How Simple is Simple?

So much of talking about caring for the poor and marginalised, identifying with them, weeping with them and sharing in their woes. So much of reading and writing of them, so much of conviction that God cares for the poor.

But how are we (me included) actually live authentically according to what we preach?

We still keep our possessions; houses, cars, stocks instead of selling them off to help the poor, in the name of financial prudence.

We still live in the same old middle-upper class neighbourhood, gated-community, condos in nice secure suburbs, instead of moving to the more crime prone, dirty, noise inner city or rural settlements.

We still speak English and send our kids to the best-est primer schools and lament in the newspapers of their declining English standards, while thousands of poorer and disadvantaged kids do not even have good schools, good teachers or even basic educational facilities.

We still keep our cool Big Guys Toys; our latest Nokia phones, laptops, PDAs, while many are yet to taste technology.

We still use the Broadband, send emails and BLOG! while most rural folks are computer illiterate.

While complaining about the traffic jam in Malaysia in our nice cars, many poor and working class commute everyday in congested public transports.

We sometimes unconsciously compare ourselves, Lim Goh Tong, Boon Siew, Tony Fernandez with the typical poor, and blaming the poor for their own poverty, instead of accepting the truth that poverty is not as simple as how we thought it to be.

We still have our regular dose of Starbucks latte while fully aware that each Venti sized mug of coffee can feed dinner for a family of three.

Until and unless I simplify my life, what I am talking about the poor is useless.

But how simple is simple? We are talking about practicality. How can we practice simplicity when there is no defining standard for simplicity?

Someone tell me!