If there is anything that is empowering, it is getting rid of the clutter. How many times have we had to wade through a bunch of junk in search of a missing item. Man’s current system promotes complexity and sophistication and an infrastructure to support its continued use.
Does the current, complex system promote longevity? The following clip would suggest the opposite to be true:
Jiroemon Kimura, the oldest living man in the world, turns 116 today, and he plans to have a modest celebration with his family in his Japanese home. Kimura was born on April 19, 1897 – one year before the start of the Spanish-American War. The supercentenarian from Japan’s Kyoto Prefecture in central Japan, worked as a mail carrier until his retirement when he was 65. Afterward, he reportedly worked as a farmer until he was 90. Not only is Kimura the oldest person in the world, but he is the oldest Asian man ever and the last-known man to have lived across three centuries, according to Guinness World Records. The secret to Kimura’s longevity may be in his habits – he gets up early, reads the newspaper every day and never misses a meal.
Everybody wants to go to Heaven but no one wants to go too soon. We all want to live in excellent health until the day of our appointed departure. Here is a man who at the age of 65 began a career in farming and continued for 25 years. What was his comment when he turned 115 last year? “It is all thanks to the grace of GOD,” Kimura said. “I have nothing but gratitude for the life I’ve been given.”
Grace and gratitude. There was nothing about the trappings of life, new technology, or other temporal things. From all appearances, he lived a “low maintenance” life.
When it is all said and done, what will we reflect on as we reach the fullness of age? What will people say about us? Will we look back and find that we did nothing for others and were simply a burden or will we reflect on how we enriched others throughout our life?
Start giving away the clutter that isn’t junk. Find someone who can use it. Trash the rest. Clean out your closet, your garage, your mind. The Gospel is simple. You don’t need to make it complicated to the point of being unattainable. Complexity breeds separation. Simplicity promotes unity. Don’t let your ego separate you from those who love you. Become a giver and cease from sucking the life out of others. Quit exploiting the gifts and callings of others but instead give into their lives. Life really isn’t that complicated.