Simplify Your Life Ps. 116: 6 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
It appears that one of the tricks of the world in its battle against you is to complicate your life. With all of the time saving devices, technological advancements and enhancements in communication and transportation, we have been strangled by stress and entangled in a mess. It is time to simplify your life. As Bo Schembechler, coach of the Michigan Wolverines, said after a 5 and 5 season, “It’s time to get back to the basics of blocking and tackling.” The next season they went undefeated through their regular season and won the Big-10 conference.
So, now is a good time to simplify your life and get back to some basics so that you can function more efficiently and effectively. It’s time to:
Simplify your gospel – 2 Cor 11:3. Paul’s concern was that, “…your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ”. The devil beguiled Eve and he will corrupt you. God gave Adam a simple commandment. Don’t eat the fruit of one tree. The devil started by questioning what God said and then he and Eve twisted all the words up by adding some, subtracting some, changing some and lying about the others. What God said became a jumbled mess in just 3 verses. By then, with no authority higher than her own opinion, Eve fell into sin and took her husband down with her. She should have just simply said, “Yes, that is what God said. We can’t eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. See ya’.”
To keep from being corrupted, we need to do the same thing. Quit arguing about such doctrines as predestination and election. Quit debating with those who espouse false doctrines. Christians have a new ministry now. They sit around on their computers going from site to site looking for or picking fights and debating with fools. You will never correct them. And while you’re debating, the rest of the world around you is dying without Christ and going to hell. Hey, people who are lost need Jesus. Go tell them that Jesus died for them and rose again in eternal life and leave the idiots without an audience. You are wasting you time and complicating your life.
Simplify your understanding. Ps 19:7, Ps 119:130, Prov 1:4. Pride is one of the principle reasons for misunderstanding the Bible. Profound truths are the simple truths. The Lord gives wisdom to the simple. Now, don’t be a simpleton, of course. But you should simplify your understanding. Get to know and live by the basic doctrines. Read the Bible and listen to the Lord and do what he says. What could be simpler?
People complicate their lives when they keep trying to justify things that are contrary to the words of God, when they don’t separate themselves from evil when the Lord shows them clearly that they must, and when they keep unhealthy habits and relationships going contrary to God’s commands. Mothers will do anything for their children; even disobey God. That can make your life very complicated. The simple thing to do is to follow God and wait on your grown kids to do the same without covering for them.
Simplify your possessions. Lk 12:15; Matt 19:21-22. You are buried in “junk.” Well, you may call these precious things you own “treasures” but they will not be yours the moment you die. And the people who inherit them may not value them the same way you do. So, why spend your time and money cluttered in a mountain of stuff. It has to be dusted, maintained, painted, repaired, secured, insured, and on and on. That takes a lot of money and makes it doubly hard for you to attend to spiritual matters. You just need to simplify your life and get rid of some of these “things” that you own that encumber your mind, your money and your time. Set you affection on things above!!
Simplify your schedule. 1 Ki 20:39-40. You have entirely too much to do and some of this stuff you are doing is totally unnecessary. It just happens to be something you want to do. Take a look at the essential things in your life and do those things. If, on occasion, there is the opportunity to add something then it will be a relief and not a burden. You are saying “yes” to some things when you should be saying “no.”
ADD and ADHD are more a function of poor nutritional choices and overwhelming schedules than they are the result of a genetic disorder. Eliminate sugar and highly refined carbs from your diet and cut back on the number of things in which you are involved and 9 times out of 10 the symptoms of ADD and ADHD will subside. I learned this from two doctors trained to diagnose and treat these disorders. I have also witnessed these results. You are too busy. You need to settle down.
Conclusion: When your life is simple you will have time to enjoy it more and to live with much less stress. Your fellowship with Jesus will be sweeter, your time with your family will be richer, you will be more productive on your job, you will have more time to witness, read and pray and you will be happier and more content.