acknowledges this point briefly early on in her book. But, that does not mean that we cannot learn from them, as we can and do learn from imperfect people all the time.
Sleeth covers ten general topics, one per chapter, over the length of this easily readable book. The topics are: Homes, Technology, Finances, Nature, Simplicity, Service, Security, Community, Families, and Faith. Reading that list I am sure that you are able to pick out one or two (or more?) chapters that seem interesting to you, perhaps because they are areas that you are actively seeking to improve. I know that we were able to do that.
Each chapter is laid out in a similar fashion. For instance, let's look at chapter 8, "Nature." The theme of the chapter is "time spent in God's creation reveals the face of God." Sleeth starts each chapter with an anecdote, in this case about the development of a community garden in the town that they most recently moved to. Next she briefly discusses the Amish perspective on the land and how they understand the command given to us to "tend and protect" it. She mentions that the land does not belong to us, for instance from Psalm 24 which says that "The earth is the Lords, and everything in it." Next she discusses how we can better know God through nature. She discusses how our love of technology is stripping from us our love of nature and, along with it, one of the ways that we can get to know God better. After setting up her argument, she provides a number of practical and simple steps that we can each take. In this case: grow a garden, pack a picnic, pick up trash, plant a tree, work outdoors, and play outdoors. Sleeth then sums up and concludes the chapter with a short discussion of Romans 1:20.
While learning to live intentionally and simply and in community is a laudable goal, it is also important to remember that any effort, if not done with Christ as the center, can quickly descend into religious rules, ritual, and regulation. There is a great story that stems from the Amish or a similar group that illustrates this perfectly. Now the following short story may or may not be true. It's hard to say where it came from in the first place. So take it as a modern day parable.
A particular group of simple-living folks felt that it was best to get around by simple horse and buggy. And, in order to keep things simple, the buggies and the canvas that topped them were all black. One day one of the men was in a local hardware store and, needing a new canvas cover, noticed that the yellow canvas was substantially cheaper than the black canvas. So, he bought the yellow canvas and fashioned it onto his buggy. Of course, controversy ensued. The community was in an uproar and very quickly black canvas and yellow canvas factions formed Some of the people were upset at the "gaudy display" of yellow canvased buggies driving around. But others made the argument that since the yellow canvas was cheaper, it allowed them to adhere better to the rules of simplicity than did the black canvas. As can happen, the argument got more and more bitter with each sect trying to out-simple the other until, sadly, the community fractured. Of course, as also happens, the two new communities now have specific rules and regulations about the color of the canvas on their buggies.
Sleeth's book is excellent. It is easy to read and well organized. It is full of great ideas for simplifying our approach to life; for focusing on God, creation, and others; and for building and strengthening communities in your church and neighborhood. And it even comes with some great recipes at the back (we've tried the challah bread, and it's excellent!). However, the one word of warning – and I'm sure that Sleeth would agree considering her careful approach to this issue demonstrated throughout the book – is that the process of simplifying cannot and should not end up in a legalistic morass. Each of us knows areas of our lives that we need to watch and where we can improve. Each of us is, or should be, on a journey towards better stewardship of the resources that God has given us to care for in His creation, being grateful for what we consume and ensuring that we share the plenty with others. And, mostly, each of us should also be seeking better relationships God, with all of creation, and with His created images that surround us each day.
So, in the spirit of the book, if you're interested and live nearby, we have a copy that you could borrow. Of course, you could also engage in the local community by buying it at your local bookstore (if you're in our neighborhood, here's the link for that) or asking that your church or public library acquire it. It's also available in paper or ebook form via the usual online sources.
Have a good read, and blessings on your own personal journey.
(Full disclosure: we were provided with a copy of the book by the author for review. We have no prior or ongoing relationship with the author. We were not required to write a positive review in exchange for the book.)
