Released To Love, Issue #003 -- Simplicity

Back to Back Issues Page

Released To Love, Issue #003 -- Simplicity
August 05, 2009

ABIDE
IN THE SIMPLICITY
OF THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST

Foundational Articles | Spiritual Growth | Images That Bind
Marriage | Parenting | Homeschooling

I hope this third edition of Released to Love encourages you to grow in the simplicity that is in Christ. I pray that the insights shared here renew your mind so you can take another step forward in your walk with the Lord.

But I fear, lest somehow,
as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness,
so your minds may be corrupted from the
simplicity that is in Christ.
~2 Corinthians 11:3

Walking in sound doctrine begins with the renewing of the mind by the Spirit of God. I enjoy doing Word/word studies because as I prayerfully meditate upon the Word of God and He renews my mind, He draws me closer to Him in truth. And I worship!

Are these your ideas of
Biblical simplicity?

Religious groups who dress a certain way and live a certain lifestyle.

De-cluttering to simplify your surroundings.

”Living off the land”—growing your own food, making your own clothes, raising your own animals.

Not bogged down.
I’d like to bring you alongside me in this type of Word/word study.
Let’s begin!
Step 1. I usually start by writing my understanding of the word I’m studying.
For example, if you were asked to write a definition of simplicity, how would you define it? Don’t look it up in the dictionary yet. Just jot down what comes to mind.
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word simplicity?
Perhaps—like me—you have tried to live with simplicity yourself, based on one or two of the ideas highlighted in the box to your left. Those ideas and images came to mind when I first defined the word simplicity.

Step 2. Then, using the on-line Blue Letter Bible, Vine’s Expository Dictionary, the American Dictionary of the English Language (1828), and a current dictionary, I look up the Greek word and the other definitions for the word I’m studying:

Simplicity from the Greek word haplotēs:

singleness, simplicity, sincerity, mental honesty
- the virtue of one who is free from pretense and hypocrisy
not self seeking, openness of heart manifesting itself by generosity

Other English words that translate from haplotēs include liberality (2 Corinthians 8:2), bountifulness (2 Corinthians 9:11), and singleness (Ephesians 6:5; Colossians 3:22).

Step 3. After prayerfully comparing my thoughts and the dictionary definitions to the Word of God, I write any corrections to my understanding that the Spirit has made to my thinking.

In this case, I realized that my ideas about simplicity focused on the external rather than the internal. How about yours?

Here’s my new “definition” of simplicity:
Simplicity that is in Christ
is not manifested by an outward lifestyle
but rather by a
heart response of generosity—
a selfless, pretense-free generosity
not meant to please man
or to glorify self
but to glorify and worship God. Sincerity of mind
towards Christ,
single-hearted faith
in Christ,
as opposed to false wisdom
in matters pertaining to Christianity.
Blue Letter Bible

In other words,
simplicity that is in Christ
is not the result of what you do
in a physical location.

It is the result of abiding
and manifests in who you are
in the hidden person of the heart.

Where is Your Identity?

Seemingly positive mindset:
“I do such-and-such for God.
So should you!”
Negative mindset:
“I am such a rotten sinner.
Let me tell you all about my sin,
and you can tell me about yours.” External lifestyles choices do not necessarily reflect that Christians are abiding in the simplicity that is in Christ. Although a heart that does abide in simplicity will reflect a lifestyle of devotion to Christ, not a devotion to lifestyle.

If your outward circumstances define you, either in a seemingly positive or a negative way (see examples to your left), you begin to abide in “false wisdom in matters pertaining to Christianity.”

What we do now (even if it is seemingly good) or what we have done in the past (the sin in which we chose to dwell) will not be our focus if we are abiding in the simplicity that is in Christ. Christ will be our focus—not our “selves”!

If you are not abiding in the simplicity that is in Christ, you will begin to set your own rules and abide in those rather than walk with the Lord of your life in liberty.

For example (and these are only a few of many examples):

Body: Christians must adopt a dress code.
Spirit: Christians must worship in a particular way ~or~ Christians must attend a certain church.
Marriage: Christians must fulfill clearly spelled-out roles in their marriages.
Homeschooling: Using XYZ curriculum, philosophy, or method is God’s way, and I’m using that method. Christians’ children must go to college ~or~ Christians’ children must not go to college.
Vocation: Christians must have a home business ~or~ women must not work for an income.

The possible personal results of abiding in these images?

Emptiness. You are never satisfied.
Pride. Your soul becomes puffed up with pride even though you want others to see you as humble.
Oppression. You allow yourself to be oppressed rather than to abide in the authority of the Lordship of Christ.
Judgmentalism. Lifestyles are created around such man-made images, and unfortunately some Christians can become judgmental of others who do not abide in their created-lifestyle image.

Let’s examine a few man- and woman-created images:

Drab or earthy lifestyle: Identifying with a group?

Some who choose lifestyles of outward “simplicity” focus on the image that looks simple or the image that their group advocates rather than on the One Who will set them free from images that bind the hidden heart. Even their clothing conforms to their group, much like the various teen groups in society.

Is there anything wrong with growing your own food, raising animals, sewing your own clothes, living off the land, dressing modestly, or de-cluttering your environment? Of course not!

But external simplification or de-cluttering your life is only a means to an end—not the goal! That end is abiding in the simplicity that is in Christ rather than finding your identity in your “lifestyle of simplicity.”
Simplicity
is not where you dwell
or how you dress
externally.
You can live in a condo in the city while you abide in the simplicity that is in Christ.
or
You can live the “simple” country life but yet not abide in the simplicity that is in Christ.
(And vice versa.)
Simplicity
is where you dwell
and how you dress
internally.
~Romans 13:14

Your external life is always the result of who you are internally—bound or free in various aspects of your journey. Simplifying your external life is only a first step in creating the margin that will set you on a path to internal spiritual growth that leads to liberty in Christ (not license to sin).

Patriarchy lifestyle: Who is the head of what?

Some who choose this lifestyle may believe they are walking in simplicity that is in Christ because they cite Scripture that they think supports their choice of walking in narrowly defined roles.

Is there anything wrong with respecting your husband? Of course not! But when you believe that he is your spiritual leader, you have replaced Christ with an image that binds you and can suffocate your marriage.

Honoring your husband in life’s everyday choices frees you from the hypocrisy and pretense false expectations create as well as opens your heart to God’s grace for your spouse’s growth process.

Expecting your husband to do things externally when he is not renewed internally only frustrates you and puts an unnecessary wedge in your marriage relationship. Your husband is not the mediator between you and God; Christ is.

For there is one God and one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus.
~1 Timothy 2:5

Place your hope in what Christ has already done and is doing in your life through your marriage circumstances. Keep Christ in His rightful place in your spirit life: as your Head. As you pray for your husband and honor him in the domestic realm, Christ your Head through His Spirit will make known to you, the abiding Christian woman, His wisdom for your particular marital relationship.

Educated lifestyle: Wise man, Pharisee, or self-made man?

Some Christians believe that their children will be turned from Christ while pursuing a higher education and may fear sending their children to college. To allay those fears, the Scriptures point us to the highly educated wise men who single-mindedly sought, found, and worshiped Christ.

Like these wise men of old, well-educated Christians today can abide in the single-mindedness or the simplicity that is in Christ. Through education—even secular higher education—one who has been grounded in the unconditional love of Christ and walks with Him in liberty can discover that all things point to the Creator and maintain a “mental honesty,” haplotēs, about Who He is.

He reveals Himself in His creation (Psalm 19:1). Even the stones cry out, as my daughter and I discovered while learning geometry (see Summer 2006 Example from Worship: A Way of Life).

Some, however, like the educated Pharisees, may choose to abide in either secular or religious teachings rather than in the truth of the simplicity that is in Christ. These double-minded people become the hypocrites that the world sees, often causing the lost to reject the liberating gospel message of Christ and even causing division among the brethren.

A Christian education
of the whole person
is the work of the
Spirit of God
in the humble heart.
A Christian education of the whole person is the work of the Spirit of God in the humble heart.
The “higher education” we receive as Christian disciples begins with the Most High God. That education can involve in-depth academic pursuits similar to those of the wise men, and/or skill/trade development (including a keeper at home) similar to those of the fishermen of Jesus’ time.

We will know those who have received that higher education because their most outstanding characteristic will be generous, selfless love. We will find them in all walks of life—construction worker, pastor, teacher, politician, Ph.D. professor, homemaker, librarian, film producer, parent, real estate broker, website designer, and on and on.

Within these walks of life, we will also find those who have not received that higher education from the Most High God. Their most outstanding characteristic will be distorted, stunted growth. Perhaps only the intellect has grown or perhaps only the emotions. Why does stunted growth occur? Because their will is still their will. “I’ve arrived. I’ve fulfilled the image I created.” Generous, selfless love will not be a mark of their lives.

When Christians identify with their academic education
(or lack thereof),
they are not abiding in the
simplicity of the Lordship of Christ.

In summary, Christians who worship images similar to those outlined above, rather than single-mindedly worship Christ, often find either emptiness, oppression, or pride in their choices—the fruit of abiding in the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.