Keep it Simple and Sacred
We’ve probably all heard of the KISS principle, which is usually expressed as Keep It Simple, Stupid. If we want to be a little more polite we might say Keep it Short and Simple or some other variation. This is a great principle to keep in mind when creating things for other people because things that are complicated often frustrate and discourage us as we struggle to understand them. For example, a movie might have an overly complicated plot that leaves us wondering what the heck it was about. Or a website might have a complicated design and we get lost and can’t figure out how to find the information we want. Or a to-be-assembled piece of furniture has so many parts that fit together in a complicated way that we just want to take it back to the store.
Unfortunately, we have a tendency to make things more complicated than they are or need to be. Sometimes we equate difficult and complicated with important and worthwhile. We get suspicious of things that seem easy or simple. Or emotions like anxiety and insecurity can cause us to overthink a problem and make it seem complicated when it isn’t.
We also over complicate our faith a lot of the time. Think about all of the doctrines the Christian faith as come up with over the last two thousand years, such as theodicy, original sin, and atonement theories. Or all the rules. Things like who can be baptized and how or who can take communion and why. I’m not suggesting that we abandon knowledge, discussion, and debate about life’s complexities. Concepts like sin, theodicy, atonement, and so on all have a place in helping us gain insights into life and our relationship with God and each other. However, I wonder if in the complex and complicated world we live in, we shouldn’t be thinking more about how we can simplify our faith rather than adding complications. What if we applied the KISS principle to our spiritual lives? Keep It Simple Spiritually, or maybe Keep It Simple and Sacred.1
A simple and sacred faith might not worry about all the religious doctrines and focus instead on what Jesus told us was the foundation of everything God desires: love God, love your neighbor, love yourself. Of course, simplicity doesn’t mean blindly following the Bible or your favorite preacher. It doesn’t mean letting other people think for you. I believe simplicity in faith is about principles that provide a foundation, discerning what is truly important and focusing on that. Simplicity in faith lets go of what isn’t important.
When Jesus sent seventy two of his followers to visit nearby towns, he applied a Keep It Simple and Sacred principle to their instructions.2 He told them to go without possessions, to let go of complicating attachments. He also gave them a singular purpose to their mission: to bring healing to the people they met. What if we did the same as a spiritual people in the world? Couldn’t we benefit from a simple and sacred foundation to stand on when all of life’s complications distract, discourage, frustrate, and threaten to overwhelm us? Sometimes we need to pause and ask what is truly important and foundational and let go of the other stuff that just complicates matters.
For the disciples, Keeping It Simple and Sacred meant not taking walking sticks or knapsacks. For us, it might mean giving away possessions we don’t actually use. Or not filling up our schedule with so many commitments and activities that we don’t have time to enjoy life. It might mean slowing down to pay attention to God’s presence in our lives and to the beauty and love that surrounds us.
For the disciples, Keeping It Simple and Sacred meant focusing on healing through a message of peace and God’s Way of Love. They didn’t visit villages to make sure the people knew the correct and approved doctrines. They went to heal people through loving relationship. Even when they were rejected, Jesus told them to Keep It Simple and Sacred, to not take it personally but instead shake off the rejection, while still keeping the invitation to loving relationship open for the future. For us, maybe that means standing on the foundation of God’s Love so when life begins to overwhelm us, we can stop and ask ourselves: Am I doing my best to love today? To love God? To love my neighbor? To love myself? And we can know that doing our best to love, right now in this moment, is enough because love is God’s great healing balm. And when we feel rejected, we don’t have to take it personally but we can shake it off and keep on loving.
What do you think it means to simplify our faith? What do we need to let go of? What do we need to embrace as critical to becoming who God made us to be? When the world threatens to overwhelm us with it’s complexities and complications, what grounds us and keeps us steady? What is the spiritual foundation we stand on? The only thing I have found that is a solid foundation in the roughest of seas is the love of God.
1. https://healthyspirituality.org/the-spiritual-practice-of-simplicity/
2. Luke 10:1-11