Simplicity

“Simplify, Simplify”

As I was preparing this message I remembered a classic American writer, Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau withdrew to a small cabin beside Walden Pond in pursuit of what many people still desire today. He famously wrote: "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately... and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." Later in Walden, he issued one of his most memorable appeals: "Simplify, simplify."

Thoreau believed that much of what fills our lives is unnecessary clutter. Strip away the excess. Quiet the noise. Live with intention. There is something about those words that continues to resonate almost two centuries later. In fact, simplicity has become something of a modern obsession.

People declutter their homes. They minimize their possessions. They organize their calendars. They unplug from technology. They move to smaller houses. They search for work-life balance. Bookstores are filled with titles promising a simpler life because deep down, nearly everyone senses the same thing: Our lives have become too full to enjoy what matters most.

Thoreau recognized the problem. But as insightful as he was, he could not offer the final answer. The simplicity Scripture calls us to is not primarily about owning fewer things. It is not about escaping society. It is not even about finding inner peace. Biblical simplicity is about removing everything that competes with wholehearted devotion to God.

As we've been learning throughout this Winnowing series, God is always separating what is essential from what is merely excessive. He strips away what distracts us so that what remains is pure, fruitful, and focused on Him.

The question before us this morning is not simply, "How can I simplify my life?" The better question is: "What is keeping me from loving God with an undivided heart?" Because God is not interested merely in giving us less to manage. He desires to give us more of Himself. That is exactly what we will learn as we look at Martha.

Martha

The Bible doesn’t tell us about Martha’s first encounter with Jesus. We just find her in the 10thchapter of Luke in her home with her sister Mary and presumably their brother, Lazarus. Apparently, their home in Bethany was a refuge for Jesus. It was a place where Jesus could be “at home” and He could rest.    

Luke 10:38–42 NIV

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Jesus and the disciples could feel the tension between Martha and Mary. Maybe Martha was banging the dishes in the sink, cutting eyes at her sister, forcing a smile as she served everyone. Clearly, she wasn’t having a good time, and her emotions were tied up in a knot.

This morning I want us to discover that Jesus isn't asking us to do less. He's asking us to love Him more. When He becomes our 'one thing,' everything else finds its proper place."

We Only Need “One Thing”

The “Thing” is NOT About the Elimination of Service

This passage is pretty well known. The two sisters, Martha and Mary, are together and they show up together every time they are mentioned. There are actually 3 times when the sisters are mentioned in the Gospels. This is the 1st of the 3 occasions, and it is a time of fun and fellowship with the exception of Martha’s complaint. The 2nd times is in John 11 when we learn about their brother’s, Lazarus’, passing and healing. The final time is right before the capture, trials, and crucifixion of Jesus. I want us to look at what she is doing in the 3rd narrative:

John 12:1–3 NIV

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

Did you notice the statement that “Martha served”? I think it matters because if we are going to see honestly what is happening here we have to treat Martha fairly. I think it is fair to Martha then to say that servingwas not at the heart of the issue that Jesus was pointing out. It must be something else…perhaps a heart issue?

Earlier translations like the KJV or ASV used the word “cumbered”. I suppose there is a good reason that modern translations moved to “distracted” but I like the image of cumbered. I get an image of an exhausted man bent over with a heavy load. Luke uses a word which literally means "to be dragged or pulled away" from a central focus. Martha wasn't simply busy. She was being pulled away from Jesus by the very things she was doing for Jesus.

If serving were the issue, who would want to serve? Our worship team arrives at church at 8:30 every Sunday. It places demands to get up earlier, prepare the family faster, and practice prior. Our GraceKids, Royal Rangers, and Girls Ministries volunteers serve and it demands preparation, patience, hours, vision, and skills in leading children. I could go on with leading community groups, maintenance, and even pastoring. They all involve serving. Should we just stop?

Martha didn’t. She had to deal with the thing…

Luke 10:41–42 NIV

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Jesus wanted Martha to rearrange her priorities.[2]She had gotten consumed by the many things. Jesus wanted her to focus on the one thing. We have all experienced it before. We serve our spouses, families, workplaces, and churches – all good stuff. But, at some point, a spirit of resentment begins to eat at us. We begin to get distracted (cumbered) and we lose the joy and it is replaced with a life sucking busyness.

Could the “Thing” Be Simplicity?

Life can become filled up with so much stuff! If Martha illustrates the problem, Jesus gives us the principle in the Sermon on the Mount.:

Matthew 6:25–34 NIV

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Does this passage make you feel uncomfortable? I’m a prepper! I want to be prepared. I like verses like “the horse is made ready for the battle, but victory belongs to the Lord” or “who doesn’t count the cost before building a tower”. However, I have to embrace this truth as well. So did Martha. How do I embrace this simplicity that brings balance to my life?

In Richard J Foster’s book, Celebration of Discipline, he suggests that simplicity isn't first an external practice. It begins with three inner attitudes that gradually untangle our hearts.

#1 – Receive what we have as a gift from God.

Solomon taught us that the horse is made ready for the battle but the battle belongs to the Lord. We work and are faithful in what we can be but we also realize our dependence is on God.

#2 – Know that is God’s business, and not ours, to care for what we have

God is able to protect what we possess. We can trust him. Does that mean we should never take the keys out of the car or lock the door? Of course not. But we know that the lock on the door is not what protects the house. It is only common sense to take normal precautions, but if we believe that precaution itself protects us and our goods, we will be riddled with anxiety. There simply is no such thing as “burglar proof” precaution. Obviously, these matters are not restricted to possessions but include such things as our reputation and our employment. Simplicity means the freedom to trust God for these and all things.[3]

#3 – Have our goods available to others

We ought to incline toward generosity. I think the Bible provides wisdom about extending generosity and there can be common sense boundaries. But we ought to be a generous people. I believe that tithing is a Biblical command and that giving offerings that help Build the Kingdom are a natural expression of our gratefulness to God. Kingdom giving develops a generous heart.

I would agree those are some tough truths, but I cannot deny that if we cultivate those qualities in our lives, we will be freed up from some pretty nasty stuff…like anxiety, selfishness, pettiness, and greed just to name a few.

Martha wasn’t doing bad things, but her heart needed to be set free. She needed perspective.

Get the One Thing Right!

As we finish this Winnowing series, I don't believe God has been asking us simply to give things up:

· He's been inviting us to make room.

· He's been separating what is essential from what is excessive.

· He's been clearing away the chaff so that what remains is Christ.

Martha's problem wasn't that she had too much to do. It was that she allowed the many things to crowd out the one thing.

The danger isn't always sinful things. Sometimes it's good things.

· Work.

· Ministry.

· Family responsibilities.

· Hobbies.

· Dreams.

Even serving Jesus can slowly replace simply being with Jesus. So, here's the question I want each of us to answer this morning:

· What has become your "many things"?

· What occupies your mind when you wake up?

· What steals your peace?

· What dominates your conversations?

· What leaves you anxious if it were taken away?

That may be the very place where God wants to begin His winnowing. Perhaps for some, the Lord is asking you to slow your schedule. For others, He's asking you to surrender control. For some, He's asking you to trust Him with your finances. For others, He's asking you to release resentment that has built while serving everyone else.

The answer will look different for each of us. But the invitation is the same. Jesus still says, "Few things are needed—indeed only one."

When Jesus becomes the one thing, everything else begins to fall into its proper place.

We still work… still serve… still plan… still prepare.

But we no longer carry the crushing weight that Martha carried because our identity is no longer found in what we accomplish but in the One who has welcomed us to sit at His feet.

So as this series comes to an end, don't just leave asking, "What should I remove?"

Leave asking, "What is keeping me from wholehearted devotion to Jesus?"

Because the goal of winnowing has never been an empty life. It has always been a life where Christ remains.

May God remove whatever competes for our hearts until, like Mary, we choose the better part—the one thing that can never be taken away.

Remember, every act of winnowing has had one purpose—not to diminish our lives, but to increase our devotion to Christ.

[1] Morgan, G Campbell. The Great Physician. Pg 87 electronic version.

[2]Bruce Barton et al., Life Application New Testament Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 2001), 301.

[3]Foster. Ibid.