"Simplicity"

Someone said to me the other day that his smart phone is making him dumber (he was having a hard time programming it). I had to laugh. At times doesn’t it seem like our society has more gadgets to “supposedly” make our life easier? How many people do you know that have three remote controllers to start their TV’s and DVD’s and they can barely figure even one out?

Here is one possible scenario for just the first hour of our day:

We program our coffee pots to turn on just after our morning alarm wakes us. Meanwhile, we go to our computer to email 10 friends and pay our bills as our automated towel rack heats up our towels for after our showers. We jump into the car that has been programmed to start the seat warmers for our comfy drive to work, as well as set our GPS, Bluetooth, and IPOD for our long drive to work! Since the kids aren’t with us, there’s no need for the TV to be turned on this time. Oh my goodness!! Does any of that seem to be out of control?

Now trust me I have NO DESIRE to go back to the day where you had to take your clothes down to the neighborhood river to beat them on top of a rock. Heck no!! But sometimes do you ever wonder if we’ve gone too far with our stuff?

Here’s another one - How many passwords do we have to remember for the variety of accounts we have (and how inconvenient it is to change them regularly for better security!).

That’s just the gadgets. What about the way we strive to be so sophisticated that we become such news junkies; staying up on every self-help author and opening ourselves up to every notion out there. In addition, we keep stats from every ball game and are glued to many blogs or You Tube sites. Are we puffing ourselves up with knowing more and more and more about stuff? And all the while, God has made Himself plain and has put it in our hearts to know Him. He is what we are truly longing for…Why do we try to fill up on so many secondary things?

1 Corinthians 2:5 states,“Your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” In Apostle Paul’s letter here to the church at Corinth (a city where the citizens had been sucked in by worldly philosophy, sexual immorality, athletic competitions, and impressed by those who gave long involved orations), he was warning them against man’s wisdom and ways, and was encouraging them to simply know Jesus and Him crucified. The word “power” in Greek means force, ability, abundance, might. Miraculous power, that is what we have in God!!

Does that city sound like the times we live in today? What are we plugging into- IPods, cell phones, internet, TV for every bit of news? Are the things or the thrill of busyness, or worldly knowledge becoming out of balance in our life, and keeping us from the simplicity of the truth of Christ? How many of us are reading our Bibles? May we agree with Paul, “I determine to know nothing except Jesus and Him crucified”. Oh Father, may we repent when we have been foolish enough to seek wisdom in other ways that are not of You, or have gloried in our own stuff, strength, gifts and knowledge! Remind us again Lord that we are not looking for the newest thing or a program to guide, thrill, or fill us, but we are looking to the person of Jesus Christ. Humble us so that we can demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit and the power of God in us.

Does your heart long to get back to a more simple way of living and unplug a bit more? Do you desire to hear the voice of God in your life instead of all the noise that screams for your attention? Are there ways you feel God’s Spirit redirecting you? Let us start asking for a mind and heart that keeps the focus on the One True Power, and to plug into Him alone. May our prayer be that our hearts will be still so we can receive all that we may have from the Living God. Today, on my way home, I will commit to begin. I will turn off my radio so that I have a sweet time with the Lord and it will be just He and me driving home. To what will you commit?

 

May it be our desire that we be women who live in the present and are aware of the world around us. May we take notice of the blessings God gifts to each of us, and always long to hear His whispers. Shall we also pray with a more purposeful focus on God’s will? And as we stay connected in our relationship with Christ, we will become more thankful followers. Let us commit to doing this together! Close your eyes…Open your heart, let God’s Spirit empower you today.