The Simplified Life

The Christmas season is not an easy time of year. Gift buying and busier-than-usual schedules can take a lot of the joy out of what ought to be a time of special delight in the “mystery of godliness.” God has revealed His perfect righteousness in Jesus Christ. Because of the forgiveness of sin and the gift of eternal life, heaven’s gates are not barred to us. The glories of this wonderful message can, however, become obscured by our harried and hurried life-style. But something can be done about this. Our culture defies us. It has a dark side. Arrogance, shallow relationships, materialism, and a quest for entertainment can play the tune by which we dance. A simplified life is the determination to dance to the different tune of biblical truth.

When Martha was scurrying around her kitchen and complaining about her sister Mary’s lack of involvement, Jesus said that Mary had chosen “the good part.” This helps us. A simplified life is one of measuring our schedule and making our plans according to the invisible rather than the visible (Lk. 10:42; 2 Cor. 4:18; 5:7). Jesus did not correct Martha because of her work ethic. He rebuked her because her work ethic dominated her. She let it keep her from doing the most important thing at that moment. Mary made the right choice. Martha did not. Likewise, we who are Christians can consign our heart’s desires to less important things and can buy into our culture’s mode of thinking. A simplified life is a life of worshiping God. The heart that overflows in glad obedience to the infinite worth of God is a simplified life. It finds time to commune with God and His Word and prayer. Relationships are important, real, and meaningful. We have time for people, conversations, and mercy. How easily we can become dominated by the lust for privacy, comfort, and entertainment.

It has been said that “the ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary, so the necessary can speak” (Hans Hauffman). What is the necessary? It is to love God and one’s neighbor. This is the sharpened focus of a life that has meaning. Simplifying one’s life is a journey guided by the compass of God’s Word (Matt. 4:4). Redeeming the time is purchased by the currency of God’s commandments. The simplified life means staying in close and meaningful contact with family and friends. Be hospitable and kind. Encourage others with the warmth of your home and generosity. Life’s demands should not be dictated by our energy, the demands of others, or the values of American culture (1 Jn. 2:15-17). Be content with what you have. Don’t let your possessions be your master. Make them serve you. Remove the things that clutter your schedule with non-essentials such as television, movies, excessive newspaper and magazine reading. If you have sons, don’t let them spend endless hours playing video games. Give them designated times for this on the weekend. And there is the ubiquitous computer. The internet and email will have to be taken in hand and not be allowed to occupy time that’s needed for soul nourishment. Self-discipline must become a way of life, not an elective. Pray for it. It is a grace of the Spirit and flows from the spring of a heart enthralled with God (Gal. 5:23). Self-mastery is one of the prime achievements in life. Don’t be satisfied without it. You will also want to declare war on the habit of procrastination. It is a thief of time. Make a list of the things you have been putting off. Arrange them in order of importance and then get to work and enjoy the God-given sense of relief. There are sub-floor issues that will have to be looked at. Beneath the habit of procrastination is very often found over commitment. We are trying to do too many things. Plan your schedule before others plan it for you. But beware of the self-help and success books which tell you how to get more out of your time. Packing more into your time in order to produce more is not the way to pursue a simplified life. Is more what we want?

The life that is in biblical order insists upon the preparation for and the experience of worship with God’s people. There is not a better reminder of what is most important in life than worship which is in spirit and in truth. It is not a good sign when meeting with God’s people for praise, prayer, and the preaching of God’s Word has been pushed to the margins of your life. We can get life out of perspective. That is why it is necessary from time to time to break away from our routine to rest, renew, and reevaluate our lives. A life unexamined is a life unfulfilled. The kind of life for which God has made us is one that seeks His glory above all else. I recommend taking your Bible, a good book (Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper), and a worship and praise CD. Establish and guard a private time with God each day. There is a no more fundamentally important routine than meeting with God on a regular basis for time in the Word and prayer. Refuse to let life crowd out such a time.

A.W. Tozer saw many years ago where modern life was leading the multitudes. His words are worth pondering. “Modern civilization is so complex as to make the devotional life all but impossible. It wears us out by multiplying distractions and beats us down by destroying our solitude, where otherwise we might drink and renew our strength before going out to face the world again…The need for solitude and quietness was never greater than it is today. What the world will do about it is their problem. Apparently the masses want it the way it is and the majority of Christians are so completely conformed to this present age that they, too, want things the way they are. They may be annoyed a bit by the clamor and by the goldfish bowl existence they live, but apparently they are not annoyed enough to do anything about it. However, there are a few of God’s children who have had enough. They want to relearn the ways of solitude and simplicity and gain the infinite riches of the interior life.” Is there something you can do this week to take a step toward simplifying your life? Let Solomon’s counsel keep us company, “This only have I found: God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes” (Eccles. 7:29).

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church