Simplicity
Use this as a devotional tool. Look up the Scripture provided. Journal about it and/or talk about it with family and friends. Feel free to share, leave comments, or message me at pastorjacobhayward@gmail.com
Removing distractions
Matthew 6:19-21, 30-33
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
For Americans, the idea of simplifying your life brings a host of thoughts and emotions. Many of us would initially say that we would love to simplify things. But when we begin to remove things, it becomes more difficult. All of our things seem so important to us. We have closets and drawers full of clothes. Most homes have multiple televisions. We house pots and pans and baking things that we have not, and despite our best intentions will not, ever use. We have old toys and old cords, old papers and garages full of “stuff”. We also have busy lives, running to and fro. We have complex desires for the new things and new experiences, causing us to live out complex lives filled with anxiety and a feeling that it all is a blur.
In many ways, we all need to simplify. It is proven that when we simplify our lives that we are generally more happy people. We are able to better enjoy our things but also better make memories of our time.
What does Jesus say about Simplicity?
In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus addresses the simplification of our things. Jesus recognized that each of us are distracted by and drawn to things. We like the best things: nice clothes, comfy couches, new phones. All these things are nice but they have the opportunity to capture both our attention and our hearts. Jesus encourages us to remember our mortality, and that things on this earth all pass away. They all will crumble with time, especially products made nowadays. But our treasures which we lay up for ourselves in heaven will last for all of eternity. I think of it like putting money away for retirement, except instead of putting money away I am spending my time and effort, which could be spent on doing something or attaining something worldly, on connecting more deeply with the Father and concerning myself with what concerns him.
Matthew 6:30-33 speaks on simplifying your life. Many of us live day to day moving from one thing to the next simply because we have to. But, many of us are not intentional with our day at all. We concern ourselves with our work which puts food on the table and clothes on our backs and yet don’t enjoy our work at all. That negativity is brought home and we watch TV all evening or sit on our phones as an escape from the day. But many of us are busy as well, causing us to run from one event to the next, causing us to feel as though we never have enough time. Jesus calls out to our situation by asking us first to have confidence in his ability to provide, and second to allow his kingdom to be placed first in the forefront of our mind.
In both passages, Jesus is asking us to put aside the desires of the flesh and anxious thoughts of the world; instead taking on himself that we may be focused and care most about the kingdom of God and the things of heaven.
Practical Application
The first thing that we need to do is simplify our things. Owning more is never better. Having a crowded house full of things causes us to have crowded minds with the inability to breath (and yes this is a message for me as well). We live in a society where if we need something we could easily get it again, and often in the same day. But chances are there are things in your house that you forgot you had or have not touched in years. So, why hold onto it?
The second thing we need to work on is simplifying our lives. What is interesting is that we actually have more free time than ever before. With the institution of a 40 hour work week, our freedom for time has actually gone up. Simplifying the way we live, then, is more difficult than simplifying our things. In order to simplify our lives, we need to first find our purpose. According to Jesus, our purpose ought to be pursuing the things that are within the kingdom of God. When we set our purpose, we then need to organize how we spend our time under this purpose in order to determine if it is helping me grow or distracting me from my purpose. Is instituting family game night once a week going to help you grow into a better believer and better family member? Probably. Is spending 3 hours on social media a day, which is the national average, going to increase your desire to follow Christ and be a better parent? Probably not. We need to look as to where we spend our time and money and determine where we should increase and where we should decrease or remove.
What is your purpose, or what is most important for you in life? Write down a list of your priorities helping you get to that purpose. What are the things helping you achieve that purpose? What is holding you back?
Challenge: Clean out your wardrobe. Be honest about the things that you wear or never do. How many things can you get rid of? Find your local Goodwill or second-hand store and drop those clothes off. Congrats on starting this process of simplification!
Make sure to ask and answer these questions on your own and with your family. There may be things that I missed, so please feel free to comment them. If you’d like to continue the conversation, feel free to contact me at pastorjacobhayward@gmail.com. Thanks for joining me, I hope to continue this journey with you soon. God bless.