Keep It Simple

Raise your hand if you like to make things harder than they really are. I think we are all guilty of this every now and again. One example might include making a lot of excuses on why NOT to do the easy chore your parents gave you (too tired, not my job, why can’t you do it? etc.) Other examples might include stepping into the batters box, walking up to the tee box, or standing at the free throw line. Don’t coaches always say: “You have a big baseball bat/driver and that’s a small ball, this should be easy” or “Hey, these are FREE throws, you should make these!” It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that there are other factors at play when we are tasked to do something, but our success in a particular endeavor is usually dependent upon how well we block out the excuses, block out the noise, and just execute. Our world tends to tell us we need to make things more complicated, but we really are supposed to just keep it simple.

God also wants us to keep it simple. I know the Bible is a big book and sometimes we may not understand what we read, but there are many parts of the Bible that get straight to the point. For example, my favorite scripture from Matthew (Matthew 22: 36-40) says, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

God knows it’s difficult to follow everything He asks us to do. It’s why He gives us grace (unmerited favor) through Jesus Christ so we can be forgiven for our sins when we inevitably don’t do everything He asks. However, God keeps it simple by saying the greatest commandment is to love him relentlessly. The order is important here, because we can’t truly love others until we love God first. Danny Gokey sings about all this in his new song, “Love God Love People.” When life gets complicated, keep it simple. Love God, Love People.

-Jacob

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