It's a Gift to Be Simple...How is that a Gift?! (Part 3 of 3)

Our life experiences color the lenses through which we see the world, including words! 

When seeing the words “simplicity” and “settling,” my friend, Norman, could not help but reflect on his work-life.  Having been in the military, then working internationally and later on in ministry with an itinerant system, his life was anything but simple or settled! 

Upon deeper reflection, he saw the positive sides, or wisdom, in both words.  He offered me a quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer to explain (I'm including a longer version of it for context): 

“A man can hold his own here only if he can combine simplicity with wisdom…To be simple is to fix one’s eye solely on the simple truth of God at a time when all concepts are being confused, distorted and turned upside down…The wise man is the one who sees reality as it is, and who sees into the depths of things. That is why only that man is wise who sees reality in God…There is no true simplicity without wisdom and there is no wisdom without simplicity.”
 
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Ethics, ed. Eberhard Bethge (New York: Macmillan, 1955) 70-71.

Within this quote I, too, saw wisdom in both “simplicity” and “settling.”
 
And I was reminded of the Benedictine vow of “stability.”  There’s a literal vow of stability for the Catholic men and women who commit to enter into, and be faithful to, a particular community in a particular place.  It is fascinating to hear the stories of those who have been in a particular monastery for 40 years or more. 

However, this literal vow to a place may be an impossibility for many of us as it was for Norman during his working years (though it is much more of a possibility during his retirement years!). 
 
There is also a metaphorical or figurative vow of stability which is remaining focused on the Kingdom of God or what Bonhoeffer calls the “simple truth of God” wherever one finds oneself. 

This does not mean ceasing to question or doubt, both of these can deepen faith (as working through questions and doubts in a marriage can deepen the relationship).  In fact, settling our eye on the simple truth of God frees us to question and doubt!

One could say that "settling" in this context invites one's gaze to "rest and remain" on God.
 
So for Norman (& for us), “settling” does not have to be a negative word meaning a life-draining “giving up” or “resignation” and “simplicity” is not something that only occurs in retirement! 

​Instead, both can be the foundation for a creative life with God as we allow ourselves to see “reality as it is” by diving deeper into “simplicity” and “settling” as ways of Wisdom. 

____________________________
Spiritual Direction is a wonderful place to explore "simplicity" and "settling" in your own life.
 

Lutheran pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer found sanctuary at Ettal, a Benedictine monastery in the Bavarian Alps. It was in their library that he worked on his book, "Ethics." My friend Norman and his wife, Sandy, last visited Ettal in 2006. Photo: Ettal Monastery Church by Zairon, CC