Devotion

Jesus speaks about wealth and simplicity. He is not speaking only to the materially rich. He is speaking to anyone who is attached to having, keeping, controlling, accumulating. We live in a culture of accumulation. More is always better. Having more money, more possessions, more opportunities, more options makes you happier, we are told. Yet the evidence is clear: beyond a basic level of provision, having more does not make people happier. It makes them busier, more anxious, more stressed, more lonely. Simplicity, by contrast, creates freedom. When you have less, you have to maintain less, worry about less, protect less. When you have fewer possessions, you have fewer options to manage. When you have a simpler schedule, you have more time for what matters. When you have fewer distractions, you have more presence. Jesus is inviting us into a counterculture: Choose simplicity. Not deprivation but discernment. Not poverty but freedom. Christmas is a season when our culture pushes accumulation hardest. Spend more, buy more, give more stuff, want more. Jesus invites something different. Jesus invites simplicity. This December, resist the pressure to accumulate. Give thoughtfully rather than excessively. Celebrate simply rather than grandly. Create space rather than fill it. Notice how this changes your stress, your joy, your presence. Notice how less becomes more when it is the less you truly need.