I once heard a pastor talk about his trick to having successful sermons. His secret? “Break everything down into the comprehension level of a 4th grader. Use basic concepts, images, and stories to get your point across.” he told me.
This seems to be a fairly decent reflection on the world we live in. Simplicity is valued and embraced much more than complexity. In some cases, it’s even the preferred status quo to be ‘simple’ than to be complex and miles ahead of the pack.
When we meet others, we have a certain set of questions that provide us some semblance of reference to the person we’re speaking to.
“What do you do for a living?” “Where are you from?” “Where did you go to school?”
On one hand, is see these questions as a fairly simple way to get to know somebody and establish common ground. On the other hand, I wonder why it’s necessary to break down major elements of our lives into such short and succinct answers. Often, the short answers really do little to tell you about a person…who they really are. Countless people will introduce themselves as ‘straight’ in their sexual orientation, while their actions say otherwise.
There’s something in me that wonders what a world would look like without the crippling bonds of fear, status quo, and the ever-present demand to break people down to a simple one-page question and answer sheet that can be read and compared alongside a stack of others.
It would be an amazing place. And it would look like freedom and love.
Featured Image From Deviantart
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