Five Guidelines to Embrace For Doing Life Today – Live Simply

I want to wrap my soul around the minister’s words, grasping them to my heart. So simple and pithy. Concise. Direct. Active.

Read them aloud for yourself:

As you go...

Live Simply

Love GenerouslySpeak TruthfullyCare DeeplyPray Daily

And leave the rest to God

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My pastor uses these words as the benediction at the end of church services. The blessing fills me with hope for a remarkable week if I can only live them out.

I decided to delve into what each might look like in practice, and write a series about them. I suspect the answer will be different for each of us because, well, we’re all different. Perhaps our interpretation is meant to be based on our heart’s needed renovations during this season of life.

Today, let’s consider what live simply could mean.

Live Simply

When I was a stressed young mother and teacher struggling to find balance in life, I’d look longingly at the stack of Real Simple magazines piling up on my hearth. If only I could find time to read those things, I might learn the art of simple living.

A simple life sounded inviting then, and it still does now.

My younger self looked to magazines to lead me to a life of simplicity. But as long as my eyes were set on worldly things, I wasn’t going to experience the best life has to offer.

What does the Bible say about simple living?

When I checked a Bible dictionary for the word simple, it referred me to the Greek word for harmless: akeraios. The word is used metaphorically in the New Testament for what is guileless, sincere, i.e., with the simplicity of a single eye, discerning what is evil, and choosing only what glorifies God.*

This phrase boils it down for me: Choosing only what glorifies God. Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? Keep in mind that easy is not s synonym for simple.

Choosing only what glorifies God means we examine our motivations in whatever we do.

Or say.

Does the reason behind our action bring glory to God, or does it benefit ourself. Are we being sincere or manipulative? Will our words build up another, and sow a seed for His Kingdom? Or is our goal based on selfish desires?

Is our true motive to bring glory to God?

Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.

 (1 Cor 13:5 NLT)

We can pray this verse from Psalms:

Test me, LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind;

(Psalm 26:2 NIV)

The Lord, through the Holy Spirit, will help us answer the question.

Where do our treasures lie?

Another question we must consider is what we treasure. Determining where our treasure is determines where our heart is.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

(Matthew 6:21 NIV)

The treasures of the world lie in material things, places, and worldly values. They are temporary. The treasures in heaven last forever and lie in the spiritual: love, fellowship with God, forgiveness, good character.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

(Matthew 6:19-20 NIV)

There you have two ideas for what live simply could mean. My two cents worth.

But what do you think? What is something you could do to help you live simply? Let go of worry? De-stress your life? Learn contentment? What comes to mind?

I really want to know.

In our next post, we’ll take a look at “Love Generously.”

Thank you for reading. I appreciate each and every one of you. Look for a short newsletter on Good Friday!

*Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary, Vine, W.E.; Thomas Nelson: US, 1996. p. 291

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