the freedom of simplicity

i pick up any richard foster book i can get my hands on. i stumbled across this one at a new library i now frequent, unsure if i'd read it or not, i brought it home and as is typical for foster, every page is laden with spiritual gems. when i read his books, i spend most of my time transcribing passages into my journals (him, brennan manning, and john eldredge are very slow reads for me because of this).

here is a passage from the first chapter. it describes that elusive "feeling" i have been trying to describe but as yet had no words for:

Perhaps one more paradoxical tension will be sufficient to emphasize the fact that our journey into simplicity will be as intricate, varied, and rich as human personality itself. I refer to the attractive ability to be single-hearted and at the same time sensitive to the tough, complex issues of life. It is a strange combination and quite difficult to explain, though quite easy to recognize. There is focus without dogmatism, obedience without over-simplification, profundity without self-consciousness. It means being cognizant of many issues while having only one issue at the center--holy obedience.

Jesus spoke to the heart of the matter when he taught us that if the eye were single, the whole body would be full of light (Matt. 6:22). Dietrich Bonhoffer, before he died at the hands of the Nazis, said, "To be simple is to fix one's eye solely on the simple truthof God at a time when all concepts are being confused, distorted, and turned upside down." Such focus makes one decisive and able to cut through Gordian knots of life.

But we must never confuse the clear decisiveness of the propagandist. While propagandists have a singleness of purpose that is often quite amazing (and baffling), they do not enter it by the same path as the single-hearted. In joyful abandon they pontificate on politics, religion, and philosophy, without the slightest awareness or concern for the intricacies involved. At times they may even come to the conclusions as the single-hearted, and may even express it in the same words and with the same conviction. But they came to the conclusion too quickly, too easily. It is hollow because it lacks the integrity of painful struggle.

Have you ever experienced this situation? One person speaks, and even though what he is saying may well be true you draw back, sensing the lack of authenticity. Then someone else shares, perhaps even the same truth in the same words, but now you sense an inward resonance, the presence of integrity. What is the difference? One is providing simplistic answers, the other is living in simplicity.

that says a lot to me especially during this electoral season when all seems to be shades of grey. vote for who you will, but listen to your heart. i think we can be fooled by a great many things, a great many people, but in your knower you get a read on someone and whatever that read is, go with it.

there are propagandists in the christian camp as well as the secular camp. i would rather not listen to either. it is so hard to find a man or woman who has paid the price for this complex simplicity. it is so rare to meet someone who speaks with the crystalline clarity of an unsullied stream. i find so many are playing verbal dodge ball, trying not to get hit while trying to take out the opponent that it is very rare indeed to settle down with someone for a real heart to heart conversation. but those are the moments that matter. those are the conversations that change lives.

in planning at our church, i was relaying a story of when i was in college. i was so alone on the planet then, i had a church, i was even a part of the "ministry," i was volunteering at a food bank, serving in the nursery. by all accounts i was "plugged in." but i was alone. no one could reach me. no one could penetrate that vast wall of loneliness and emptiness which seemed to surround me. i was approached one day in the lunch room by a group from some cult or church (sometimes the difference is negligible, sadly). they asked if i wanted to go to their church. i said no. they asked the wrong question. the offered the wrong spiritual food. if they had offered me a word of friendship and kindness, i would have been on board. i did show up at their church, but found myself outside looking in. it is no surprize my best friend in those days was (and probably still is) a staunch athiest. i love him dearly, but failed to offer him the words of life i so needed to hear myself.

i certainly hope the church figures out that a prosperity gospel is a delusion. the rich and pure treasures of Christ are what we need. the offer of love and kindness, ministry to the needs of real people. acknowledging the presence of the hurting and ignored--that is what the church needs to offer more than anything. but it requires her to take the time, and time is a commodity is short supply these days. it is easier to throw a few coins and a loaf of bread at the hungry or needy. but time, that is something altogether different. america is starving for acknowledgement and the investment of time. (boy what a tangent, hope it was worthwhile!)