Not everyone is born into greatness.
It’s easy for us to acknowledge the fact that we’re not cut out for big things. But most people want to be somebody in their own right, and in this time and age being simple often carries with it derogatory undertones.
Simplicity tends to be underrated and overlooked. For instance, the ease in reading and comprehending a piece of writing consists in how simply and lucidly its message is conveyed. If you read Hemingway you’ll know what I mean.
But the truth is this: the easier the reading the harder the work that went on behind it. Hemingway’s deceptively simple (and often understated) prose was so attractive that many writers sought to emulate it, and badly so because they probably did not know how many hours of arduous corrections and refinement went into it.
By the same principle gold is refined many times over, tested by fire and burnished before it could be presented in all its purity and quality.
By the same principle herbs were culled, crushed, heated and distilled into their essences before the alabaster jar of expensive perfume could be produced and decanted upon Jesus’ head.
And by the same principle simplicity in life can only be forged through the furnace of trials and tribulations. One has to go through life’s rigor to separate the dregs from the extract, to know what’s important and what truly matters. Only then can one begin to understand contentment and simplicity.
Sadly simplicity is a disappearing trait. The simple, contented individual is endangered and in grave danger of extinction. We can’t stop ourselves from sweating over stuff that wouldn’t matter. We’re often too clever, too selfish, too conceited and too covetous to be contented with who we are and what we’ve got.
The Bible describes a scribe who asked Jesus on which one of the commandments he thought was the greatest. Jesus gave him more than he asked for; He literally gave him a summary of the commandments. And in doing so He could’ve gone into a hugely pedantic exposition. Instead Jesus’ answer couldn’t be more articulate and simple: (1) love God with all your heart and (2) love your neighbor as yourself.
Do that and you’ll be doing all that God demands of you.
The secret of simplicity and joyful living doesn’t get any simpler than that.
Being simple and contented means there’s probably little in this world that could stir you up. You become entirely focused on the stuff that truly matters in life and depend only on the little lamp unto your feet that illuminates little steps at a time and not an entire path of a grand ambition.
Whether a simple life leads to littleness or greatness we can never tell. But for sure it leads to contentment, joy and unwavering dependence on God’s loving grace.