The closer we get to Christ, the simpler our needs and wants become. Our needs expand and contract with our wants. As we draw toward Jesus, our wants narrow and our needs follow. Where discipleship is concerned, fancy is frivolous.
Our Proximity to Jesus
There is a straightforward test for our proximity to Jesus. He said, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt. 6:21). Our toys and baubles can act as a barometer of the natural man — a sort of reverse Liahona. If caught up in diversion, we are joy-riding away from Jesus. Since the desire for more is insatiable in the natural man, it follows that being satisfied, even happy, with less, is a hallmark of a converted heart.
Whatever our circumstance, neither hermits nor self-indulgent prodigals are good role models. A disciple’s life is balanced. Making time for “wholesome recreation” is one of the keys to a happy family life.
However, many are steeped in diversion or mired in the mud of acquisition. Diversion can be anything from playtime that saps service, to video games and text-messaging that become addictions. (see M. Russell Ballard, “O That Cunning Plan of the Evil One,” Ensign, Nov. 2010).
Letting Go Brings True Wealth
As our love of God and neighbor increases, our need and desire for more decreases. How many boats, cars, houses and toys are enough? How many crammed calendars justify the missed appointments with our children? — with the temple? — with sincere prayer, or soul-enriching feasts on the word of God? Ironically, it is only by letting go that an acquisitive life builds true wealth. By letting go of our will, our pride and our desire for more, we can focus on acquiring the image of Jesus in our countenance. (Alma 5:14).
Why are some happy in austerity, while others are miserable in wealth? The desires of our heart are key. (Alma 29:4-5). The Parable of the Foolish Rich Man is instructive. A certain rich man brought forth much fruit. Looking to store his excess, he decided to tear down his barns and build greater, saying within himself, “Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided. So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:16-21).
Ease Is Greed
Like the foolish rich man, we may fall prey to the lie that our work and wealth are tickets to a life of ease. Ease is anathema to work, service and rescue. Ease is greed and selfishness. It is no accident that ease rhymes with breeze, and both fit the hammock lifestyle all too snugly. Nothing temporal compares with a “sweat of thy face” (Gen 3:19) job well done, or a difficult service unselfishly rendered. Work and service are a rewarding shovel of soil in the garden of human toil.
If your lifestyle is running amok with distractions, be they toys of wealth or the burdens of the busy, consider your closeness to Christ. Is He nearer or farther from your heart today than yesterday? Are your prayers rote petitions or dedicated listening-posts? Does the calendar control you, or is it a valuable tool in prioritizing the things that matter most? Does one-on-one time with family take a backseat to worthy but less important pursuits? Is your labor a journey to character building, or a train to diversion at the end of the line?
Perhaps we have all daydreamed about what we would do if we won the lottery. Aside from the sticky questions of wealth without work, how would our lives be different if we were lottery millionaires? What would we buy or sell? Where would we go and what would we do? Now ask those same questions, but substitute “more dedicated disciples” for “lottery millionaires.” How does your list change?
Legacy
At life’s end is legacy. For good or ill, we leave our footprint upon the human race. Perhaps our true legacy is not only what we acquire, but what we discard. Like the TV shows about hopeless hoarders, our lives can be a clutter of worthless trinkets, or we can confront the character-building discard of self-examination.
When we determine that simpler needs and wants are the disciple’s path to Jesus, our life’s quest shifts from acquiring more things in diversion, to acquiring more of Christ’s attributes — submissiveness, meekness, humility, patience, kindness and charity. Those attributes are forged in the focus of “an eye single to the glory of God” (D&C 82:19).
Although clocks, calendars, travel plans and the occasional surplus of money are helpful tools to enrich our lives, these should not define us. Otherwise, Gethsemane and Calvary would be meaningless geography on a low-priority tourist destination, instead of sacred ground bearing fruit deep in “the fleshy tables of the heart” (2 Cor. 3:3).
