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Book Review: Freedom of Simplicity by Richard Foster

January 1, 2017 by brianmichaelsteck Leave a Comment

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To put it in a sentence: less is more.

Freedom of Simplicity by Richard Foster beckons all Christians to reconsider the excess which we allow to consume and define our lives. From over-busy schedules to feeding the ever-present demand for “more”, Foster pushes on the cavities of our heart and probes the reader’s deeper desires, asking from whence they came.

A student and teacher of spiritual disciplines, Richard Foster is also the author of “Celebration of the Disciplines” which changed my life when I read it at 18 years old. Though Celebration of the Disciplines outlines a dozen core spiritual practices, it doesn’t place guilty burdens on the reader or muck things up with philosophical jargon, and nor does Freedom of Simplicity.

The call to the church to reconsider their ways is both gentle and yet profound. Richard makes a strong case for believers to evaluate whether we are playing into the same system that we are fighting against, which is a system that seeks everything but the Kingdom of God first.

He points out that:

“While simplicity provides an answer to the modern dilemma, it does not provide an easy answer.”

The “dilemma”, Foster describes, is that our “Contemporary culture is plagued by the passion to possess… [and] furthermore, the pace of the modern world accentuates our feeling of being fractured and fragmented.” In other words, we’re being crushed by rush.

After laying the groundwork for his case via scripture and history, the book goes on to explore both inner, outer and corporate responses to the call — which I love, because often authors and speakers will draw conviction to an issue by spotlighting it, but fail to offer an appropriate response.

The journey of inner simplicity involves God-granted self-acceptance and choosing to abide in the “divine center”. This divines center offers inner peace and the cure from the seemingly insatiable demand for more. Our identity is no longer wrapped in acquiring stuff and success.

Out of this inner stillness, Foster looks at how obedience to the Holy Spirit simplifies our lives; holiness is not about striving and complicated laws, but simple and pure momentary obedience to God. If we continue to draw back to “the center”, most of life’s anxiety-laden decisions become effortless “yes Lord, okay Lord” experiences.

Through vulnerable examples and relatable stories from his own life, Richard Foster unveils practical steps towards simplicity, such as (in my words):

The power of saying “no”
Disengaging from over-involvement in church activities or social commitments
Community living and the impact of sharing possessions instead of owning
Avoiding the bombardment of media and its’ inherent lies of marketing

This book, which was written 3 years before my own birth and which I’m now reading 35 years after it was penned, describes a plugged-in and over-consumptive society of America in the 1980’s. How much more valuable and poignant are these words today, considering we’ve been on a non-stop barrel ride down the waterfalls of excess since then?

Foster’s encouragement towards individual lifestyles of self-imposed pseudo-poverty for the sake of spiritual abundance, intertwine with his philosophical over what this would look like at a societal level. Freedom of Simplicity goes on to consider the impact of our consumptive and self-focused decision making on our world.

He makes the case that we can no longer ignore the plight of millions who are suffering starvation, abuse and neglect around the globe. By allowing and benefiting from the products of multinational corporations, we’ve unwittingly affected the lives of people all over the world. Our greed is exacerbating their need.

We don’t get to choose whether or not we are a part of a global economy or not. Our lifestyle has already demanded this; the shoes we wear, the cars we drive, this computer I type on… in the name of affordability and luxury, we’ve allowed a burden to be placed on the third-world, and we have a responsibility to accept that guilt and respond.

In Freedom of Simplicity, Foster only provides a skimming view of the subject, but invites the church to take the lead in acknowledging our part and moving forward towards healing and balance.

Conclusion

In the end, this book hit me squarely between the eyes, convicting me in the midst of the Christmas season and in a time of my life when I was beginning to question my own “success” in the world’s eyes. I happened along the book in the right timing, because it has drawn my thoughts back to God’s perspective on my life and His desire to restore simple love and obedience in His children.

I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of Freedom of Simplicity — or better yet, that you rent it from the library or borrow mine — it just may be the key to unlocking inner simplicity and uncovering God’s design for joy in your life.

Developing an Internal Locus of Control

December 9, 2012 by brianmichaelsteck Leave a Comment

Our world has given itself to laws, but in turn become lawless. Instead, we must nurture an internal locus of control, that we may be free.

These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires. -Colossians 2:23

We HATE rules! Sometimes we love to hate ’em. Let me explain.

We live in a world where rules abound. Speed limits, seat belt regulations, minimum drinking age, no swimming, no skateboarding, no cell phones, minimum height required… sometimes our rules get wacky:

Bear wrestling matches are prohibited.
Dominoes may not be played on Sunday.
It is illegal to wear a fake moustache that causes laughter in church.

(Those laws are just laws in the state of Alabama! Each state has their own ridiculous laws.)

&nsbp;
How does this effect us?

We learn to hate law and authority because of how they restrict us; the abundance of laws seem to reduce us to brainless lab-mice in a maze.

Unfortunately, we’re so tired of man’s laws, it’s no wonder we reject God’s laws and distrust His authority!

&nsbp;
Why do we chose to live like this?

So why are these laws put into place? Assumedly, most are to protect us from ourselves and each other, but they bear evidence of our belief that we, as humans, believe ourselves incapable of making right decisions.

Empty Airport Security Line — Have we been reduced to lab mice?

For example, the flashing “Do Not Walk” exists because someone thought it necessary. At some time or another, folks must have crossed without looking. Refusing to respect traffic, these ignorant walkers were rudely introduced to the bumper of a passing car — in response, we constructed rules and posted signs to protect ourselves. However, in the process we choose captivity over freedom and rules over responsibility, and remain like stranded castaways standing deserted on a street-corner island.

Freedom is dangerous. Freedom requires responsibility and responsibility demands consequences — a consequence either enjoyed or suffered. Freedom comes with the potential for pain. It means we can get hurt. For this reason, some avoid it.

But is a life without freedom, any life at all?

&nsbp;
What have we become?

The deeper question I have is this: have we formed laws around ourselves in such a way as to remove the possibility of pain — but in the process, stripped our ability to lead ourselves? to govern ourselves?

Have we, unknowingly, stripped away our “internal locus of control” — that inner compass that steers us? Have our rules made ourselves blind and deaf to our very own consciences?

I say this, both temporally and spiritually. We’ve come to trust rules and not our very own hearts.

Our abundant rules are evidence that our internal locus of control is undeveloped. We have lost trust of our own ability to wield freedom rightly.

The Danger

The problem with this is that when we begin to distrust our hearts, we loose something that is truly essential to being human – our will.

C.S. Lewis describes in The Screwtape Letters that while Satan and God are both interested in our will, Satan desires to steal, kill and destroy it, while God invites us to surrender it, so that he can restore it within us. God wants us to have freedom and choice, personality and individuality. Satan only wants to destroy our souls and leave us empty.

Another danger is this: when we lose trust in our hearts, we surrender control to the decision-making abilities of others, and rely on law instead of our God-given internal locus of control. This may not seem like a bad thing, but a society of law-abiders operates out of fear, not love. They obey the rules, but nothing has changed internally. They are one step from utter lawlessness, because that is all that has been developed internally – lawlessness.

Understanding the deceitful heart

The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? -Jeremiah 17:9

I grew up hearing this verse, and believing it, because it is true — yet it is only true in terms of the unregenerate heart. When the Holy Spirit comes upon our hearts and we surrender our hearts, minds and lives to God, believing that He sent Jesus as Lord and savior, we are made new. Our hearts are renewed as we surrender to the Holy Spirit, and it is important to learn to trust both the Holy Spirit and the promptings within our hearts.

The process of listening and obeying to our regenerate hearts develops our internal locus of control.

This piece is essential to following Christ. Our internal locus of control is essential because it flows out of obedience to a loving Father and is much stronger than an external locus of control. Countless men and women have risen to great places in leadership and authority, only to lose it all because they failed to develop their internal locus of control.

If the Kingdom of God is to come to earth (and it is!), it’s citizens must learn to operate by the law of the Kingdom. This law is “written on the hearts of man” [Jeremiah 31:33].

Developing an internal locus of control

God develops our internal locus of control in many ways. One of the essential methods is through scripture. Regularly put yourself in the Word. Read the Bible in large chunks and pick it apart in small studies… both are good for increasing your understanding of God and knowledge of His heart.

Self-discipline is another way He develops your internal locus of control, freeing you from reliance on outside rules and legalism. I highly recommend Celebration of the Disciplines by Richard Foster. Read through it and test some of the disciplines he writes about.

Listen for His promptings and obey them, even if they seem silly. If you know the Lord as your savior, but you aren’t hearing his voice, pray that you will begin to hear it. If you used to hear His voice, but it’s been a while, think back to the last thing you heard Him say to you; if it was a command, then do it. If it was truth about you, then believe it. But learn to foster an environment where you are actively listening for His voice and obeying it.

Closing thoughts
This is a part of my life that is being developed, and always will be developed. As God teaches me more and prompts me to share, I’ll be writing more about the subject. My prayer is that, as a people of the way, we would be markedly different from the world in the way we live, love and respond — that we would move by the counter-intuitive influence of the Spirit and that many would come to know Him, in Spirit and in truth, as a result.

Responding to Shekinah Glory in Work as True Worship

November 1, 2011 by brianmichaelsteck Leave a Comment

The “Shekinah” of God is the “glory or radiance of God dwelling in the midst of His people” [Foster, Celebration of Disciplines, pg. 138]. Almighty God is in your presence right now as you read this sentence off a computer monitor. Stop for a moment and try to grasp that; bask in the wonder and awe of that. Our response to a completely holy (set apart, different, perfect, righteous) God is Worship.

Richard Foster quotes Frank Laubach, “Of today’s miracles, the greatest is this: to know that I find Thee best when I work listening.” The idea is that we were meant to engage with God throughout our daily roles, chores, tasks, jobs, etc. Our lives were not intended to be fragmented and compartmentalized. The truth is that the distractions which often keep us from God may just be the exact activities He wants to be known in the most.

Seek God while you work.

This doesn’t mean that there are times when you must pull away from work and activity to practice other disciplines that draw you into His presence, but as a regular practice, begin learning to see, hear and know “the Teacher” in the midst of your life. Live with a “holy expectancy” that God will be found in your moment-by-moment activities. See God in the faces around you, the voice of the phone call you are on and in the words of the e-mails you read. I am not advocating pantheism in any sense, but advising you the both welcome Him and become receptive to Him in each situation.

It is commonly taught in most evangelical churches today that we as a culture worship many things; sports, celebrities, success, family, etc. Foster/Tozer points out that “the essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him.” Let me break that down in a vulnerable sense: my workaholism can stem from a fear of not having enough. That ultimately stems from my un-true belief that God will not provide and thus I must take charge. This “unworthy thought” of God detracts me from worship of Him and leads me towards pain and destruction.

Analyze your life-patterns. Is your behavior reflecting an inadequate view of God?

Foster also points out that Worship causes confession; confession of God’s glorious nature and confession of our inadequate nature. This is good and something that should be done in community, for the edification of the Body of Christ, his Church.

As you head into the rest of your day, where might God be breaking into your presence with His Shekinah?
Are your thoughts of Him right? If not, which areas of your life are being affected by them?
How do you need to respond to God’s glory today? Confessing His greatness or your smallness?

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Book Review: Freedom of Simplicity by Richard Foster

To put it in a sentence: less is more.

Conclusion

Developing an Internal Locus of Control

Responding to Shekinah Glory in Work as True Worship