A Simpler Life: Less is Not More

Everywhere we turn these days life is guaranteed to get simpler. Try this new product and it will change your life. Eat this food and you will feel great. Or do these quick simple steps and you will find happiness.

We are promised more for less…and we embrace it. We all want more with less work and less time.

But the kicker for me is the “quick-read Bibles. “

Everywhere I look these days I see the same message:

Read the Bible in just a few minutes each day. 

I see all kinds of Bibles with titles such as “The One Minute Bible.” or “The Five Minute Bible.”

Huh?

We want to read the Bible less? 

No.

The Bible is the one thing in this world that we want to do more of…the more time we spend, the more we are transformed.

If we want to live an easier and simpler life, the truth is we need to read the Bible MORE, not less. The more we read, the less we desire to be like the world. The less we will desire the quick fix or the easy path.

The more we read and connect with God, the more the desires of the world fade away, and our souls are at peace…we are transformed. Life gets simpler right there.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2 (ESV)

I have been really focused on this verse lately. I want my mind transformed. I don’t want to conform to the patterns of this world.

And the patterns of this world offer a quick fix, but the Bible is a lifelong gift. We don’t want to shorten our time or try to “market” it as something that we would even desire to do quickly! We should want to spend more time in the Word.

I know the more time I spend with God, the more time I want to spend with Him. The more I read, the more I am energized. The more I listen, the more I am transformed.

Don’t succumb to the quick. Linger over God’s word. Stay longer than you had planned.

That is where the transformation will take place. God’s Word doesn’t offer the promises this world does. It is not a quick fix.

It offers so much more than you ever imagined. It is alive and powerful and it will transform you.

Make it a priority. Each and every day. It is not a chore, but a life-giving, life-transforming practice.

God’s Word is the answer to all of our questions. Why would we want to spend just a minute or five minutes a day there?