Scripture Reading:
Acts 2:46 ‘So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart.’ (NKJV)
We live in a world that is growing increasingly complex and sophisticated. It is a world filled with noise, busyness and endless options and choices. Devices, technology and social media, which were all supposed to simplify our lives and connections, have in fact added more stress and in many cases has brought complications to our lives. I have been in the process of scaling down to move to a smaller home. It has amazed me how much clobber and unused clutter has filled my life and home over the years. The question is why do we collect so much and why are we prone to amassing so much ‘stuff’ and in the process complicating our lives? Why are we enticed to do this when so much of what we gather and hold on to is not really needed in everyday life? I noticed that it was difficult to let go of things and dispose of them or simply give them away. Carrying all this baggage through life complicates things and leads to unnecessary concern about things and overthinking about how to handle things. We have an alternative and that is to choose simplicity and restraint over the abundance of things and a lifestyle that brings complication in our lives. There is great strength in choosing to live simply and to live uncomplicated lives with a simplicity of heart. The early church modelled this: ‘So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart.’ I have discovered that there is a way in which we can stick to the basics, stay close to the Lord and avoid unnecessary complications and burdens.
FOLLOWING GOD’S WORD IS THE KEY TO SIMPLICITY IN LIFE
As I have worked with people over the years, I have seen how obedience to God’s Word brings simplicity into their lives. When we think we know better and choose to do what we want to do, complication comes in and robs us of the peace and joy God intended us to enjoy. Let me give you an example:
Romans 13:8 says: ‘Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.’
The principles in God’s Word show us the way we should go. Here we see that the Lord encourages us not to have debt. It is very clear that we should not live with debt or at least not unnecessary debt. However, often we think we know better and we take on that additional credit card or we apply for that extra loan, or we borrow from other people. The result is that we end up taking from Peter to pay Paul. We settle one debt only to incur another. The next thing we find is that the debt begins to overwhelm us. We lose sleep, we have to overthink scenarios and make plans to keep things under control and veiled in secrecy. Under severe circumstances it can eventually lead to us doing things we would never normally do. It can even get to the point where we no longer speak the truth and drive us to the place where we commit crimes that could end us up in great trouble and extreme complications. If only we could have followed and applied God’s Word to our lives, we could have avoided these complications.
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