Customer Reviews

Freedom of Simplicity

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's not an easy task to let go of the known and go into the unknown.

To let go of possessions, relationships and to live simply one day at a time. To let go of controlling people you live with, work with, play with, to be and to trust.

It is one of the greatest gifts you can give to yourself and others, it brings peace and fulfillment not to rush and accomplish but to do one thing at a time, whether it's eating, vacuuming, telephone calling, working at the office or being with the kids or grandkids.

One thing at a time done with simple awareness is worth doing many, many things without awareness. Richard Foster shows us how to live this lifestyle in his books Freedom of Simplicity and Celebration of Discipline. Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth

Once you let go, you don't have to prove anything to anyone, you lose that competition drive, status quo, you don't have to live on the edge, you become more compassionate, more centered, more intuitive, more alive to yourself and others.

You worry less and love more, you fear less and trust more, you live for the moment, because that's all you have. You make less mistakes and better decisions. You need less and enjoy more. Live simply so that others may simply live

Foster wonders if he is the right person to write this book, and indeed who would be. (It seems clear that he was exactly the right person.) Our culture is at war with simplicity. Material neediness is almost demanded of us. We need new stuff -- techno-toys, fashions, cars, amazing new whatnot. Says Foster: "Stress the quality of life above the quantity of life. Refuse to be seduced into defining life in terms of having rather than being. Cultivate solitude and silence. Learn to 'listen to God's speech in his wondrous, terrible, gentle, loving, all-embracing silence'... Value music, art, books, significant travel. If you are too busy to read, you are too busy... Learn the wonderful truth that to increase the quality of life means to decrease material desire..." Foster leads the reader to understand that Christian simplicity is not merely a reinvention of self focus, a stripped-down version of self indulgence. It is both carefully inward-looking and thoughtfully outward-looking, always seeking to need only One. This is not the Christianity that the skeptic will find easy to assail, but rather the type of human concerns illuminated by Christ: "A million hogs in Indiana have superior housing to a billion humans on this planet."

This was a good book on voluntary simplicity. I've read enough of such books, but this one offered more of a biblical perspective than I've seen in a lot. The first couple of chapters are really great, as they offered some great insights about how God views wealth and our responsibility to others. It's good information, too, because in our society, we are mostly concerned about how we can get more money to take better care of SELF, not others. Other countries are a lot more community oriented.
In later chapters, though, the book shifts gears a bit and shows us some things we can do to embrace simplicity outwardly and inwardly. Because of these chapters, I don't think that this is exactly the book for simplicity beginners. It gets pretty challenging, and not that this is a bad thing, but it can be a little intimidating and feel a bit "burdensome". The wise reader, however, will know what to apply, and what is fitting for his or her life, and the direction God is leading him or her in. It is a good book, though, and I would recommend it.

Of all the books on the market today about simplicity this one speaks directly to the Christian. It explains why many of us may feel drawn to the simple life. What would Jesus do? This is more than a book about how to save money, buy at thrift stores, and save the earth. It speaks to the soul.

Why did it take me so long to find this book? Kudos to Harper for reissuing it after years of being out of print. I have read a number of recent, popular books on "voluntary simplicity" and "downshifting," but none approach the beauty of Foster's clear and compelling treatise on the "complexity of simplicity." After outlining the spiritual foundation of the notion of simplicity, he offers practical means of working to achieve it. If you're interested in "living the simple life" BUY this book and check all those other titles out of the library! A great book for "downshifters" regardless of their spiritual background.

I began reading this book with high expectations regarding the insights the author would have to offer. I was certainly not disappointed. Foster divides his work into two parts. In part one, he lays a foundation for a life of simplicity based upon the Old and New Testaments. He also draws upon church history to illustrate the advantages of not being distracted by worldly possessions and pursuits.

In part two, Foster puts the concept of simplicity into action. He speaks of inward simplicity which aligns our lives properly with God. He then refers to outward simplicity, which relates us in a fitting manner to persons around us. He closes his book by referring to corporate simplicity in the church and in the world. Sadly, his work would have been better had he omitted these last two chapters. In them, Foster's liberal economic and political views rise to the surface, strongly overshadowing the Biblical argument he has so skillfully presented earlier.

Still, in an age characterized by materialism within and without the church, this book gives a fresh new perspective on focusing on things eternal that cannot be bought or sold. I recommend it highly.

This book gives a delightfully profound look at the need for simplicity in life. It forces us to look at the way we live, use our time, and relate to others. Foster searches many of the great spiritual leaders from Pascal to Kempis to provide documentation and perspective on the spiritual life. His writings help to rediscover prayer, meditation, and the "Divine Center" necessary for walking daily with Christ... This is a book to read and re-read. It is one gift that any Christian would find liberating and inspiring

Richard Foster's Freedom of Simplicity starts off very well. I was expecting a book focusing out outer forms of simplicity such as doing without, and ridding ourselves of materialism. Foster instead spends the first third of the book detailing what the bible has to say about inner simplicity. He suggests that we can not have outer simplicity without inner simplicity. Inner simplicity keeping Christ at the very center of our lives. If we live a life of "radical obedience" to him our daily decisions become very simple. There is less inner turmoil, and less desire for things we cannot have.

The second 2/3s of the book are less insightful. Watch less TV., spend less money, ride your bike to work, be satisfied with what you have, don't be sucked into commercials stirring up desires you don't have. All very sound advice, but not as perceptive as the first portion of the book. With respect to Mr. Foster, perhaps I was missing some larger point he was attempting to make.

Overall, I'm glad I read this book and at this point could not recommend a better book on the subject.

I'd definitely give this one five stars... not because it all the sudden will "simplify" your life. Just the opposite, in fact.

As Christians living in America, there's an interesting tension we do not address enough. Namely, what is it to be both a Christian who is called to live with abandon, who also simultaneously doing things like saving for retirement or spending large amount of times tracking our stocks, etc.

Foster's book (which is an expansion of a chapter from his masterpiece, "The Celebration of Discipline") forces us to take a hard look at what all this focus on the material has brought us.

It leaves me both motivated to simplify, but also overwhelmed with how much a part of me enjoys the complexity of my own plans.

I'd definitely recommend it. I'd put it in my top five or ten personal finance books for Christians.

Ken Clark, CFP

Foster has done it again. Such a beautifully woven guide to this most elusive of subjects...with ensites into the old testiment, new testiment, and early christian traditions...this book is a God send. It is best pared with John Michael Talbots "Lessons of Saint Francis".

The Lessons of Saint Francis: How to Bring Simplicity and Spirituality into Your Daily Life