by Dennis and Barbara Rainey
January 25
What Ever Happened to Simplicity? Matthew 14:29,30
And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!"
Rare is the family that doesn't grapple with friction caused by the complexity of life in the twentieth century. In the last 100 years a strong cultural storm has swept the family far from its moorings of commitment and stability. Consider some of these changes.During the 1800s, life was fairly simple. The economy was basically agrarian and most people lived on farms, working 80-hour weeks to grow their own food and make most of their own clothes and furnishings.
Today, most Americans live in cities. We are urban and mobile. We turn to technology instead of agriculture to meet our needs. With more choices and more people, life becomes more complex.
Families 100 years ago learned to function as a team because survival was at stake. Their interdependence fused them together.
Today we don't have the same need to work as a team. We can seek individual careers, education, hobbies and entertainment. These interests inevitably conflict with each other at some points, causing friction. And they are a breeding ground for selfishness, which erodes the cement of commitment to each other.
All this complexity captures our attention just as the storm distracted Peter. While his eyes were focused singly and simply on Jesus, Peter was able to walk on water. When he focused on the complexities of the storm, he sank.
There is no way to go back to life as it was 100 years ago. But we can exercise some control over complexities that cause friction. We can fix our eyes on Jesus. We can eliminate options that distract our attention from Him. We can organize the smaller commitments of life around our primary commitment to Him. And we can practice the most powerful word in the English vocabulary-No!
Prayer:
That your family will be able to see the need to knife through the complexities of life and to organize family life around Jesus Christ.
Discuss: On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your family's ability to tolerate different interests and commitments? Should some be curtailed?