The Simple Life

Escher’s “Relativity” – People doing simple tasks in a complex environment.

The first time I heard of the discipline of simplicity, I thought it was something extra-biblical that some monks invented. The Bible does not say to “be simple” (In fact, in the KJV we are instructed to move away from being simple (Psalm 19:7, Proverbs 21:11)). However, there is a difference between being simple and living simply. Life is not always simple, but I have found that it pays to simplify where one can. There are probably many facets of life where we can over do it, but to keep things simple, let’s look at two: the physical and the spiritual.

Simplicity in the Physical Life
The text of the Hebrew Bible (the Christian Old Testament) was written to and in a different culture than ours, one without phones, internet, and cars, a time and place were a large city might fit inside the square footage of a modern city block, yet people still had busy lives, just with different types activities or distractions, and some the same. However, if I had to choose one lifestyle that exemplifies a Biblical ideal, I would have to pick the shepherd. The biblical heroes Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David all kept flocks. Jesus used the illustration of a shepherd in his parables, and called himself the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-14).

The shepherd’s life is not one of boredom (1 Samuel 17:34-36) nor necessarily poverty (Genesis 13:1-8), but a shepherd is also not burdened down with many items, and their primary concern is not for his or her self, but for others, in this case, the sheep. Jesus lived this lifestyle, not owning much himself (Luke 9:58), but spending his time investing in his flock of disciples. It may not be necessary, or even wise, to sell all we have in order to minister to others, although Jesus did require it of one potential disciple (Mark 10:17-22). Having a home or an extra car may be a way to minister to others, but sometimes the acquisition, cost, and maintenance of our possessions may inhibit our ability to care for others. Could I offer more money if I did not have a car payment? Would it be easier to move to a ministry calling if I did not have to sell my house in a down market? Since I primarily work from home, my wife and I have made the decision to go from two cars to one. We are not 100% sure this is the wisest move (as both of our cars are paid for, run well, and we have low insurance rates, we are not saving a lot of money in car expenses), however, we did spend a month with only one car, and found a second was a convenience, not a necessity.

Simplicity in the Spiritual Life
Salvation is not complex (Romans 10:9-11), nor is walking with God (Micah 6:8, Luke 10:27). Jesus said the yoke we are to take from his is easy and the burden is light (Matthew 11:30). We make our spiritual life more complex with our hardness of heart (like the Hebrews under Moses) and/or legalism (like the Pharisees). There is nothing wrong is appropriate rules or programs, however, putting ourselves in God’s path in order for him to more easily make us holy, while at times difficult, should not be complex. While we do not have a record of every action of Jesus, consider these things which we know he did regularly.

Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray (Luke 6:12, Matthew 14:23, Matthew 26:36)
On the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom (Luke 4:16)
As was his custom, he taught them (Mark 10:1)

If everyone at my church who calls themselves a Christian: 1) consistently spent time in prayer, 2) regularly met together with other believers, and 3) participated in just one ministry towards others, I would be a happy pastor with perhaps the most loving, healthy, vibrant, growing church in the world!