Simplicity

In the last few months, there has seemed to be a greater call on mine and Sheryl's lives toward simplicity, and we're trying to figure out how to do this within a community of people who feel called in the same way.

What I've tried to work through is why there are more and more people feeling this kind of call. Obviously there is a strong spiritual aspect to it. People are trying to pursue the way of Christ and one of the paths to doing that is through divesting themselves of things that hold them back.

I think however that there's another aspect to all of this. All generations want the generation after them to do better than they did. So parents sacrifice to send their children to private schools and expensive colleges to ensure that they will have every opportunity to succeed. There's a part of me that wonders if my generation looked at the family sacrifices that many of our parents made (both parents working, for example) and wondered if all the success was worth it. I think that's one reason that more families are having a parent stay at home.

With that being said, how reasonable is it to pursue simplicity within our culture that values wealth as a sign of success? And regardless of how reasonable it is, how difficult is it? And if you have been someone who has pursued this practice, what steps have you taken within your own lives to do so?