Simplicity

I guess people are really more simple than they make themselves out to be. It seems that the more educated we are, the more we like to put on the appearance of being complicated. We thrive on being exclusivist, being unique, being different. We swear to Prada and Salvatore Ferragamo, we dine at restaurants nobody eats at, we listen to bands and watch arthouse films nobody watches, thinking we're so much more complicated.

I certainly have been guilty of that. Well, not that I've done all the above-mentioned things (I'm too poor for that), but it seems that I am beginning to adopt a rather exclusivist mindset of my own.

And I realise that we people are simple creatures after all. We have simple needs: such as the need to love and be loved, the need for meaning and purpose, the need for hope, the need for a sense of self, and the need for spirituality.

Peer behind all the isms and the complexologies of this world, and you'll begin to see that we're nothing more than simple creatures. Really.

That's why Barack Obama is so popular, despite him being apparently less qualified, less experienced, and perhaps less ready to lead. He preaches a simple message of hope. He endorses a new era of change. His speeches gives us an emotional high. He has charisma. That is all there is to it.

I will be dwelling on this simplicity theme for a while, because I think I'm onto something really compelling here. And while I'm at it, I might as well touch on this concept: simple faith.

What is faith, really? It refers to a simple trust in God.

Here's Matthew 8 from The Message Bible:

"Oh, no," said the captain. "I don't want to put you to all that trouble. Just give the order and my servant will be fine. I'm a man who takes orders and gives orders. I tell one soldier, 'Go,' and he goes; to another, 'Come,' and he comes; to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it."

Taken aback, Jesus said, "I've yet to come across this kind of simple trust in Israel, the very people who are supposed to know all about God and how he works.

Faith is simply believing in God's Word, and acting on it. The Pharisees of Israel, perhaps comparable to the religious right-wing in today's society, thrived on complicated laws no one could obey. They thrived on isms and complexologies; becoming part of an exclusive club.

But God wants those who will trust in his Word simply, with no preconditions, with no buts and what ifs. Here's a familiar quote I'll throw at you: God said it, I believe it, and that settles it.

And that's all there is to it, really.