What the Monks Can Teach Us (Part 4)

The Monks teach us that living a simple life is a blessing. Simplicity is a Christian virtue. Jesus said,

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21, NRSV)

The Monks knew that living a simple life was not about downgrading the good things of life, or that riches are innately evil. The problem is the tendency we have to put our faith and trust in the abundance of things instead of trusting God.

It is true that some monastics have held up poverty almost as a virtue. This is not how the greatest rule for monastic order sees poverty, however. Benedict of Nursia instructed in his rule:

Whoever needs less should thank God and not be distressed, but whoever needs more should feel humble because of his weakness, not self-important because of the kindness shown him (ch. 34).

Benedict seems to identify "needing more" with weakness and "needing less" with strength. Paul wrote from his prison cell:

I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. (Philippians 4:12)

At first, we might be impressed by Paul's attitude of contentment in circumstances of hunger and need. But, We ought to be impressed by Paul's ability to be content with plenty as well. Being able to live contently in any circumstances is the "secret."

As Richard Foster makes it clear in his book entitled The Freedom of Simplicity, living a simple life frees us up to be available for God's use. When we have little, we are content. When we have plenty, we are free to use what we have for God's use. Foster says,

What we discover from the New Testament witness is the combination of a penetrating criticism of wealth with a carefree, almost lighthearted attitude toward possessions. It is a combination seldom found today.

I would suggest that the one place this beautiful combination has and continues to be seen is in the life and witness of the monastic tradition. We would do well to learn from what the Monks can teach us.