Easy as Pie

This past Sunday, as part of the morning teaching time, I used a simple illustration to communicate some important truth about life. I actually used a number of them. I love illustrations. They don’t replace, nor should they ever usurp the place of Scripture, but it’s hard to get around the fact that Jesus used illustrations continuously. There is also the whole body and tradition of the wisdom literature of Israel. Those writers drew constantly upon the observable world around us (Creation) to illustrate the truth of numerous life principles. The simple reason for this is that illustrations (good ones anyway) help us in our understanding.

Life is complex, not simple. We used to think it was simple. We used to think that a cell was a simple thing. But modern science, if it has proved anything at all, has proved that life is complex. However, it has been and continues to be the glory of what the Bible calls wisdom to make the complex simple.

Charles Mingus is credited with saying:

“Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity.”

Another version of Mingus’ words has it as,

 “Making the simple complex is easy. Making the complex simple, awesomely simple, now THAT is genius.”

More recently, Steve Jobs highlighted the power of this precious ability to simplify the complex.  

“Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”

So, how do we do that? I think one way (following the examples in Scripture) is to recognize patterns or systems in nature that bring order and balance to life. Life in this world consists of a seemingly limitless number of activities and experiences and needs and wants and so on, all interconnected somehow and interdependent. But when we observe the created world around us we observe a sense of order and harmony that is both inspiring and instructive.

Even the things in nature that might appear random at first glance turn out to be in fact intricate patterns. Patterns are created by order, not chaos. There is no randomness to life. Life depends on organization. Organisms are very thoughtfully and intentionally (‘fearfully and wonderfully’) organized. Human beings are certainly no exception to the rule, each of us the result of being ‘knit together’ in our mother’s womb. (Psa 139)

One of the examples I used this past Sunday was the simple baking of a cake. In order to bake a cake you need to have the right amount of the right ingredients in the right order and then you need to process them correctly. Some things you exclude because they aren’t good ingredients for a cake. In life, some ingredients you exclude because they aren’t good ingredients for your life. But it's not just a matter of having the right ingredients. You have to have the right amounts of each. Too much of a good thing is not a good thing. We need to have just the right balance. Don’t work too much, play too much, rest too much … but make sure you have the right amounts of each.

The order is important as well. I think most of us have heard the story about the teacher fitting all of the big rocks and the little rocks into the jar and how the secret is to put the big rocks in first. Establishing our priorities first is a critical factor. And all of this too speaks to the ‘chemistry’ or interconnectedness of the different elements or aspects of life and how each relates to the others and the interplay back and forth between the different parts.

And, of course when you have the cake (or pie!) all made, you get to slice it and eat it. And you can slice it anyway you want, but you can’t have your cake and eat it too. 

As complicated as life often feels, the answers to our frustrations can often be something as simple baking a cake or slicing a pie. God is good!