Sure, simplifying can be a very good thing. But when we are talking about our spiritual life, goodness, obedience, and truth, I think that it is important to recognize that these are not virtues that come from within ourselves. This discipline of simplicity that Foster teaches is ambiguous at best. At worst, it is suggesting that we can emulate this essential character of God. He is the One who is generous, and we need to look outside of ourselves to Jesus Christ who has lavished his grace on his people abundantly, praise God! 

Many of us talk about simplifying our lives. When we stop to think about how many choices that we make in one day, it’s exhausting. A couple of weeks ago, I was talking to a friend who lives in Dubai. She was joking around about all the choices Americans have even in the marshmallow isle. You’ve got your big marshmallows, your mega-sized marshmallows, your little bitty ones, multi-colored, pre-flattened, chocolate-drizzled, toasted coconut, etc. My friend was saying that it’s a lot less stressful to buy marshmallows in Dubai. There’s one choice: Buy this particular bag of marshmallows or you don’t get any.

How many marshmallow choices do we really need?

It’s the things like the marshmallow isle that make us realize that it wouldn’t hurt to scale down a bit. Understandably, there are many in the church today advocating a discipline of simplicity. I pulled up an article written by Richard Foster, who is known for his work on the spiritual disciplines and simplicity in particular. He states that, “The Christian Discipline of simplicity is an inward reality that results in an outward lifestyle… Both the inward and the outward aspects of simplicity are essential.” I wondered, what is this inward reality? Foster continues, “Simplicity begins in inward focus and unity…. Experiencing the inward reality liberates us outwardly. Speech becomes truthful and honest. The lust for status and position is gone because we no longer need status and position. We cease from showy extravagance not on the grounds of being unable to afford it, but on the grounds of principle.”

Still, I’m not sure what this inward reality is. Does inner searching lead to simplicity and unity? Foster discusses the fruit of simplicity, which I wholeheartedly desire. I do want to have contentment whether in riches or want. I agree that this virtue leads to a greater generosity. He talks about our “yes” being “yes” and our “no” being “no.” And Foster highlights pure obedience to God, quoting Soren Kierkegaard:

“If thou art absolutely obedient to God, then there is no ambiguity in thee and … thou art mere simplicity before God … One thing there is which all Satan’s cunning and all the snares of temptation cannot take by surprise, and that is simplicity.”

In all these descriptions of simplicity, I see a theme of independence. The discipline seems to center around not needing what the market tells us we need, and not needing the approval or goods of others because we experience “inward focus and unity.” But I can’t say that I will ever attain this kind of simplicity. These virtues must be the fruit of something else.

I’m currently reading through K. Scott Oliphint’s book, God With Us. In discussing God’s name, “I am,” Oliphint explains how, unlike us, the Lord is “essentially a se” (53). That is, he is completely independent. Oliphint discusses how God’s essential properties are distinguished from his covenantal properties. “Essential properties, therefore, are properties that relate to God as God, or to God’s ‘Godness.’ They are properties that help us see who he is quite apart from his relationship to anything outside of him” (62).

One of these essential properties Oliphint introduces is God’s simplicity.

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