Small is good, and best…

Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 states: “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?”

As I left work the other evening I was reflecting on my day. I enjoy my work and the people that I work with. When I stepped outside into the parking lot it was cold. “Bad cold,” as my dad would say. It was so cold that it makes your teeth ache. Yet, I love cold weather; the colder the better. As I walked to my truck I caught myself humming. I was humming a hymn. The fact that I was humming, and unaware of it caught me a little off guard. I began to think about why I was humming. It was simple. I was looking forward to seeing the kids and eating supper (I love to eat, it is not an emotional thing or coping mechanism, I just love the taste of food). It wasn’t remarkable things like the fact that my blog received the most daily visits in its short history (4 weeks), or such, that had me in such a good mindset; it was simple things like food and family.

Ecclesiastes 2: 24-25 came to mind. Take a moment and read those two verses. Read them slowly and then ponder on them. In these verses Solomon is telling us that one of the best things in life is a good meal, and being satisfied at the end of a day of good work. He states that this is from God’s hand. It is astounding that the Bible tells us that some of the best things are the smaller and more common things. Family, meals, warmth, work, a good book, all of these can satisfy.

Here is a subtle but tremendous truth that emerges from these verses, and from the verses that follow it as well: God’s people have the ability to enjoy the smaller things because they know that they are from Him, are enabled to do so, and have the wisdom to do so. Those who do not know Christ cannot and will not savor the simple things from God. For the unredeemed, these things may be enjoyable, but will soon fade because they are seen as means to some other end. Namely, they are seen as temporary pleasures that line the road to greater pleasure. They are seen as small parts, or portions, not as the whole.

Simple is better. Most folks would agree with that. But, there are a blessed few who know it, pursue it, and are content in it.

In 2 Corinthians 11:3 Paul is concerned that the followers of Christ in Corinth would be led astray from the simple and pure life that is in Christ.

Driving complexity out of the Christian life is one of the primary things that we should be mindful of in these hurried and harried days. The Christian life is challenging, but it is designed to be simple. Let us guard against and fight complexity tooth and nail, for the sake of our joy, for the sake of our churches, for the sake of our Lord.

Of the many things that God’s Word does for us, one of the most necessary and urgent is that it clarifies and simplifies life….if we listen to it, think on it, and apply it.

Good food, time with family (in-laws not included), a book, a quiet moment, all are some of the richest moments in any day, and in life. See them as gifts. They are. Enjoy them. Recognize some of them today and thank Him.