Simply A-B-C
by Gary Johnson
As we begin 2024, it’s all eyes on Jesus! In this year of political posturing, economic hardship, and international instability, our #1 help – and hope – is Jesus. Each of us must move closer to Him, walk in step with Him, and surrender our lives to Him.
To do so, we are challenging one another throughout 2024 to practice the twelve spiritual disciplines. The disciplines move us into deeper relationship with Jesus, which enables us to experience all eyes on Jesus. Each month we feature a specific discipline, and this month is the discipline of simplicity.
Simply put, simplicity is an outward lifestyle resulting from an inward principle. When we embrace the principle of simplicity in our interior world, it shows outwardly by how we live. For years, I have been convinced of this truth: how we think determines how we live. If we fill our interior world with the Word of God, the more likely it is that we will live biblically. If our minds are consumed with what Scripture calls “worldly,” we will pursue that which our culture values.
Hence, if my heart, mind and soul (i.e., my interior world) is simply focused on “seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness,” (Matt 6:33) there is a greater likelihood that my personal life will reflect a simpler lifestyle.
As I write this, I can already hear you laughing from afar! My family and friends who know me well would not jump to the conclusion that I live a simple life. To the contrary, they look at my schedule, my pace, my projects, and more and conclude that I don’t live a simple life, but one that is complex. I confess that there is some truth to their conclusion, but there is more to this observation than meets the eye.
Though we are addressing one spiritual discipline each month, the disciplines are to be practiced each day – and here is how I practice the discipline of simplicity. Think of it as being as simple as A-B-C.
A for Activities
Like you, I have places to go, people to see and things to do. My schedule (and probably yours) has a decreasing margin in it because we fill our lives with time-driven obligations. I am soon to be 68 years old, and I know all too well my tendency to say “yes” to people when they make an ask of me. I am often challenged by people who know and love me to have the courage and common sense to say “no” more often. My first-born son even made a plaque for me for Christmas some years ago that reads “Just one more thing!” Jared points out that I am the ultimate multi-tasker. My response to him and all others, though, is, “But this is Kingdom work!”
Therefore, to keep a tighter rein on my hectic pace, I have a simple practice. Every morning, I spend 1-2 hours in the Word, in prayer and meditation. This is treasured time for me that I protect, and before I take the first step into the day’s schedule, I have a simple practice that moves me into a simpler pursuit of the day – and I have given permission to those who are close to me to hold be accountable in this regard.
B for Belongings
This category is easier for me. For as long as I can remember, things of this world have held little appeal to me. As long as I have food to eat, a roof over my head, adequate clothes to wear, and a dependable vehicle to drive, I’m good. I’m the son of a blue-collar worker and a stay-at-home mom. We had minimal worldly wealth growing up, and I learned from my folks to be content with what I had and to take care of what I had been given. My mom and dad modeled consistently what it looks like to live within one’s means. My parents did not spend money they did not have, to buy things they did not need, to impress people they did not know. Talk about an inheritance I received from my parents!
So then, for 45 years of marriage, Leah and I have enjoyed freedom from worry over money and the things that money can buy. The Lord Jesus has provided very well for us, and though we could enjoy a bigger house, finer clothes, and more, we have come to live by this truth: just because we can, doesn’t mean we should. Just because we can afford… (insert a new car, a new house, a spectacular whatever), doesn’t mean that we should spend money in that way.
In our thinking, we want to “store up for ourselves treasure in heaven,” more so than here on earth. Hence, how we think determines how we live. When we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, the Lord will provide for all that we need. When we practice simplicity towards the things of this world, we are free from worry and anxiety. We have less square footage and acreage to maintain and insure, fewer clothes to dry-clean, less food-stores to keep away from mice, etc. On a mission trip to India, Leah and I took a tour through Gandhi’s home and were struck by that man’s detachment from things. Though he was from a wealthy family, a trained lawyer and a world leader, he only owned between 10-20 actual items in his life. Do we own things or do our things own us? How we think determines how we live.
C for Compulsions
Sometimes a good thing can become a bad thing because it becomes compulsive and less simple. Take dieting. Dieting, when good, enables us to lose some weight, but when it becomes compulsive, it can become hurtful. The same is true of exercise or hobbies; when taken to extremes, many activities can strain a marriage or family relationships. Food and drink can become addictions. Screen time, social media, shopping, etc., can become compulsive behaviors that hurt us rather than help us. Specifically, anything that becomes compulsive in our lives competes with Jesus for our focus. God calls this idolatry. His top-ten-list (i.e., the ten commandments) begins with the first two commands against idolatry, and throughout His Word, He warns us against allowing anything or anyone taking His place of supremacy in our lives.
To that end, we must begin and end every day with keeping the main thing the main thing, and that “thing” is the Person and Lordship of Jesus Christ. Paul challenges us to “present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is our spiritual worship” (Rom 12:1). If my life is a living sacrifice, I won’t have compulsions. One way I can experience a life free of compulsions is by taking Paul’s very next statement to heart: “Do not be conformed any longer by the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds” (vs. 2). There it is again! Paul is saying that how we think determines how we live. If I think compulsively about certain things, I will live with that compulsion. My life will be complex and far from simple.
Your Simple Steps
What will be your next step towards simplicity? Remember, spiritual disciplines are like exercise. Frankly, not many of us like to exercise. But we know that it is good for us. When we regularly do a physical activity, we develop muscle memory. The repetitious practice of an action develops into a commonplace activity for us. Something that, early on, required intense mental focus ends up becoming second nature (learning to ride a bike, play an instrument, etc.). What are you practicing, or what will you practice, to simply move you into a deeper walk with Jesus, becoming increasingly like Him?
Simplicity may not be so simple to experience, but we can do so, one step at a time.
