A Different Kind of Living

I’ve recently begun listening to The Way Home by Mark Boyle on Audible.

It’s an interesting book, and he’s an interesting person. The founder of the ‘freeconomy’ movement in Europe, he is an educator and advocate for a lifestyle of moneyless living, skill-sharing, and ‘paying it forward.’

Boyle famously went one year without using money—not accepting or spending it.

The book I’m listening to is his experience moving onto a homestead without technology—using nothing that would make him “beholden” to another. No computer, electricity, internet, sewage systems, or even community programs like medical care or fire rescue would fall into this category.

So, Boyle—an author and journalist—was faced with a new challenge of writing without technology. Pencil and paper would be all he had for the first time. No research, word processors, or online dictionaries.

The experiment forced him to do something he’d never done. He was faced with writing only what he could think.

Only What You Can Think

As a writer, I’m interested in the idea of writing only what I can think.

What would my poetry look like if I couldn’t search out the most obscure words to describe the light shining through a dewdrop?

What would my devotional blogs look like if I couldn’t research an online lexicon or commentary in real time?

What would my fiction look like without consulting name databases, therapists, and geography?

Suddenly, I wonder what my relationship with God would be without devotional studies and inspirational speakers to tell me what to know. What could I tell a neighbor about Jesus if I couldn’t consult my church’s doctrinal beliefs? What would I do for my community if I didn’t see ideas on social media? Would I know how to pray if it was just my Bible and me, with no one else to tell me what Jesus had said?

If it were just my circle of friends, family, the time I spend with Scripture and in prayer, what would I learn of my God? What would I know?

The Challenge

I’m not saying you should give up your YouVersion Bible plan or your favorite online church service.

I’m not saying to give up social media or technology.

I only think it’s really important to ask yourself what you know, what you would think if all you had were your own thoughts.

What would you say if all you could share was what you know from your own relationship to Scripture and your own experience?

A Prayer

Father in Heaven,

I want to know You more. Help me to know You personally—not from the testimonies and teachings of others only—but what You have taught me through Your Word. Help me to spend more time in prayer and study. Help me to build up a community of believers to learn from and share with. When I’m ever faced with turning off all the other noise, help me to find myself in the midst of You, near You. Thank You for hearing my prayer. In Jesus’ name, amen.