Some Sunday thoughts...

Since I first came across it, the phrase “Less is more” has always struck me as a very pithy little piece of wisdom. That is why my wife and I have it, as a rather elegant wood-carving, hanging in our home. As you have (perhaps) already discovered, “Less is more” works in many different contexts -????

Words.

As anyone who has sat through a long sermon or boring speech will tell you, a few well-chosen words will usually convey a message much more effectively than a long-winded lecture. So, choose your words carefully.

“Stuff”.

We live in a consumerist society in which we are almost constantly being bombarded with the message that our possessions bring us happiness. And, to a certain point, this may be true: “retail-therapy” has some basis in psychology. However, as the movement towards “de-cluttering” has shown us, having too much stuff (clothes works as an example) is not only unnecessary but can even be harmful – to others and to the environment, as well as to ourselves. So, remember these other old adages -??????????????

a.?????? Quality, not quantity;

b.?????? The one who dies with the most toys, still dies.

Activity.

Many of us live frantic lives in a hectic society. We wear our busyness as a badge of honour. “Keeping up with the Joneses” doesn’t just apply to possessions anymore; it can also apply to the number of hours I put in at the office each week.

It is this third context that I want to say a little bit more about. Our busyness is killing us – literally, in some cases. I am sure you have all known someone (or have personal experience of) who has suffered the phenomenon we call “burn-out.” I have not yet met anyone who would recommend it, as either a great experience or as an effective means of career advancement. And there, of course, is the conundrum, because we have come to believe that it is our volume of output, the number of hours we put in, that is the most effective measure of our productivity. Which, of course, it is not. Or, more importantly, even if output could measure productivity, who wants the value of their life to be measured solely in terms of productivity?

I read this recently, in a book by John Mark Comer, and it struck me as true – “How we spend our days doesn’t just determine what we do with our one, precious, fleeting life, but who we become.”

“Less is more” sounds paradoxical, doesn’t it? But the thing about paradoxes is that they show how two different things can be true at the same time. Here is another one – “If you want to be great, you must be the servant of all the others” (Jesus).

In the workplace, “More is more” may seem like a more convincing mantra, and success in climbing the corporate ladder may seem to require using others rather than serving them. But here’s the thing: who we are becoming is actually of much greater importance than where we might sit within some org chart.

I think we would all agree that “integrity” is a virtue to which we should all aspire. However, “integrity” has several different meanings and one that I like to consider has to do with seamlessness, or constancy: of being the same person, no matter what the context. I am a worker and a student, but I am also a husband, father and grandfather. I am a church member and a friend. To me, “integrity” means that I am the same person as I act in each of these different roles. And, of course, who I am is a work in progress because, as they sing in country music, “God ain’t finished with me yet.”

So, to finish where I began, “less IS more”, and nowhere is this more true than in the way in which we spend our days. Take a moment to look back on the way in which you have spent the last few weeks and months. Now take another moment to consider who it is that you hope to become (or, if you like, what “eulogy virtues” you aspire to). How do they compare? Are there some things that you could stop doing, or do less of, so you could spend more time on things that are of greater significance?