Excess is so easy. It just seems to happen. One day you just started to acquire things. Maybe a visit from a doting relative got you hooked on power shopping. Or perhaps you were drawn into keeping up with the Joneses. Acquisitions require more acquisitions. It is a vicious cycle. How can you get back to a simpler way of life that better honors who we are meant to be?
1. Discipline is required to keep consumption from becoming a habit.
2. Distinguish between wants and needs.
3. Stay filled up on spiritual things, such as prayer, meditation and community.
4. Invite God and your community of faith and friends to join with you in the struggle to determine when enough is enough. The support of others to consume less can help you live simply that others may simply live.
This message was adapted from “Things to Get” by Melanie Alman McRae that appeared in the September 1997 issue of Lutheran Woman Today (now Gather) magazine.
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