"The more you stop buying stuff you don't need, and the more you get rid of items you don't use, the more you can simplify your life. And the more you simplify, the freer you will feel, and be.
"There are a few reasons for this.
"First, possessions cost not only money but time. Consider the time you spend worrying about what you wear....The same goes for your house, your car, your furniture, your television, your appliances, your computer...The less you decide to buy, the more time you have for the things that matter more.
"The second reason is less obvious. Our consumerist culture runs on comparisons....The less you buy, the less time you will spend comparing your stuff to your neighbor's stuff....
"Third, the more things that society produces, the more we will want, or be encouraged to want, and the more unhappy we will be....Freeing yourself from the need to have more and more means that you may, paradoxically, be more satisfied." (from "The Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life.")
All of us have a longing for God. But our consumerist culture attempts to brainwash us into thinking that what we're REALLY longing for are money, status, and possessions. Just think about T.V. commercials - aren't they all based on the subtle idea that if you get that car, or house, or Pepsi, or latest jogging outfit, that that THING is going to make you happier and more popular?
And - individualistic and competitive as our culture is, it's everyone out for what's best for himself or herself. When do you ever see anything being "sold" in a commercial that's important for a community? Whole movies are based on this concept. Do you remember that hilarious movie from a few years back in which the husband and father gets into a crazier and crazier competition with his neighbors over who has the best house of lighted Christmas decorations?!
Our longing for God can be waylaid and subverted into a longing for status. Our society is status-driven, and we show our status through job titles, possessions, credentials to the point that our sense of our personal worth becomes dependent on our wealth or our job. It's called "climbing the ladder of success." What is the most taboo subject in our society? You may think that it's discussing our religion or whom we're going to vote for. No, you may ask someone what his or her religious affiliation is, but you will NEVER EVER ask him or her what their salary is. It's too powerful a question, because immediately we would begin ranking and judging each other and ourselves by this financial figure. Why should we try to rank ourselves and each other at all? Why should the size of a salary affect our sense of our own worth?
Of course at the bottom of the ladder of success are the "losers:" the poor, unemployed, refugees, jobless, and homeless. This success model can even be twisted into being an important component in our relationship with God. For certain religious preachers, the main goal of prayer to and relationship with Jesus is that the holier we are, the more God will guarantee our financial prestige and success. Of course then, with this mindset, you judge everyone who is poor, unemployed, homeless, or jobless, as being an irreligious person, a "double loser" who has failed to convince God that he or she deserves financial success, and is perhaps even a sinner who is being punished.
Do you remember the Gospel story of the rich young man who asks Jesus what is needed for eternal life? Jesus tells him to follow the Ten Commandments. The young man sincerely replies that he already follows them. Jesus can see that he is a good young man, and Jesus loves him and wants to help him become even closer to God. So he tells him
"There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor. and you will have treasure in Heaven; then come, follow me."
But the wealthy young man becomes shocked and grieving and walks away from Jesus because he doesn't want to give up what he owns.
Some people hate this story and find it ridiculous. No one who lives in this world could possibly do this, especially if you have a family to provide for. So does that mean that none of us with responsibilities, money, and possessions can get close to God and make it to Heaven? Fr. Martin says that that is not the way to interpret Jesus' comments. He explains
"But as I see it, Jesus is not saying that one cannot own anything at all in order to be a good person. As St. Thomas Aquinas said, 'Possession of a few goods is important for a well-ordered life.' Everyone outside of monasteries and religious orders needs some possessions in order to live.
"Beyond the emphasis on a simple life, Jesus is showing his intuitive understanding of what was preventing the young man from getting closer to God. He has put his finger on what Ignatius would call the man's 'disordered attachment.' To another person, Jesus might have said 'Give up your status.' To another, 'Give up your desires for success.' Jesus was not simply inviting the young man to a simple life; he was identifying an unfreedom, and saying 'Get rid of anything that prevents you from following God.'"
Jesus knows each of us better than we know ourselves. Jesus knows that each of us is vulnerable, each of us addictively wants certain things, or has attitudes or mistaken beliefs that keep us dependent on society's judgement of our worth, or competitively following society's "rules for success," and thus we are unfree and unable to be satisfied by God alone. The more we free ourselves from our own particular disordered attachments, the more joyful, light-hearted, and open to God's love we will be.
Imagine yourself approaching Jesus, introducing yourself, and asking him what it is that you must do to become more personally free and closer to the Father. See how Jesus looks at you, eyes full of love because He knows how good you are, how sincere you are. He also intuitively knows what prevents you from getting closer to God. Is it your money? Your many unneeded possessions? Your over-attachment to success, prestige, or status? Be quiet now. Listen closely to what he says. What must you lose in order to gain the Kingdom? What must you rid yourself of in order to truly possess freedom and joy?