Simple is Good!
Written by Erik Daniels, Sr. Partner and Executive Vice President
A few years ago, my daughter Kelsey persuaded me to join her for the final 10 days of her journey walking the Camino de Santiago (the Way of St. James in English). The Camino encompasses several routes in Spain, France, and Portugal, drawing hundreds of thousands of pilgrims each year as many venture this trek for spiritual growth and intimacy with the Almighty.
I had a great time with my daughter and highly recommend this spiritual voyage. Once we were back in the U.S., Kelsey and I reminisced about the trip. She was so grateful that I would carve out the time to be only with her and said she learned so much about me on this adventure.
During our conversation, Kelsey said she realized that I am a “simple man.” I will never forget those words. My initial reaction was negative—extremely negative. Who wants to be thought of as a simple person?
Without asking her exactly what she meant by those words, I immediately jumped to how I would prefer to be described. Words like sophisticated, compassionate, intelligent, erudite, strategic, and wise came to mind. Simple sounded so trite, so demeaning, so unimpressive.
But simple isn’t necessarily a negative thing. Perhaps the greatest evangelist of my lifetime was Billy Graham, whose impact was felt worldwide, but some critics believed his messages were too simple. One such critic was the prominent theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, who described Graham’s message as “too simple and lacking depth.”
Others had a different perspective. Dr. Marc D. Baldwin stated that Graham “focused on a simple gospel message in his sermons and crusades. Every sermon had a clear presentation of the Christian gospel, founded upon the message of John 3:16.” Obviously, the simple approach worked: It’s estimated over 2.2 billion people heard Graham preach during his ministry, and over 2.2 million who attended his crusades responded to the invitation to become a Christian.
The takeaway? SIMPLE IS GOOD!
In the 20th century, a man responsible for an incredible number of men and women coming to know Christ personally was Dr. Bill Bright. Bright was the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ (now known as CRU), a worldwide evangelistic ministry.
After Bright’s death, Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship, wrote an article detailing a grueling meeting where Bright spoke up several times. While everyone was dealing with theological profundities, Bright got straight to the point. He was present at the meeting for one reason―to evangelize the lost. Colson went on to describe Bright’s formulations as “direct, SIMPLE, to the point, and biblical.” Once again, SIMPLE IS GOOD!
During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. The discussion continued for some time until C.S. Lewis wandered into the room. “What’s the rumpus about?” he asked. His colleagues explained they were examining Christianity’s unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, “Oh, that is easy. It’s grace!” Lewis, like Graham and Bright, knew that SIMPLE IS GOOD!
Back to my daughter’s evaluation of me. I eventually asked Kelsey what she meant when she called me a simple man. She told me that I tend to live in the present, not worrying about the past or fearing the future. She observed that I don’t overcomplicate matters in my life. I accept that God is in control and sovereign in all my affairs—and I am not!
Kelsey continued by saying that I don’t have ulterior motives when interacting with family and friends, and what you see is what you get. But probably what was most encouraging to me was her emphasis that my faith informs and grounds me in my thoughts and actions, and the word of God dictates to me what is right and wrong.
I wish everything she said was true (it wasn’t). But it is nice to know your child thinks you are doing your best.
Scripture has a lot to say about simplicity and complexity. My favorite insight is found in Ecclesiastes 7:29 in the Good News Translation: “This is all that I have learned: God made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated.” The more I think about it, the more I prefer simple over complicated any day!
Many years ago, I remember bringing my kids to church and listening to them sing “Jesus Loves Me.” Anna Bartlett Warner wrote the song, which first appeared as a poem comforting a dying child. The words are simple yet powerful:
“Jesus loves me this I know,
for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong.
They are weak, but He is strong.”
As we look toward Easter, we don’t need to overcomplicate what Jesus did for us. Let us understand the simple truth: Jesus loves us, Jesus lived for us, and Jesus died for us. But most importantly, Jesus rose for us!
SIMPLE IS GOOD!
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