Gandhi’s words—“Live simply so that others may simply live”—hold a piercing truth. The choices we make each day ripple outward. I often find myself caught in the tension: Do I choose the convenience, the comfort, the upgrade… or do I live with less so that someone else may have enough?
It is not an easy struggle. When I stand in a store debating over what I “need,” I know that, at the very same moment, there are neighbors in my city and around the world wondering if they will eat tonight. My comforts are not neutral—they exist in a world where there is plenty of food and resources for all yet are unevenly dispersed.
Jesus reminds us:
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21) “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail.” (Luke 12:33)
And the prophet Isaiah warns against excess while others suffer:
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice… to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter?” (Isaiah 58:6–7)
Living simply does not mean rejecting joy or beauty—it means refusing to let comfort numb us to compassion. It means saying no to some of what the world tells us we “deserve” so we can say yes to what God asks of us: mercy, generosity, justice.
As Thomas à Kempis wrote, “Do not be concerned about who is with you or against you, but take care that God is with you in everything you do.” God is with us when we choose the harder path of simplicity for the sake of love.
The Apostle Paul captures the heart of it:
“Let each of you look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:4)
When I wrestle with my decisions—comfort for me or life for another—I remember Christ, who “emptied himself” (Philippians 2:7) for the sake of the world. He shows us that true life is found not in grasping more, but in giving more away.
Soul Journeys 