{"id":2852,"date":"2015-06-07T09:00:24","date_gmt":"2015-06-07T14:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=2852"},"modified":"2015-08-10T17:16:04","modified_gmt":"2015-08-10T22:16:04","slug":"choose-simplicity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=2852","title":{"rendered":"Choose Simplicity"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Year of Choices…<\/em><\/p>\n

By Barbara Dahlgren from Barbara’s Banter at www.barbdahlgren.com\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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\"Simplicity<\/a>In A.W. Tozer\u2019s book The Pursuit of God <\/em>he says, \u201cRight now we are in an age of religious complexity.\u00a0 The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us.\u00a0 Instead are programs, methods, organizations and a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention but can never satisfy the longing of the heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

I think this can describe not only religion but almost every aspect of our daily lives. The world has created so many options it puts our brains on overload. \u00a0Easy decisions have become complicated.<\/p>\n

\"Bottled<\/a><\/p>\n

For example, just wanting a drink of water when we are out and about can be confusing.\u00a0 \u00a0Do we drink tap water, artesian water, distilled water, purified water, spring water, mineral water, or sparkling water?\u00a0 Should it be plain or flavored?\u00a0 Let\u2019s say we choose plain spring water.\u00a0 Should that spring water come from the mountains, from the valley, from Iceland, France, Italy or Germany?\u00a0 And don\u2019t get me started on what container it comes in.<\/p>\n

And just think of the options medical advances have made available.\u00a0 It\u2019s now possible for a woman to freeze her eggs for future use. Some mothers have frozen their eggs for their infertile daughters.\u00a0 That means if a daughter uses her mother\u2019s eggs and has a daughter, then the daughter she has would actually be her mother\u2019s sister. \u00a0Now that\u2019s really complicated!<\/p>\n

Most societal options were created to make life easier, but that is not always the case.\u00a0 Sometimes too many options leave us confused and make it difficult to make decisions.<\/p>\n

Plus we live in a world of discontent because we are enticed into wanting more, more, more of everything.\u00a0 We think bigger is better and expensive is best.\u00a0 Basic needs such as food, shelter, transportation and clothing have segued into status symbols.\u00a0 Is it wrong to live in a big house, drive a fancy car, and wear designer jeans?\u00a0 Not necessarily \u2013 if we know those things don\u2019t bring happiness and we can function just fine without them.<\/p>\n

Sometimes less is better than more.\u00a0 Having less can help us focus on the truly important aspects of life without distractions.\u00a0 We can learn to appreciate beauty without a price tag.\u00a0 There is wisdom in this Thomas Fuller quote:\u00a0 \u201cBetter a little fire to warm us than a great one to burn us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Consider this\u2026 God\u2019s pleasures are simple ones.\u00a0 Nineteenth century English preacher Frederick William Robertson puts it this way:<\/p>\n

All God’s pleasures are simple ones;
\nthe rapture of a May morning sunshine,
\nthe stream blue and green,
\nkind words,
\nbenevolent acts,
\nthe glow of good humor.<\/p>\n

God has much to say about simple pleasures such as enjoying each new day (Psalm 118:24), being content (Proverbs 30:8, 9; Hebrews 13:5), living in unity (Psalm 133:1), being kind (Ephesians 4:32), laughing (Numbers 22:25-31), delighting in children (Matthew 19:14), and appreciating nature (Isaiah 55:12).\u00a0 In fact God\u2019s creation beckons us to marvel at majestic mountains, admire vibrant sunsets, smell fragrant roses, and calm ourselves beside still waters. \u00a0You might say God did the hard work of creating all of this so we could enjoy these simple pleasures in life.<\/p>\n

\"Become<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Suggestions for practicing this choice\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Each time you see a happy, little child who is eager to laugh, learn, love, and forgive tell yourself: \u00a0Jesus told me to become like little children.\u00a0 This concept, like so many God uses is simple, yet with profound meaning.\u00a0 (Matthew 18:3)<\/li>\n
  2. Take some time every day to appreciate those simple pleasures in life that God created.\u00a0 American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson said, \u201cThe sky is the daily bread of the eyes.\u201d<\/li>\n
  3. Don\u2019t try to muddle the simplicity of the message of Jesus.\u00a0 There are no hidden meanings, mysteries we can\u2019t understand, or complicated doctrines.\u00a0 Jesus came to earth, he lived a perfect life, he paid the price for our sins by dying on a cross, and he victoriously rose from the grave.\u00a0\u00a0 If we accept his loving sacrifice we, too, have victory over death through his gift of salvation.\u00a0 We either choose to accept the gift or we don\u2019t.\u00a0 All other issues are peripheral.<\/li>\n
  4. Don’t put yourself (or others) down by thinking you (they) are not worthy to be Christians because of lack of education.\u00a0 Jesus could have called the philosophers, scholars, and renowned teachers of his time to spread the gospel, but mostly he chose simple fishermen and ordinary people. (1 Corinthians 1:26, 27)<\/li>\n
  5. Learn to use simple explanations when talking to others and to God.\u00a0 Don\u2019t try to impress with your knowledge or vocabulary.\u00a0 Prayers don\u2019t need to be long and eloquent, just heartfelt.\u00a0 Theologian Martin Luther said, sometimes \u2026\u201cthe fewer the words, the better the prayer.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A Year of Choices… By Barbara Dahlgren from Barbara’s Banter at www.barbdahlgren.com\u00a0   In A.W. Tozer\u2019s book The Pursuit of God he says, \u201cRight now we are in an age of religious complexity.\u00a0 The simplicity which is in Christ is … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2852\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}