Simplicity and Peace

Is it obvious that simplifying things will also bring peace? I suppose most would agree that it is, but then follow that statement with how difficult it is. Or even how little I want to simplify.

Yes, Richard Foster has written famously about simplifying as a spiritual discipline. And I think what he has to say is spot on. But I really don’t want to reduce things to lists. He even says that he doesn’t want to say there is a formula to ‘simplify’ our lives. So, I won’t. I’ll simplify it even further than a list.

Throw off the slaving

It is this slaving to the external world, to the expectations of society, to damaged and damaging concepts of success that we must throw off in order to achieve peace.

Jesus tells Mary and Martha in those few verses that we are all quite familiar with that Martha was distracted and that Mary chose better to focus on Jesus (Luke 10:38-42). That is all that I propose this month. Focus on Jesus.

Focus on Jesus

The author and perfecter of our faith will help us identify the distractions and he will clarify the definition of success that he has set for our lives. He will do all this, if we only focus on him. We need his grace; we need to step into his grace first. Then God will work out all the details.

And so, this is the simplicity that I propose for our lives: God first.