Simply Complicated

This is my mint which is trying to take over my garden! But it sure does smell good especially in the hot humidity of summer!

I got to talk to my good friend,
Sylvia, yesterday about the topic of Simple Living. Talking to her really helped me to "flesh out" my thoughts. Isn't it great to have other godly women to talk to? "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." Prov. 27:17 The funny thing is we both wrote on the same topic on the same day!! Check out what she said: Christian Homekeeper article "Simplify"

One of the things we talked about is that we can all agree to the roots of simplicity, those roots of being at peace with God and at peace with man. We can all seek God as to how our own lives can be simplify, less cluttered and quieter. But as we seek God he might show us completely different ways to work that out as we all live out a different life. We might have different convictions or preferences.

It is important that we do not try to press our convictions and preferences into another. These preferences are areas that are not addressed in Scripture and therefore not commands. A command is "thou shalt not kill," or "thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor". A preference is, "I would like my family to eat all organic food and no packaged foods." Though it may be healthier to do so, it is not a command.

There is a grave danger in having the attitude that, "because I grow my own organic veggies and hang my clothes on the clothesline and recycle, etc, etc, I am more spiritual and godly than those who do not." And we may not say that outloud but if we force others to feel they need to conform to those standards, we are in danger of communicating an "I'm better than you because I do *this* attitude.

I am not aiming at anyone here, just fleshing out my thoughts and my own warnings to myself!! Even in my reading of "how to's" from others, I have to be careful not to add burdens to my shoulders that don't need to be there. I need to take what I can use and safely let the rest sit. Do you know what I mean? That would not lead to the Simple Life I am striving for but the Complicated Life I am trying to avoid!

"Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: 'Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!' These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have the appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence." Col. 2:20-23

"Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." Gal. 1:10