LESS IS MORE! It is a new "catch-phrase", but I don't think it has caught on like some of the others in our American culture. A friend of mine was traveling through Europe in the early 1990s. He was sitting in a cafe drinking coffee with some locals and began asking their view of America. One older man quickly spoke up saying "America is big, bold, shiney and loud". And almost twenty years later we still have not caught on to "less is more".
Job (pronounced with a long 'O') was a righteous man who loved the Lord and served Him with true devotion. Job was also a wealthy man with a many children, lots of cattle, land and servants. One day everything he had was gone. One messenger after another had come to announce that his children had died, his crops and animals were destroyed, and his servants had been taken captive. And when Job thought the worst was over...he was struck with a dibilitating disease and festering sores.
Job, in his emotional and physical distress, begins to lament and pour out his heart to the God he served so faithfully. His friends came and sat beside him to "bring him comfort". Yet, they were a curse instead of a blessing. After multiple "speeches" from them intending "gentle correction", Job replies that he wishes they would just be quiet.
We just recognized the one year anniversary of my baby neice's passing. And the last year has been difficult. But amid the grief, sometimes we wished people would be silent. Many days we really just needed the things that can only come in the quietness of the moment...a hug, a smile, a prayer, a listening ear, a tear shed with us or for us. And of all the things I have learned through this grief process, the most significant is this...LESS IS MORE!
May God be with you this week. But not in the big things, rather in the stillness of the moment. And may you know the presense of God most when you eliminate the big, bold, brightness of this world. Amen.
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