Do you ever wonder if you make things too complicated?

I know I do. Everything I do seems to take me more time and effort than it does for everyone else.

Take a quick look at this week’s verse. It’s from John 6:29:

I remember once, when we lived in Indiana, I needed to leave the office early so I could pack for a weekend youth retreat. I estimated, accurately, that I would need most of the afternoon to gather, organize and pack what I would need for the next three days.

Our senior minister took me aside and gave me a rather severe lecture about “insulting his intelligence” by telling him I needed the afternoon to pack. He told me that if I wanted to spend the afternoon with my family, then simply say so. Don’t lie to him and call it “packing”. He told me he only needed a few minutes to pack for a weekend such as this.

Here’s the problem with that scenario. My family was gone for the afternoon. I had already said my good-byes to them. I legitimately needed the time to gather my clothes, my supplies for the parts of the retreat I was responsible for, organize it all, and get it packed in time to meet up with the students going on the trip. And guess what? I didn’t forget anything, like most people do, it seems.

His assumption was totally wrong.

I know that I could have probably packed faster if I wasn’t so anal about organization. But I am. I was then, and may be even more so now, in many ways.

I used the entire afternoon to first gather everything. I then located a bag that would fit my needs. I then packed it, probably two or three times, getting things in it just so. After loading it in my car, double and triple checking everything, I headed back to the church to leave for the weekend.

I needed all that time.

I know that I tend to needlessly complicate many things in my life.

It’s who I am, it seems.

I know that we needlessly complicate many things in our faith as well.

We make so many rules and regulations that have to be met for us to be “good Christians”. Like reading the Bible so often, praying every day, church attendance, and on and on and on…

But Jesus reminds us just how simple it really is.

Believe.

Faith.

It’s really that simple.

Do you tend to make things more complicated than you need to? You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below.