Simplify VII

Micah 6:⁸ (MSG) “But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbour, be compassionate and loyal in your love, and don’t take yourself too seriously— take God seriously.”

“…don’t take yourself too seriously— take God seriously”. Sometimes we take ourselves too seriously and we also take the people we do life with too seriously. Someone said something jokingly – it is just a joke. Treat it as such and choose not to be upset even when you don’t find it funny. Do not take yourself too seriously – laugh at your mistakes, laugh at yourself. Do not take your children too seriously, in the sense that your children are going to upset you and will sometimes let you down. You want them to score at least ninety-nine percent in math but they get ninety-five percent, still take them out for popcorn – do not be hard on them or punish them. I am also preaching to myself – do not take yourself too seriously.

Do not take your spouse too seriously. If you have been married for any length of time, you probably would be able to relate with this. Taking your spouse too seriously is one of the surest ways of giving yourself high blood pressure. Your spouse is going to do things that will shock you or even cause you to wonder how you ever married such a person. Do not take yourself too seriously.

Assignment: “…don’t take yourself too seriously— take God seriously”. How does this simplify your life?

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Someone once said, “Process is man’s way of complicating simple things.” But having a process is the way to simplify complex things. To be simple you must be able to follow a routine but do not be too attached to your processes. Instead, be attached to the objective and build your strategy around that. You have to keep reinventing yourself. While you follow the process, you have to keep challenging and improving yourself.

How does anyone maintain simplicity in a complex environment? It depends on your role in that sphere. The response of the boss is different from the response of the subordinate. If you have to clarify the simplicity of an issue, just do it but be careful of people’s egos. If you are the boss, it is your responsibility to kindly point the way in simplicity. If you are not the boss, then take time out to find out where the boss is tilting. Is he sincere in his quest for solutions? However, have it at the back of your mind that, it is the nature of man to complicate simple things.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, please help me to do what is fair and just, to be compassionate and loyal, and not to take myself too seriously but take God seriously, in Jesus Name. Amen!