Why does life have to be so complicated?

     Have you ever thought this?  I know I do.  I am a simple person.  Stop laughing, not that kind of simple person!  I like simple clothes (jeans and a t-shirt.)  I like simple cars (I drive a 1998 mini-van.)  And I like simple conversations (you know, get to the point.)  But I find that life has a way of growing more complicated (remember when we only used cell phones to make phone calls.)
     I was reading something interesting in 1 Corinthians 7 (the Message) "don't complicate your lives unnecessarily.  Keep it simple--in marriage, grief, joy, whatever.  Even in ordinary things--your daily routines of shopping, and so on.  Deal as sparingly as possible with things the world thrusts on you.  This world you see is on its way out.  I want you to live as free of complications as possible."
     I find myself asking what seems to be an obvious question, "how complicated could life have been 2,000 years ago?"  They didn't have to check facebook 12 times a day.  They didn't have to tweet or update their blog.  How were they tempted to complicate their lives?  "Man I sure wish I had a better donkey."  "If only I had 1 more yoke of oxen."   But I realized Paul must have written this because complicating our lives obviously isn't a problem unique to our generation.
     So I encourage you with Paul's words: "Deal as sparingly as possible with the things the world thrusts on you."  I recently made the mistake of watching multiple episodes of the show "Hoarders" on A&E.  Boy that will sure motivate you to simplify your life and clean your house.  I started to clean parts of our house that had been unkempt since we moved in.  I got rid of boxes and boxes of unnecessary stuff.  Stuff that sure seemed necessary at the time I acquired it.
     Why does God's word encourage us to avoid complicating our lives?  Because I think the more we surround ourselves with unnecessary stuff and noise, the more we can ignore our need for God.  

     So the questions I leave you with today are:
          What's complicating your life?  Is it necessary? 
          Is it possible that eliminating some of the stuff and noise in your life could actually bring you closer to God?