“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” ~
The proof of this quote? Quite simple, actually. I typed the quote and the faith action, as I typically do, and then began to think about what to write. I turned on my classical music, closed my eyes, and tried to think of something simple to say. Everything that I was coming up with was more complicated than it needed to be and I thought to myself, “By God, Confucius was right.”
We complicate life pretty much from the beginning. Have you ever watched little children play games? Do you remember your own games as little children? We would often make up games to play. Of course, those made-up games would have to have rules. The rules would have follow-up rules. Then we would make exceptions to the rules and decide when the rules would apply and when they would be suspended. All to play a simple game.
Such is life. We complicate what should be simple and straightforward. I guess that’s part and parcel of our human nature. I think it probably comes from a basic lack of trust since that is also a part of our human nature. If we do not trust, we always look for hidden meanings and hidden agendas. We do not accept things at face value. We become suspicious. We deal with things in a complicated fashion.
Christ came to free us from all of that. The love of God is simple, straightforward, and direct. There is no hidden agenda. There is nothing dishonest about God’s love. There is no reason to try to complicate it. We do, nonetheless. Probably because, in our human nature, we complicate human love. We make conditions to our love. Strings are attached. Nothing is honest or straightforward. There is almost always a hidden agenda to human love.
It doesn’t need to be that way. God can help us break out of our complicated, messy lives if we just allow Him to do so.
FAITH ACTION: Ask God to help you view life simply and honestly.