The term "the simple life" conjurs up many images in our minds, which could include anything from doing without outdoor plumbing and washing clothes in the river, to the time when moms were homemakers and dads were the provider. These images might even include summer days, when children heard the bell of an icecream truck and ran from everywhere to buy a dreamscicle or fudgescicle. Of course, we can't forget lazy days, when the kids were off school and folks sat on their porches or lawns and visited with the neighbors in the evening, while the kids played capture the flag.
These are all great images, but when we look at our own lives, we realize that the days of 'mom staying home and dad going to work' or 'folks sitting on the porch visiting with the neighbors' have been lost somewhere in the shuffle. Of this fact, I grieve, not only for what we once knew, but also knowing that my children will never experience life as I did as a child.
In the introduction of this series I listed some of the definitions of "simple". One of the first definitions for 'simple' is: easy to understand, deal with, use. The next definition states: not elaborate or artificial, plain. My desire for my family is to not only make life simple in the sense that they understand and are able to deal with life in general, but they also realize that to live 'a simple life' includes being real. How many of us would admit that there are people in our lives now that live in such a way that they are 1) not easy to understand or deal with but they also come across as 2) artificial. Whenever I run across these types of people, I am reminded that Christ expects us to live our life in such a way that pleases Him.
Philippians 1:10 says it like this: "That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;"
What I glean from this verse is that we are to be sincere (genuine), not artificial. We are to live "simply" by way of sincerity. True sincerity includes the ability to be tested as genuine. We do not just put on a show, but we are truly genuine - the real deal. I do not want to live my life in such a way that people look at my life and wonder if I am really who I say I am, or whether or not I live what I speak. I want to be found genuine, sincere, authentic and "simple".
What about you?
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