The Habit of Simplicity

In this series we are talking about the habits of a healthy heart. Last week we talked about the habit of self-examination and we confronted the fact that we all tell lies. Specifically we discovered that the person you often lie to the most is YOU. Today we are going to talk about one of the biggest lies we tell ourselves, and that is the lie that MORE IS BETTER! This isn’t a new thing that happens to us in the USA in 2024, it is a lie that humans have told themselves from the very beginning.

The first lie recorded in history can be found in the third chapter of Genesis. Remember Adam and Eve were in the Garden and they were naked and in love. They were enjoying paradise. If they got hungry they could just reach out and pluck some fruit from any tree in the garden and have a snack. Any tree except for one.

That’s when the Serpent showed up and asked Adam and Eve, “Did God really say that? Come on, that’s silly! You won’t DIE.” The Serpent’s message was clear to Adam and Eve. He was trying to convince them that they didn’t have enough. You have all of this garden, but God is keeping you from this one thing that happens to be exactly what you need. God is just holding you back. You have everything except this one thing that will make you happy. It will make you content. Your life will be fulfilled.

What you have is good, but MORE IS ALWAYS BETTER!

More money. More toys. More shoes. More muscles. More square feet. More travel time. More likes on your posts. More followers on your page. The Adversary still whispers this lie to us today because he knows how tempting it can be, but we are talking about healthy habits and we know that clamoring for more, more, more isn’t a good habit.

A question we want to ask ourselves today is…

What if the stuff you have is keeping you from the life you want?

Today we are talking about the habit of simplifying. We often lie to ourselves and say that more is better, but a HEALTHY habit would be to realize when LESS is better.

Pray

Our key thought for today comes from a story in chapter 27 of Acts when Paul was on a ship that was caught in a storm. The ship was being beaten down, they were coming close to land where they ran the risk of running aground, and the crew all thought they were going to die. After two weeks without eating because of this difficult trip, Paul broke some bread and gave thanks to God and they all ate…

Acts 27:36–38 (ESV)

36 Then they all were encouraged and ate some food themselves… 38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea.

How much did they take? Enough. Then they lightened the ship and threw out everything that they didn’t need. Why lighten the ship? LESS IS BETTER. Less weight means faster ship. It means the ship could ride a little higher and potentially avoid more rocks. They could probably get the ship a little closer to shore when they would finally run aground. Maybe they could even outrun some of the bad waves to survive a little longer.

When did they lighten the ship? When they had enough. What is enough? When you have what you need.

To practice the habit of simplifying, the first thing I have to realize is that I HAVE ENOUGH. The problem is that by default our nature tells us that we don’t have enough. The habit of our heart is to want more. Remember this statement from last week…

If you want to change your life, change your habits. If you want to change your habits, let God change your heart.

So how do we change this heart habit? To learn the healthy habit of simplicity, we are going to have to learn how to seek God’s help with two life changing transformations. If you are taking notes, we are going to ask God to give us less of what doesn’t matter and more of what does matter…

God, give me less of what doesn’t matter.

God, give me more of what does matter.

What does it mean to ask God to give me less of what doesn’t matter? It doesn’t mean that we are asking God to give us the “Count of Monte Cristo” treatment. We aren’t asking God to send us to prison in a deep dark hole in the ground where we barely survive while all of our loved ones think we are dead. What it does mean is that we asking God to help us do exactly what Jesus taught us to do in Matthew chapter 6…

Matthew 6:19–21 NLT

19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

Jesus said, “Don’t store up, don’t accumulate, don’t hoard earthly treasures.” That means we are not living to accumulate things like a bigger bank balance. Why not? According to Jesus, whatever you treasure is where your heart is. The habits of your heart chase that in which you find value. So if you treasure money, you will find your security in money, not God. Then we want more!

Maybe for you it’s not money, but a new outfit. Why? Many reasons, but some people feel empty. They need that external attention to fill an internal void. What treasure does your heart chase?

If we want less of what doesn’t matter, what do we do? We do what Paul did on the ship in the storm. Hebrews 12:1...

Hebrews 12:1–2 (NLT)

1 … let us strip off every weight that slows us down… 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus…

Strip off everything that you don’t need. All it will do is slow you down and interfere with the great things Jesus has for you. It only slows down your ship and puts your life in danger.

How many of you are like me and you hate getting rid of clothes when you buy new ones? I don’t buy clothes often, but I also never get rid of the ones I don’t wear any more. When I put away clean clothes I have to lean in to a good solid shove to make room to hang clean shirts. The sad part is that most of the clothes I am shoving out of the way are things I haven’t worn since High School. Most of those are so wore out that even if they fit I would be better off draping a rope over my shoulders.

According to Hebrews, what I need to do is throw it out as if my life depends on it! Why? Because my life does depend on it. It’s just slowing me down. Making me think about clothes when I should be thinking about Jesus. If I haven’t used it in the last year, it’s time for me to get rid of it. If it is just a few strings on a hanger it’s time to throw it away. If it’s still good, then it’s time to give it to someone who DOES need it.

What treasure is your heart chasing? Maybe it’s your schedule. You are running here and there and too busy for anything but your stuff. Maybe it’s time to focus less on the “To Do” list and start a “To Don’t” list. Maybe you spend too much time on social media or Netflix. Add it to your “To Don’t” list. Strip off every weight that slows you down.

We need to ask God to give us less of the things that don’t matter and more of what does matter.

God, give me less of what doesn’t matter.

God, give me more of what does matter.

I just mentioned having a busy schedule. That is a big one for me. I think that is a big problem for most people in this country. We live in a culture that gets everything now. If I want something I can order it and sometimes have it delivered on the same day. If I want something to drink I open the tap or swing by the gas station and I don’t even have to get out of the car and someone will hand it to me through a window. We even have a food group called “Fast Food.”

We are consistently confronted with the temptation to take more than we need of stuff that doesn’t matter, while sacrificing the things that matter most. Take fast food for example. Do french fries and soda matter? No, but what can you super size? THE FRIES AND THE COKE!

When it comes to food, eating healthy probably matters more than eating fries, but at most places you can’t even find the healthy options on the menu, much less super size them. If you order water, they don’t hand you a big cup, they hand you the smallest cup they have.

Parents, you are probably all too familiar with this imbalance with your kids. The world thinks it would be smart for you to constantly send your kids to event after event, sometimes not even getting home until super late. All the while you get to spend less and less time with them. They have less and less time to do homework and chores.

If the balance of “less of what doesn’t matter, more of what does matter” is a struggle for you too, then this verse in Ecclesiastes is going to speak to you. I love this verse in chapter 4…

Ecclesiastes 4:6 NLT

6 And yet, “Better to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind.”

Jar of M&Ms illustration:

Visualize this with me for a second. I have a bunch of M&Ms here. It was more, but some of it went missing. I don’t know what happened. Maybe someone wanted more.

What happens to us is that we see something we want and what do we do? We reach in and grab as much as we can carry. Instead of quietly grabbing one handful and moving on, we scoop up all we can with both hands.

Or we will grab one handful, then come back later for the other. Then another. And another. Some of us just grab the whole jar, right? We reach in and fill up both hands. These are M&M’s we are talking about, so clearly two handfuls are great! Why on earth would one handful be better?

What if we just filled up one hand? Less of what doesn’t matter leaves room for more of what does. When we just have one handful, our other hand is free to reach out to someone and give them a hug. Help someone who needs it. We can give. We can encourage. When we have a free hand we can lift it to praise God. We can surrender in worship.

Better is one handful with peace, with room for what matters, than two hands full chasing what doesn’t. What is that? Toil, hard work, chasing the wind.

In order to have more of what matters most, we need to know what matters. We need to define what matters most…

Define what matters most.

I want to challenge you to add this question to your bible studies and quiet times this week. What matters most? The older you get, the easier it is to define what matters most because when you are young life seems like it will go on forever. Back then it felt like you would never graduate high school and that took less than 20 years. So naturally, if it took that long to graduate, then the next 40 to 80 years are going to rock on for quite a while.

Suddenly when you turn 30, then 40, it starts to become apparent that the earth spins much faster than you originally thought. What matters most? It’s easy to see when you realize that life is short. James says it this way…

James 4:14 ESV

14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

If you just had a month to live, what would matter the most to you?

Some would probably say, “My relationship with God. My spouse. My children. Making a difference in someone’s life. My church family. Showing someone that God loves them and wants an intimate relationship with them. Making sure that my loved ones know Christ.”

You know what isn’t going to be on anyone’s list? Nobody will say, “My new 85 inch flat screen TV. My apple watch. My leather couch.” Why? Because the most meaningful things in life aren’t even things at all…

The most meaningful things in life are not things.

When I look back at the most meaningful moments in my life it’s never things that I remember. I remember time I have spent with my family and close friends. Spending time with my dad as he taught me to do things. Spending time with my mom as she helped me understand the bible. When my brother and I finally started getting along we became best friends.

I look back and remember meeting Amy. Spending time with her. Picking her up for lunch when she worked at Lowe’s. All the gushing people would do because we held hands as we walked out of the store. I remember Macayla always trying to prank me. If I was ever teasing Amy she would quickly team up with me.

Better is one handful with things that matter, than two with things that don’t. God, give me less of what doesn’t matter and more of what does. Everybody repeat after me…

I HAVE ENOUGH.

Like the sailors in the story in Acts who got rid of everything they didn’t need because they had enough. I have enough. The problem is that we tell ourselves we have enough, but eventually we start to doubt it. Or maybe right off the bat you really don’t believe that you do have enough. The reason we often don’t feel like we have enough is because that statement is incomplete. Say this with me…

BECAUSE I HAVE JESUS I HAVE ENOUGH.

Sometimes we will even say, “I have Jesus and I still don’t have enough.” You might be thinking, “Forget the TV and the apple watch, I’ve got bills. I have to find a way to get food on the table.” Especially now in this economy. I don’t want to diminish that struggle, but if you do find yourself saying, “I have Jesus, but I still don’t have enough,” let God’s word speak to you.

When writing to the Philippians, Paul spoke to this very concern in his own life. He said this…

Philippians 4:12–13 NLT

12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

When I am well fed, I have Jesus. When I am hungry, I still have Jesus. When I have plenty, I have Jesus. When I am in want, I still have Jesus.

Because I have Jesus, I have enough. If Jesus is in the background of your life it is easy to focus on whatever situation you are in and miss or ignore Jesus. But if we bring Jesus to the front, He is impossible to miss.

Put Jesus in the forefront of your life. He isn’t a historical figure, He is alive! He is your closest friend. He is your confidant. He is your comforter. He is your teacher. When you put Jesus in the forefront of your life, something starts to change inside of you. You begin to have a deep understanding of Paul’s words and they impact you in a way they never have before as you think, “You know… It really doesn’t matter what I have because I have Jesus. Jesus is all I need.”

God, give me less of what doesn’t matter and more of what does! Why? Because life is too valuable, His call on my life is too great, God is too good for me to waste this life on things that don’t last.