Thursday: The Mastery of Complexity
WEEK 44
THURSDAY
THE MASTERY OF COMPLEXITY
Philippians 3:13-16
We come now to look at another mastery in the pages of the Acts—the mastery of complexity.
Life is getting more and more complex for the modern person; it is a tangled web of events and pressures and ideas crowding in upon the soul and mind from everywhere. The soul of modern humanity is the focus point for all that happens everywhere. Our ancestors were the focus point of the happenings of a town or village. We are the focus point of a world. Through the radio and television and the newspapers everything is dumped into our minds daily, even hourly. If we yield to this complexity, we become complex, which is a euphemism for becoming inner chaos. Modern humanity is suffering more from complexity than from apoplexy.
But life can be reduced to simplicity. The early Christians knew this and lived in it. Perhaps the answer is a waving of the hand and the objection, “Well, life for them was simple. They lived in a simple age; therefore they could be simple.” But their very Christianity got them into complexity. They didn’t retreat into inner states of mind and enjoy God. Their very love of Christ drove them into the needs and problems of others. This is illustrated in this passage from Paul:
I received the “forty lashes minus one” from the Jews five times. I was beaten with rods three times. I was stoned once. I was shipwrecked three times. I spent a day and a night on the open sea. I’ve been on many journeys. I faced dangers from rivers, robbers, my people, and Gentiles. I faced dangers in the city, in the desert, on the sea, and from false brothers and sisters. I faced these dangers with hard work and heavy labor, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, and in the cold without enough clothes.
Besides all the other things I could mention, there’s my daily stress because I’m concerned about all the churches. (2 Cor 11:24-28)
Life not complex for Paul? It was more complex because he was a Christian and therefore compelled by love. Yet listen to this, “I have learned to be content in any circumstance” (Phil 4:11). An inner contentment and quiet simplicity amid this complexity! That is mastery indeed!
O Lord, I, too, can have the quiet, undisturbed heart amid a disturbed world. I find it at the center of your will. There I am in serenity and simplicity. Amen.
AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: My heart shall be a deep pool of quiet calm amid the swirling events of today.