The simple is lost in the much

As Christmas approaches, even in the months before it arrives, we see the covetousness it creates. We see too the gluttony it causes. In a world where children starve to death every day and die for lack of clean drinking water…America is a country that wallows in the gluttony of stuff…of money…of the many things that money brings.

Most people think nothing of paying five dollars for a hamburger or twenty dollars for a pizza. We may complain about the cost of a pair of shoes or that new toy our child wants but we generally pay the price anyway.

And this time of year is when the excess of stuff…of mammon…really comes to light. People rush from one store to another, from one department to another…or as technology would have it, from one website to another. We hand over cash and credit cards to buy those things we think our loved ones want or need.

And how many times do we see disappointment on their faces or find out later that they took back what we got them?

Christ Himself showed us a comparison that should open our eyes to where true beauty lies…

Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. Luke 12:27 NIV

He compared Solomon’s ‘splendor’ to the generally unnoticed beauty of a flower. He compared the intricate to the simple, the fancy to the common.

We live in a world where wildflowers are often seen as weeds. They are a nuisance. They get in the way of carefully cultivated grass lawns, of neatly arranged flower beds, of landscaped yards. They grow where we don’t want them and they’re rarely seen as things of beauty, except when they grow in large enough clusters to be impossible to miss.

In Texas fields are filled with wild flowers called bluebonnets. People flock to those fields to take pictures in them. There are places where they grow so thick and abundant. In Louisiana I saw fields of hurricane flowers that would have made beautiful backgrounds for pictures. In Oklahoma they have fields of Indian paintbrushes. Places where these flowers grow thick and abundant…they are valued, treasured. It’s in the vast number of flowers that they gain their value to most people. A single flower growing in someone’s yard is rarely noticed.

It takes someone that loves flowers, that enjoys creation or…a child…to really stop and notice a single flower.

When my son was a toddler, we once spent a very long time studying a fuzzy caterpillar at the park. He spotted it and knelt, transfixed, awed, by the little critter. We watched as it inched it’s way along, doing whatever it is caterpillar’s do. But in that moment, for my son, nothing else existed in the world. And in that moment, for me, nothing else mattered but him and his furry friend. We stayed there watching that caterpillar until he was ready to move on.

In a park where we were surrounded by playground equipment, people, a lake, fountains…my son knelt transfixed by a caterpillar. And I knelt transfixed by the caterpillar and the boy that found it fascinating.

That is the comparison the Lord gives us in Solomon’s splendor and the flower. He tells us how beautiful the flower is, more beautiful even than fancy clothes.

But we live in a world that values the fancy over the simple.

Someone recently told me…’you take life slowly and derive great pleasure in this.’ I guess this person is right but I never really thought about it. I live each day as it comes and find joy where it is…or maybe it finds me.

Someone I know recently bought a frog from a pet store. It’s a tree frog that lives wild in Australia. Supposedly they often get into people’s houses there. I would assume that there are those that see these frogs as nuisances. But…this little frog…is pretty amazing. It’s a friendly little thing. If you hold it in your hand, it looks at you, turning its head to keep you in its sight. It climbs up your arms and sits on your shoulder. And when it looks at you, it appears to be smiling.

But you have to take the time to notice it to see these things. Just as we must notice the single flower to see the beauty in it.

But we live in a society where the beauty of the simple is often lost in the abundance of the not simple that surrounds us.

Someone recently wrote me something that I found beautiful.

“I started to notice a lot of what Christ spoke in the past. To be rich is to live without, to find life one must give it up, to be first one must be last, we must become children again.”

Children take the time to notice the simple things. They come running to us with ‘come see, come see’ flowing from their lips, often they take us by the hand and lead us to what they want us to see, and there…is a weed, or a bug, or a pile of toys. They take a blanket and a chair and make a fort or a castle or a cave. They spend hours in their hideaway. They walk slowly. They notice things. They pick things up.

My grandson recently filled his pockets with hickory nuts. He labored to pick up as many as he could, filling every pocket he had until they overflowed, then he filled his little hands. He carried those nuts back to the house only to discover as we cracked each one…that it was bad. But…he took the time to notice the nuts were there and to collect and carry them.

Children take life slowly, even in the midst of all the stuff, all the complexities, that they live within. Even in a society where children often want more and more, a society where children are constantly entertained with electronics…they still have the ability to see the simple.

But they are losing the ability to be fulfilled by it.

The same person that told me ‘we must become children again’ went on to say…

“It seems like much of what Christ spoke is completely opposite of what this world values. Christ really is a living example of what we need to aspire to.”

There is an organization that delivers ‘Christmas’ gifts to children around the world. These gifts contain all sorts of small items, packed into a small box, and delivered to children in poverty stricken countries, in hospitals, in orphanages. I’ve heard it said that these children are often overwhelmed by the sheer colors in these boxes. Many of these children live in places where everything is gray. Then they open up this box and see a whole box full of colors. Bright colors. Pastel colors. Neon colors. What color must jump out at these children, so much so that they can’t not notice the color. Chances are some of them notice the color long before they notice the toys.

A while back I did some research on prisons, in my research I read how prison is ‘sensory deprivation to the max.’ I read that somewhere that was giving advice on things to write to prisoners. It said to take a walk and write down everything you see, everything you feel, everything you smell. What you’re doing is giving the person you’re writing to the chance to experience those sights, sounds, and smells through you letter.

But in doing so…if a person wrote a letter like that…they would have to notice all those little things. I have a tendency to notice the little things in nature…in creation. I feel the breeze, study the trees, watch the ant, notice the animal tracks but I don’t always notice the ‘stuff’ that surrounds me. I walk past my own TV many times without ever really realizing it’s there. I walk through a store full of stuff and see the stuff as a blur until I get to what I’m there to buy. And yet…I notice those little things. I find joy and pleasure in those little things way more than I do in the busy things of our modern society.

As I wrote of writing a letter with all the details of a walk, my mind went to coffee. The best example I can give is…how many people in our country drink coffee? If you were to write someone about drinking coffee what would you say?

I stopped at the coffee shop today to pass the time before my appointment.

Or maybe…

The day was cold so I made a pot of coffee to help warm us once we were home.

Or possibly…

I can’t start the day without my cup of coffee.

But what if the person you were writing to had never had coffee? What if they had never smelled it? Would telling that person that you had coffee help them to experience what you did? The words are empty…much the way many people experience coffee. Coffee is so ordinary, so every day, so…normal, that few take the time to notice the little details.

When you had coffee the last time did you notice how it smelled? Really notice? Not in the ‘oh I smell coffee’ kind of way but in a ‘I have to be able to describe this’ kind of way. Did you notice the smell as if it were the last…or first…time you ever smelled it?

Instead of noticing coffee in the ‘The day was cold so I made a pot of coffee to help warm us once we were home’ kind of way, did you notice it so that you could describe the coffee…did you notice the cold so that you could describe it? Or did you rush through the cold, and make the coffee from habit, with little notice to either? Instead of the description above, did you notice what was around you, the simple things, in a way that maybe you could describe them in a way that the person you were telling it to could experience it with you…

The wind blew through my clothes like icy needles, the freezing temperatures made my nose and cheeks burn and my fingers and toes go numb as I hurried from the car to the house. My hands were so cold I had a hard time getting the door unlocked. A blast of warm air hit me as I opened the door and stepped inside. For a brief moment, before I got the door closed behind me, icy cold air and warm air mingled around me. Shivering from my time outside, I started a pot of coffee. The deep rich aroma soon filled the air, bringing to mind the thick creamy sweetened brew I would soon be sipping on. My mouth watered at the tempting scent, bitter yet decadent.

Yes, that’s a long way of saying things but you get the idea…it takes note of the little things. It’s also a way of saying things the way they’re written in books. Do you know why they write like that in books? Because they want their reader to feel the cold, to experience the welcome warmth of the house, to smell the coffee and to taste it. A writer must write in a way that makes their reader experience the story. They don’t just want the reader to see what’s happened… The day was cold so I made a pot of coffee to help warm us once we were home…but to live them. It’s one of the rules of writing.

But the important thing isn’t to write the details…it’s noticing them.

When Christ sent the disciples out, he told them not to take anything with them.

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. ⁶ Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. ⁷ As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,^[a] drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

⁹ “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts— ¹⁰ no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff… Matthew 10:5-10

Why? Why did He tell them to take nothing with them?

They weren’t to even take a change of clothes. Again…why? Can you imagine going on a trip for even a few days and not taking any extra clothes…or money?

Time and again throughout Scripture we’re told that the world, and the things of the world, don’t matter. Have you ever noticed how much time and attention things take?

There are people that live full time in RV’s. They say that it takes more money to live in and maintain a house than it does to live in an RV and travel full time. I don’t know if that’s true or not, I’ve never tried it. There are people that move into houses that are labeled ‘tiny houses’. Some of these houses are no bigger than a parking space.

Before they can move into their ‘tiny house’ they must go through their things and downsize as much as possible. They must be able to fit everything they own into a space the size of a small room.

And even that…sometimes the less we have, the more attention those things get, or the more importance they hold. When we own ten shirts losing one isn’t that big of a deal. But what happens when you only own two? If you have two cars it’s not so bad if one breaks down…but what happens if the only car you own breaks down?

The less we have, the more importance those things can have.

But we live in a society where value is often placed on the much, or the many. There is a saying among survivalists that ‘two is one and one is none.’ The idea behind that is that if you’re truly in a survival situation if you have, say, one flashlight and the batteries die, you have nothing. But if you have two flashlights…you have a backup. How many people in our society seem to live with that mentality in everything? If one is good, two is better. If two is better, ten is great.

I have a relative that owns…I believe…three ereaders. For one person. This same person has multiple video game systems.

If one is good…

It’s a mindset that is cultivated from birth in our country. More, more, more. We live in a country where having is valued beyond just about all else. There are people that change cars like most people change socks. There are people that have rooms filled with their collections.

And in a world filled with more…in a home filled with more…can they notice the individual?

I wrote recently of persecution, I wrote also of what we’d do if our Bibles were to be confiscated in two hours…but what if all you know, all you own, was about to be no more? What if for some reason, you were about to be relocated to a tiny 6’x8’ room. It was to be your home for the next ten years…or for life. What would you want to take with you? All of a sudden the many would be a hindrance. Now you must notice the individual. You must see each item for what it is. And each item would have to be of great importance because everything you took would take up space and so each item must count.

My grandmother grew up in the depression. All my life, she would save things long after when she no longer used them. I asked her many times why she didn’t get rid of what she didn’t use…she had boxes and boxes of things that she never looked at…and I always got the same answer. “I might need it someday.” When I would point out that she never used it, she would tell me, ‘I might need it someday, and if I got rid of it I’d have to go out and buy it again.’

She was right. But…most of it she never used again. And she could have gone out and bought it, probably much easier than she could have found it again years later.

And now…as I write this…she lives in a nursing home, in a tiny room where most of the furnishings don’t belong to her. In fact, as of my last visit with her, the only things she had ownership of were her clothes and a blanket on her bed. That was it. A woman that spent a lifetime collecting stuff, often to the extreme, owned only her clothes.

Now she hides away things like salt, crackers, and socks, because those things have a tendency of disappearing or being hard to get.

She went from owning her own home, with land, to living in a tiny room. She only has room for so much stuff. Every item must count. And she puts great stock on every item because it’s all she has.

She notices every individual item…because there is no longer a great amount of items. She is much like a child that says, ‘that’s mine.’ Because everything that was hers, was taken away.

I hurt for her but I’m unable to change her situation. All I can do is make it better when I see her. Much the way the person that wrote the article about writing to prisoners said to put so much detail into a letter because those letters allow them to live a bit through the words you write. I cannot change my grandmother’s situation but I can buy her more salt, crackers, and socks. I can give her the little things when I see her.

Someone recently asked me for a picture of a Christmas tree, then apologized for asking because the asking might be too much. I hurt that day. Seeing the very simple thing this person asked for.  I live in a world where people think nothing of asking for many things. Even strangers often ask for things from people they don’t know.

There is a town that I frequent where people regularly…and often…stand on the corners of the main intersections to beg for money. They are asking for things…money…from people they don’t know. And they think nothing of it. As we approach Christmas, people often give long lists of what they want, and think nothing of it.

But this person…asked for a picture of a Christmas tree…and apologized for it.

Such a small thing. One of those things that most people take for granted. A Christmas tree. Long before Thanksgiving, Christmas trees started showing up in stores. I know where there is a Christmas tree farm that has turned the Christmas tree into a business. They let you cut down your own tree…with an axe. And they have hay rides, hot chocolate, hot apple cider, snacks, games and human sized mazes for you to enjoy. Getting a Christmas tree is an experience with them.

People put up Christmas trees all around the country. Some have multiple Christmas trees. Some have fancy, expensive decorations.

And this person apologized for asking for a picture of a Christmas tree.

I think of the many people that will put up a tree this year, the many decorations that will go on those trees, and more important the many gifts that will go under those trees. I remember a time when I tried to get everything my children wanted for Christmas. I carefully wrapped the presents and tucked them under the tree. It never failed that come Christmas morning someone was upset because they didn’t get something…even though, usually, they hadn’t asked for it. And I began to realize something.

The more they got…the more they wanted.

The more they got…the more they expected.

It was a childish example of the more, more, more, society we live in.

And it was an eye opener to what I was creating in my desire to make them happy. I wasn’t teaching them to appreciate what they got…I was teaching them to expect everything they wanted and more.

That wasn’t a lesson I wanted to instill, so Christmas was reevaluated. Presents were bought based on need and what they would really enjoy and use.

As I write this…I think of the children in third world countries and how they supposedly marvel over a box of trinkets, not because of the trinkets, although I’m sure they enjoy them, but because of the colors. I think of how my son marveled over a caterpillar.

And I think of the madhouse our world is about to become…all because of the ‘I want it’ mentally our country seems to suffer from. So many in our country think they are entitled to something simply because they want it. And many of them go to extremes to get it…whatever it is.

And the simple is lost in the midst of the much.