“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
The simpler you can make your relationship with God the deeper it will be. I heard a guest pastor say this years ago and it has stuck with me ever since. If you desire to have a deeper relationship with the Lord I suggest taking a closer look at simplicity.
Webster defines simplicity as, “singleness; the state of being unmixed or uncompounded; as the simplicity of metals or of earths.” According to this definition, simplicity is synonymous with purity.
Paul is writing to Christians who were deceived and whose minds were being corrupted away from their pure relationship with God. Purity is not always sexually related, sometimes we lose our purity when we are deceived into thinking that our relationship with Christ has to be complicated.
How To Practice Simplicity
One way to practice simplicity is to relish simple truths about God. Truths such as, “God is good.” That’s something that never gets old yet how often do we acknowledge this statement as true but then frantically rush to the next thing we want to learn?
What would happen if I were to camp out here for a while instead?
We can try to blame the world and our overly complex culture for the reason behind our lack of simple devotion but it goes deeper than that. Paul was speaking to a group of Christians who had never seen a TV, a phone or the internet and yes they struggled with simplicity. This tells us that the problem is a spiritual one more than a cultural one.
What Comes to Mind When You Hear “Simplicity”?
When I hear the word simplicity the first thing I think of is someone living far away from civilization on a ranch or farm. Someone who wakes up at sunrise, works with their hands all day and then quits when the sun goes down. They no nothing of schedules, appointments, alarms, clocks, phones, emails or faxes. This thought relaxes me and makes me want to leave the rat race and find a nice plot of land to live and work on. But I wonder if this is really the essence of simplicity that we read about in 2 Cor 11:3?
The Simplicity That Is In Christ
Could it be that the simplicity is in Christ Himself? I’m starting to think that the simple but wonderful reality that Christ is living in us may be the focus here. How much of your life is lived simply communing with Him and enjoying His presence? And how much time is spent on being busy and complicated thoughts?
I believe the cobwebs of confusion that are subtly strung in our minds can be cleansed away as the Holy Spirit renews our minds. There are so many simple truths that if we truly believed them they would transform our lives. We talked about the truth, “God is good” earlier. What about the simple truth that “with God all things are possible”? How would that change your life if this simple reality really got in your spirit?
If you ask Him, I believe the Lord will take you on a journey of simplicity in Christ. I’m excited about this journey myself and I get the sense that confusion will be dissipating as the light of the gospel shines brighter. The Holy Spirit will lead and His Word will light the way.
How do practice simplicity? Do you think it’s possible to live a simple life in our fast paced 21st century American culture?
About Josh Monen
Josh is a Christian entrepreneur who lives in Central Texas with his wife and 4 kids.
Wow, I keep reading these things and feeling a bit better about both myself and the world. Thank you for writing – God’s given you something and you’re sharing it, which is really good.
Thank you for reminding me about this. One thing I clung onto like grim death when sinking into a spiritual black hole before I understood Christ was “be still and know that I am God” from the book of Samuel. My mind and heart felt so hard, out of control and tormented but that very simple, essential verse calmed me. God was holding on to me.
Jesus saves.
Hi Amy, thank you for sharing. It’s amazing how simple truths, like the one you mentioned, can have so much power in our lives.
So I’m curious, how did that verse become so important to you? Were you just reading your Bible one day and it jumped out or did someone preach on that topic?