Simplify!

For some reason my attention was drawn to commercials yesterday. Let me say "I HATE COMMERCIALS!" Especially ones that speak down to me which is probably 98% of them. Anyway with my crusade for simplicity my attention perhaps was looking or listening for ways to simplify and so commercials got more attention than normal.

What I heard and saw was not what I am seeing as simplifying. This year the power toothbrush seems to be a major item. Then there are the banks promoting cell phone accessibility for paying bills, transferring funds and checking my balances. While these items and many more are presented as ways to improve life and make what would be otherwise wasted minutes valuable I am not of the same mind. Do I really need to pay bills while I'm at the movies? Do I not remember what I deposit and what I spend to the degree that I must have access every moment of every day to my balance? As for transferring money, how many accounts am I supposed to have? Let's just say for a moment that these things are really valuable and I'm not conceding that, what will I do with these rescued seconds or even minutes? If I were to use every device that is being touted as time saving and improved for my benefit how much time would I gain in a day? NONE! There is only 24 hours in a day. I will simply put more into the that 24 hours and the real question then is will that be a benefit to me?

What will I get when my cell phone drops signal in the middle of my payment of the bill that I didn't pay until 4:58pm on the last day that it's due because I thought I could do it on my phone and I CAN'T. Frustration? The idea of paying bills on my cell phone means that I can do it while I'm doing something else. That's not what I see as simplifying. I know that I am just focusing on the cell phone thing but I can make the same case for any number of other "delusions" as well.

INSTANT GRATIFICATION! Now there's a familiar term. There are times when I can recall where God moved instantly. But more often I see a God of patience. I am reminded that there is no security in what God is doing. Only in who He is. In the past I have been draw by what God seems to be doing and where He seems to be doing it. Simplifying for me now is to focus on who He is.