More!

We taught our children the sign for that word when they were babies. That, and other signs like “please,” “thank you,” and “water.” But the sign for “more” was far and away the most liberally used.

One of them would be in a highchair, being fed one spoonful at a time. And as soon as the spoon hit their lips, they would already be jabbing the ends of their fingers together quickly, frenetically signing, “More! More! More” even as they were still swallowing that initial mouthful.

And so it goes as we grow. That word – more – is still so pervasive in our thoughts. Except for these days, our appetites have changed. No longer do we desire applesauce; instead, we have a seemingly insatiable craving for more of other things. More money. More prominence. More options. More service. More, more, more. Like children in a highchair unable to appreciate what we have, we are waving our hands demanding more.

Always more.

Against that comes a biblical call to a different kind of life. And money, according to Jesus, is the chief competitor for our attention and our affection:

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Matthew 6:24

That’s pretty straightforward. There can be only one master. Simple.

But while this call to simplicity is appealing, the question remains, “How do we get there?” 

Well, the Bible gives us a truth to help us move into this kind of simplicity, although it might not be the truth we would expect:

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5).

The first part of the verse presents this simple, content, and focused way of life. And once again, we see that the love of money is the main obstacle to living this way. But if we believe in the constant presence of God, when His presence is not merely an intellectual acknowledgment but something real and affecting us, we see everything else in light of His great value, beauty, and worth.

The key theological truth is contentment in God’s presence. Having God means we have everything. 

This is how we grow in simplicity – when, amid a world craving more, we can finally push away from the table and say, “I’m already full.”

Written by Michael Kelley, Guest Contributor

To read more of Michael’s writing, check out his daily blog, Forward Progress http://michaelkelley.co/