Keep it Simple

For 7/30 and 7/31, I want to use a passage from 1 Corinthians 7:29-31, "I do want to point out, friends, that time is of the essence. There is no time to waste, so don't complicate your lives unnecessarily. Keep it simple —in marriage, grief, joy, whatever. Even in ordinary things—your daily routines of shopping, and so on. Deal as sparingly as possible with the things the world thrusts on you. This world as you see it is on its way out." MSG

A crisis is currently coming to a head in our government.  None of our elected officials can agree on anything, but I think we can all agree that things have gotten out of control and don't seem to be coming back anytime soon.  With this news on our televisions every day, in real time play-by-play in Congress and the Senate, we all wait in anticipation for the outcome.  We hope for the best for our country, ourselves, and our children.

Considering where we are in this modern day crisis, I found it interesting to see how the passage above is broken down in the Life Application Bible.  The footnotes say that Paul was urging believers in Corinth not to regard marriage, home, or financial security as the ultimate goals in life.  He said, as much as possible, they should live unhindered by the cares of the world, not getting involved with burdensome mortgages, budgets, investments, or debts that might keep them from doing God's work.  Paul points out that a married man or woman must take care of earthly responsibilities, but they should make every effort to keep them modest and manageable.

The same principles that applied to Corinth, can benefit our society, but I am afraid we've put the horse before the cart, friends.  If we had been modest and kept things manageable, maybe our financial position as a country would be different.  We have burdensome debt that is higher than most of us can even count.  However, with no real game plan, the best thing we can do is go back to the main plan.  Simplify things and ask for God's help in working out the rest.  This world is only our temporary home, but we should live responsibly while we're here.  With God's direction, we can learn to do that.  May we be teachable and humble enough to realize it.