Keeping It Simple
by Jeremy Lim, Elder
John the Baptist was an…interesting guy. He was a prophet who lived in the wilderness, dressed in weird clothes and had a strange diet. But aside from how he looked and lived, he said some pretty extreme things. He took seriously God’s call on his life to prepare the way for the coming Messiah, and he didn’t pull any punches. We get a taste of this in Luke 3:9:
The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. (Luke 3:9)
Those are some strong words, but the fascinating thing is that people were still drawn to John. Crowds flocked to him to hear his message of repentance and the forgiveness of sins and to be baptized by him. Despite John’s blunt language, people wanted to know how they should live in response to everything he was saying.
“What should we do then?” the crowd asked. John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.” (Luke 3:10-14)
How far would you travel or how much money would you pay for advice like this? I have to admit that as I’ve read these verses over and over, I couldn’t help but think of Robert Fulghum’s 1990 instant bestseller, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. You don’t have to read the book to have a pretty good idea of what it’s about: some of the most basic principles of life—principles we expect five-year-olds to understand—can go a long way in helping us successfully navigate a complicated world.
These verses do not downplay how hard it can be to respond to difficult situations. But John gave this advice knowing that while the crowds may not have fully understood everything he was preaching, they could understand this. John tapped into the unbelievable excitement the people were feeling in anticipation of the coming Messiah, and he gave them difficult, but incredibly practical ways they could respond to that excitement.
As we anticipate celebrating the birth of Jesus this year, let us consider John the Baptist’s words—words that were preached to people who were eager to meet their coming Lord. How might we choose to focus less on ourselves in order to make room to recognize what God is doing in the lives of people around us? May we follow John’s advice and the spirit of its simplicity, not because it’s the right thing to do, but because of our immense love for Jesus and out of anticipation for all He wants to do in and through our lives.
Prayer: Jesus, the world seems so messed up and complicated sometimes. Show me how I can be—through simple acts of kindness, love, selflessness, and common decency—a beacon of your hope to those around me. I love You, Amen.
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