Saturday, January 17, 2015

Simplicity in Life

Nowadays we get so easily caught up in the thought that our lives may not be glamorous enough. We watch others over social media and by only seeing the highlights in their lives we tend to think they live a perfectly beautiful and exciting life. This then leads to us dangerously thinking that we have boring lives and we have a lot to live up to. That we need to start filling our lives with more lavish trips, date nights, clothes, etc to really feel like we are living and feel like we can then fit in with all of our other social media friends. This idea sucks us in so quickly that we are then quick to forget that simplicity in life is okay! The simple things in life are what matter. Family, friends, home, work, etc. These things make up true happiness! If we surround ourselves with lavish dinners, clothes, and vacations we may never be satisfied!

In the book The King of Kings, Bruce D. Porter reviews the beginning of the Savior's life. Before he was 'about his Father's business' we don't really know a lot about what he did. All we know is that he was a carpenter following in Joseph's footsteps. Joseph was not a wealth man and therefore, Jesus was not either. He did not grow up as a very privileged child. Goodness, think of our lives now and how we live. We live in amazing conditions even compared to someone's life back then. Christ grew up with not a lot and he lead a very simple life.

Porter explains in his book, "Those silent, preparatory years teach us that the lowly life of the laborer is good enough for God. As Saint Bonaventura observed, 'His doing nothing wonderful was in itself a kind of wonder.' For in living the life of a carpenter, he taught us that there is nothing to be ashamed of in manual labor, in obscurity, poverty, and the simple lot of ordinary people throughout the earth."

This is something I really want to take to heart and always remember: that simplicity in life is okay. If a truly simple life was good enough for Christ, the King of Kings, then it is good enough for me.

With love,
jm

"To work, to prepare, to wait - all these may seem mundane and ordinary, but the Son of Man devoted years to such labor as he took upon himself the common yoke of all mankind." -Bruce D. Porter in The King of Kings

No comments:

Post a Comment