09/29/2024
1 John 2:15-17
“Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.”
Over the past several years there has been a new trend in how to live. Some people refer to it as ‘minimalism’. It is a tool, a mind-set, that allows us to focus on the important things in life and rid ourselves of worldly excesses. The minimalist’s objective is to find happiness, fulfillment, freedom, and purpose outside of the material world.
Minimalism in the arts, music, and architecture has been around for decades. The motto of the minimalist is: Less is more; more is less. This philosophy has become evident through television, as seen by the “Tiny House” movement and the show about hoarders. It is a move away from material things and seeking the simplicity of life.
Of course, this is not a new philosophy. Henry David Thoreau stated: “Our life is fritted away by details…simplify, simplify, simplify!” Walt Whitman said, “Simplicity is the glory of expression.” Moving back further, Isaac Newton offered this: “Truth is ever to be found in the simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.” And moving back still further, Confucius taught: “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” Then there was Lao Tzu, author of the Tao Te Ching: I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.
Our souls crave simplicity. We are spiritual as well as physical beings, and both natures are drawn to, and enamored with, simplicity. At all levels of our being, peace and balance require that we live through the power of simplicity and moderation, and not defined by transient happiness or the accumulation of worldly pleasures.
Our souls seek to find the state of being where we feel blessed and life is good, no matter what is going on. This is easier to attain when we are not burdened with the multiplicity and confusion of possessions, demands, responsibilities, and poor decisions.
Let’s face it: life can be complicated and complex. When asked a question, it has become standard to reply, “It’s complicated.” Really, from one perspective we all can nod our heads and say we understand. But from another perspective that is a cop-out; an answer intended to hide something. Rather than just say, “I really messed it up. It was my fault because I made poor decisions,” we hide behind the excuse of something being complicated.
I grew up with the phrase “Keep It Simple, Stupid.” It was often rephrased as “Keep it Simple, Silly,” to be less offensive. I’ve also heard it as “Keep It Stupid Simple.” We human beings are excellent at making simple things complicated, but we have much to learn when it comes to making complicated things simple. Einstein said, “If you can't explain it to a six-year-old, you don't understand it yourself.” If we can’t answer a question directly and succinctly, we are hiding something, or we really don’t know why we are in the situation that we are in. It takes effort, introspection, and honesty to clarify our thinking so that we and others can understand it.
Steve Jobs shared this wisdom about his mantra being focus and simplicity: “Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains."
That is what our hearts, minds, and souls are longing for: focus and simplicity. When you go through the mail and file the things that need to be filed and toss the things that need to be tossed … how do you feel? I feel good, satisfied, productive.
Clean out and sort your emails. Boy! That feels good; we are happy. The garage, the closet. Put things out for the Salvation Army; take things to the dump. Get rid of old clothing, shoes, wallets, purses, watches … yes even things of value that we no longer use or need. Give it a way: simplify, simplify, simplify!
Wow, that is hard. It is easy to get rid of junk, but it is hard to release things of value that we will never use. We cling to stuff, making life complicated. And we do this in all areas of our lives. Some of us maintain exhausting, depleting relationships out of guilt or habit. We don’t have to abandon someone or stop loving them, but we can change how we relate to them and how much time we spend with them.
Biblical simplicity revolves around purity, sincerity, and a focus on what truly matters. It encourages believers to live without pretense, ulterior motives, or excessive attachment to material possessions. One quality of spiritual simplicity is that of single-mindedness. Matthew 6:22 tells us, “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.”
Simplicity involves a single-minded devotion to God, free from deceit. We are taught in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon.” We cannot trust both God and the world.
Simplicity is about releasing distractions: emotional, physical, mental, worldly. Luke 12:15 Jesus tells us, “‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.’” Greed, excessive desires bring complications to our souls and lives. Stuff, things, possessions can be major distraction to our closeness to God. It is not the things themselves, but our double mindedness that creates the separation in our minds from God.
It reflects simplicity to make one decision on moral issues. When we compromise our principles and values, complications and complexities of life burden us. The Bible tells us: “…anyone who knows what is right but fails to do it is guilty of sin.” When we disregard our standards and doctrines for living, we are sinning, mis-stepping, making errors, and blocking ourselves from the Light and Love of Christ.
Another stumbling block to living a simple life is trying to control everything ourselves. We hold on longer than is necessary or productive. I am guilty of doing this because I have these old tapes running through my head about, “If at first you don’t succeed then try, try again.” It takes wisdom, which I apparently lack, to recognize when a situation is harmful or oppressive, and needs to be released. There have been a few relationships and situations in my life that I should have released sooner than I did. But guilt, pity, or obligation stopped me from doing the right thing, and I held on futilely. A minor in mathematics, that I should have released earlier. My first marriage comes to mind. A relationship in High School. We all have had situations where the unwillingness to let go surely complicated things.
Habits can muddle our clarity and divert our focus from expressing God’s good. We worry and compare ourselves to others habitually. We are not conscious of it, but it casts shadows, concealing Christ from our minds and hearts. We are distracted by worldly temptations. We want to wait until we are perfect, or the situation is perfect, or conditions and people change before moving forward and doing what needs to be done. While our poor judgment causes us to hold on too long to some things, our self-judgment causes us to give up on ourselves too soon. Often in life, it’s not who we think we are that holds us back; it is who we think we are not that erodes our confidence and stifles our poise. Such complexities draw unhappiness and gloominess to our lives.
Our life becomes more complex when we seek the validation of others, rather than touching base with God and forging our own path with divine help. Galatians 1:10 asks us: Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Another life-complicator is a sense of entitlement; we feel that the world and other people owe us something. It is best to change that thinking to: what can I give to the world and to others?
Many of us just don’t enjoy the journey of life. We live from fear. “What if this happens; what if that happens?” We see life as an adversary, waiting to get us and bring awful things, rather than seeing it as a gift from God and the source of joy, wonder, and newness. It is a choice to release the sense of need and replace it with the love of possibilities.
Luxury and wealth don’t have to be antagonistic to a simple life; it depends on the simplicity of our thought process. Being humble, not harming or cheating anybody, and not gossiping about anyone are all simple attributes of life that lead to others appreciating us. These qualities may lead to worldly success yet are born of simplicity. Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
We look for such a complicated life purpose and means of living that we wander about aimlessly, bumping into our possessions, blind to the love and joy of God. In Micah 6:8 the Bible shares a simple formula for what God requires of us: To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. It’s not complicated. To do what is right. Spirit speaks to us through that ‘still small voice’, and we intuitively feel what is right when dealing with others; our inner knowing and instincts guide us in the right direction.
It is my prayer that we make one decision, one simple decision – to trust God, to do what is right, do what is written on our heart. I pray we will take the life philosophy of Micah 6:8 and apply it to our lives: act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. This is a life formula, a philosophy that leads to the simplicity and fullness of life. And to these simple commands, we add the last one from Christ – love each other. There is power in simplicity.
My prayer is that God’s gentle spirit takes us by the hand and leads us to a realization of peace and contentment, where the most complex situations become simple. May the simplicity of life endow us with clarity, focus, confidence, strength, abundance, and peace.
Comments