The Gift of Simplicity
“'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we will not be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come round right.”
Mrs. Bossard’s 3rd grade class sang this song for chapel not long ago. Originally written in the 1800s by Joseph Brackett, a member of the Shakers, this song retains its beauty and relevance in our complicated materialist age, and causes one to wonder what were the complexities and corresponding temptations that vexed Brackett and the many congregations that appreciated the tune at the time of its writing. Surely they didn’t realize how much more complicating their culture would become in the next century as the West progressively exchanged its Christian identity for one of utter confusion in every area except comfort and consumerism! And yet, in the 1800s, many Christians were already advocating for a simple life, evidenced in “love and delight”.
The Shakers were not alone in their recognition of simplicity as a gift. Henry David Thoreau commented that “Most of the luxuries, and many of the so-called comforts of life, are not only indispensable, but are positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind. With respect to luxuries and comforts, the wisest have even lived a more simple and meagre life than the poor.”
Among the many vices that claim addicts in our world today, selfie-taking is especially bizarre. We have become a culture of “significance junkees”, as a commentator recently observed. Self-care has become the sales pitch in commercials, as consumers seek to emulate the lifestyles of their celebrity idols. Self-esteem has become the goal of schools today, which, in an age of Tik-Tok, means schools are actively facilitating space for students to discover and publicly express their most controversial and rebellious feelings, as Carl Truman observes in his recent book “Strange New World”.
Certainly, social media has exacerbated an existing tendency within the human soul, a tendency to be dissatisfied with one’s own self. The 10th commandment, “Thou shalt not covet” addresses this depravity directly and simply. In Aesop’s The Raven and the Swan, the beautiful swan was admired by all who saw it and the raven, scorned as ugly and noisy, envied the former’s place in the world. The raven observed that the swan continually swam in the water and regularly dunked its long neck into the water, and thus concluded that it was able to wash itself so beautifully clean by this lifestyle. So for the next while, the raven would splash in the water, making quite the ruckus as it was not as graceful as the swan, and it would dunk its head in the water as often as it observed the swan do so. What the raven did not know is that the swan was feeding itself, using its God-given graces and long neck to reach down deep into the water and catch fish and insects. The story ends with the raven’s ruin as it starved to death, never achieving the grace or beauty to which it intended.
In Genesis 37 we are told the story of Joseph. Second to the youngest, he was the clear favorite of his father, and to make matters worse, he experienced grand dreams of his eventual rise to superiority over not only his brothers, but the whole world. Corrupted by their jealousy, Joseph’s older brothers almost killed him and eventually sold him into slavery. I think an important lesson in this story and its resolution is that it eventually became necessary for Joseph’s brothers to grow content in their place in life - to come down where “they ought to be” - in order to properly love their father, their families, and even their own selves. They had to discern that which was outside of their control, like their father’s favoritism, and let go of their own needs and rights, even to the point of self-sacrificial love, as was exhibited especially by Judah in his effort to protect his father and little brother, Benjamin.
All mankind is created in God’s image; even the lowliest among us is to be honored in and through the love of Christ. But the point here is that not everything is “fair”. We are separated by many physical realities that truly diversify and complicate human relations. As someone recently and forlornly lamented as she looked around at the messes in her home, “This lady on the internet’s house is immaculate and she’s about to pop with her 6th!”
Screens filter out the real world in ways that are entirely deceptive. Selective photography, clever editing, or simply that certain je ne sois quoi (lit. “I don’t know what”) can all effectively stir up discontentment and covetousness in the hearts of those who are set up to admire and idolize. It is of immense importance that we select carefully who we imitate. Proverbs 13:20 says “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but the companion of fools shall be destroyed”. The classic muses of the Greeks represented the virtues that were the higher callings intended to draw man to his nobler self. This is the reason for philosophy of old – love of wisdom and pursuit of the divine - and it is a primary aim of an education as it was understood classically within the liberal arts tradition.
As you enjoy this holiday season, I hope and pray that you give and receive the gift of simplicity and contentment, “in the valley of love and delight”. May the Lord give you wisdom as you raise your children in a complicating and confusing age. And may He grant us wisdom and solidarity together as a school community committed to learning and Christian paideia. While our decadent culture continually attempts to stir up discontentment and covetousness in our lives and the lives of our children, may we here at Knox stir each other up toward love and good works.
Happy Thanksgiving!
