Quick Charge Your Faith - Simplify
Walking the path of the light burden and the easy yoke.
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How Keeping Things Simple Refines Our Faith
Kelly Johnson, the lead engineer at Lockheed’s Skunk Works, had one rule for his team: Keep It Simple, Stupid.
The K.I.S.S. principle became legendary in the business of making things, teaching that complexity often causes delays and flaws, but simplicity empowers design, quality, and value. From military aircraft to vacuum cleaners, this concept transformed industries by focusing on what truly works.
What if we applied the same principle to our faith life?
Jesus taught a divine version of the K.I.S.S principle. He called people out of the tangled web of religious legalism and into the freedom of simplicity. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28, NIV).
The Pharisees had turned following God into an exhausting rulebook, but Jesus simplified it to love: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:37-39, NIV). No clutter, no extra hoops to jump through, just a life focused on what truly matters.
But let’s be honest: simplicity is hard. We feel compelled to meet the benchmarks of modern life, stuffing our schedules, minds, and hearts with more than we can carry. Likewise, we overcomplicate our faith life, thinking we need to do more for God rather than simply be with Him.
Yet the more we chase after complexity, the more we often feel like we were never meant to live that way. But even so, the thought of giving up some of those busy parts of life leaves us wondering nervously what would be left? Who would we be?
What if simplicity isn’t about losing but gaining? Gaining more peace, more space for God, more freedom from the weight of things that pull us away from our faith. Jesus didn’t call us to a cluttered, frantic life; He called us to a light and unburdened life, fulfilled by His grace. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33, NIV).
The beauty of simplicity is that it doesn’t strip life down to emptiness; it clears the way for fullness. When we embrace a faith life that is focused rather than frantic, we step into the rest and joy God intended for us.
Let’s not make faith harder than it needs to be. Jesus taught the K.I.S.S. principle for believers, but in His version the last “S” wasn’t short for the word Stupid. In His version the last “S” in K.I.S.S. stood for Saints. Let’s keep it simple - and in doing so by trusting in Him, find a life more abundant than we ever imagined.
Author’s Note - In various posts this month I will be exploring the Christian discipline of simplicity and the many ways it touches and enriches Christian living in today’s world. I hope you will join me for this special teaching series.
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