For The Simple

Psalms 119:130 The entrance of Your words gives light, it gives understanding to the simple.

Let's face it, in the Hebrew Scriptures that Jesus had in mind, being simple is not really a good thing. In the Psalms and Proverbs, a simple person is kind of like a fool or a dummy. In our age, being a dummy used to be really bad, now not so much. In fact, there is an abundance of information available for dummies. Seems like a dummy can even make a killing on the stock market or start a successful business. You name it, dummies can do it. Admitting you are a dummy is not all that bad. Similarly, being simple in our day and age is no longer such a bad thing; it is in fact a desirable lifestyle. And in the New Covenant Scriptures, believers are called to live with simple devotion to Jesus. The Apostle Paul mentions to the Corinthians that the minds of New Covenant believers should be marked by a simplicity of Jesus.

So we have a bit of a contradiction. A Proverbs simple person is not so good, the kind of person who lacks understanding. The Proverbs simple are the bad kind of naive, silly enough to be easily seduced, easily led astray, happily marching off to their own destruction. A New Covenant simple person on the other hand is pretty awesome, the uncluttered kind of person who values the worth of Jesus above all else. The New Covenant simple are the kind who walk in undistracted devotion to Jesus. Their eyes have been opened to the glory and majesty of the One whose eyes are a flame of fire, whose face shines like the sun in its full strength.

So is being simple good or bad? Yes. Both. But how can that be? How can both be true? Simple. Truth is a person, the glorious Person of Jesus. Truth is not a logical proposition nor is it an airtight philosophical system. Truth is the universal consciousness, the infinite, personal, creator God, the most elevated of the elevated consciousnesses, the most enlightened of the enlightened ones. I love those new-agey sounding terms! I especially love knowing that His name is Jesus!

Knowing that truth is a Person, leads us to a handy wisdom key. But I hate wisdom keys. Talking about wisdom keys makes you think of Jesus in a "think and grow rich" or "how to win friends and influence people" kind of way. It sort of tempts you to visualize Jesus doing public relations and coming up with a genius marketing plan.

So instead of a wisdom key, knowing that truth is a Person leads us to a view of the scriptures and even life itself that allows for reconciliation between two disagreeable statements. What is that view? Parallelism. Note that I'm not really talking about the literary parallelism of the poetry of the Hebrew scriptures here. It is parallel thinking, knowing that two streams of thought, seemingly contradictory, can both be "true" at the same time, where "true" with a small "t" means an accurate description of reality. Two statements that appear to contradict each other, at least to our peanut sized brain and pigeon holed eyes, can both be an accurate description of reality. Parallelism is a recognition that surface level inconsistencies exist in the visible world, uncomfortable incongruities that can only be resolved by seeing the Lord Jesus above all else. Only the Person of Jesus is the grand unified fact of all reality.

What is meant by parallelism? Parallelism is hinted at by verses of scripture that appear to say opposing things. For example, Proverbs 26:4 - 5 says, "Do not answer a fool according to his folly lest you also be like him. Answer a fool according to his folly lest he be wise in his own eyes." Two verses, two opposite commands. The understanding comes from picking up the context implied by the other words in the verse, but two parallel universes nonetheless. In one world the fool shouldn't be answered, in another world the fool should be answered. As another example, Galatians chapter 6 verse 2 and then verse 5 says, "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ...For each one shall bear his own load." Another short section of scripture with two seemingly contradictory commands. In one world we bear one another's burdens, but in another parallel universe each person bears their own load.

Those are two very simple examples of course. They are not too difficult to understand by examining the context of the seemingly opposing verses. But they do illustrate the point that the scriptures contain statements that appear to be contradictory while both being true at the same time. Parallelism--only resolvable in the Person of Jesus.

Back to our verse: the entrance of the Word of God giving light, giving understanding to the simple. What kind of simple are we going to talk about? Both kinds. And who are we talking about? Us. We are them. We are both kinds of simple at the same time, the Proverbs foolish simple and the New Covenant Jesus simple. Yes we are His Body, His Bride, the dwelling place of the God in the Spirit, the fullness of Him who fills everything, the ones through whom the multifaceted wisdom of God will be displayed. And yet we are also the Galatians about whom Paul lamented, "You foolish people, who has bewitched you?" We are the Colossians about whom Paul wondered, "Why do you submit yourselves to ceremonial rules?" We are the Corinthians about whom Paul sarcastically states, "You tolerate being enslaved, being devoured, being taken advantage of; you allow folks to exalt themselves over you; you even put up with being smacked around on the face!" And sadly enough we are those about whom the Lord Jesus Himself said, "You have left your first love. You tolerate Jezebel, who leads my servants astray." Yes we live in two parallel worlds at the same time. We have met the foolish simple and it is us. Get used to it.

From a longer historical perspective, it appears to me that the Body of Messiah has, like a naive and witless youth, been led astray, been seduced. Proverbs chapter seven gives us the overview of a seduction. It's an exhausting mix of religious sounding language (She has peace offerings, she's paid vows), vainglorious flattery (She came to meet you, to seek your face, its all about you!), relentless pursuit (Lurking on every corner, she's everywhere!), and enticing offers of unique, you-might-never-get-this-chance-again pleasures (She has colored colorings, spicy spices, and spread beds). All targeting the poor boy whose understanding tank is empty.

Proverbs 7:7-18
And saw among the simple, I perceived among the youths, a young man devoid of understanding, passing along the street near her corner; And he took the path to her house. In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night. And there a woman met him, with the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart. She was loud and rebellious, her feet would not stay at home. At times she was outside, at times in the open square, lurking at every corner. So she caught him and kissed him; With an impudent face she said to him: "I have peace offerings with me; Today I have paid my vows. So I came out to meet you, diligently to seek your face, and I have found you. I have spread my bed with tapestry, colored coverings of Egyptian linen. I have perfumed my bed With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love until morning; Let us delight ourselves with love.

Is it incorrect to see ourselves in that narrative? I don't think so. I hear a genuine question from the Holy Spirit to Galatians everywhere, "How is it that you turn back to weak and worthless worldly principles? You seem to want to be enslaved all over again." I hear a valid concern from Pauls everywhere, "I fear for you that perhaps I have labored over you in vain." I sense an open question from the Master Himself, "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith in the earth?" But even though the question is open, at the same time the case is closed--we know there is a guarantee of His inheritance. We know He has chosen ahead of time that there are people from every tribe and tongue who are conformed to the image of Messiah, who are the Bride.

But we remain in need for the Word to give us light, to give us understanding. Like a silly young man devoid of understanding, the Body of Messiah has been taking its fill of counterfeit love. It has embraced things that the Master Himself said "shall not be so among you." Proverbs chapter nine highlights an interesting parallelism of two voices calling out to the simple, two worlds wooing the hearer, two dramatically different outcomes, but both starting with the same single phrase, "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here."

The foolish woman, calling out to the foolish simple:

Proverbs 9:14 - 18:
A foolish woman is clamorous; she is simple, and knows nothing. For she sits at the door of her house, on a seat by the highest places of the city, to call to those who pass by, who go straight on their way: "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here"; and as for him who lacks understanding, she says to him, "Stolen water is sweet, And bread eaten in secret is pleasant." But he does not know that the dead are there.

The simple are also being wooed by a different voice, the Wisdom of God.

Proverbs 9:1 - 6:
Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn out her seven pillars; she has slaughtered her meat, she has mixed her wine, she has also furnished her table. She has sent out her maidens, she cries out from the highest places of the city, "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!" As for him who lacks understanding, she says to him, "Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Forsake foolishness and live, and go in the way of understanding.

On one hand the foolish simple are seduced by a voice promising fulfillment and pleasure. On the other hand, the Wisdom of God calls out with the same cry, same words: "Hey simple, turn in here." On the one hand, having been seduced by counterfeit love wrapped in religious sounding language, the simple end up in the company of death. On the other hand, partaking in the bread and wine of the true Wisdom of the Creator, the simple end up in the sweetness of life. The call of death sounds oh so close to the call of life. But Wisdom is the call of the Creator, the cosmic Artist, the one whose fingerprints are all over the world that sparkles with color and beauty, the one who says, "I made you, you are my image. You sparkle with My beauty." Wisdom calls out to those addicted to stolen sweet water and secret bread, to those perhaps only just now realizing the slowly percolating stench of death: eat my bread and drink my wine and live.

We are the foolish simple, hearing the call of the Creator, beginning to partake of the true bread and wine, the true feast, beginning to turn away from the deadly embrace of counterfeit love. The opening of His Word gives light, it gives us understanding, it gives us the eye opening awareness to distinguish between death and life. At the same time we are the simple of the New Covenant, the Jesus simple, those who are hear the same call, "Hey you simple, turn in here." We do see in our day and age the insatiable appetite for more that comes from having tasted the real Bread of Life, the yearning that comes from having entered into the simplicity of Jesus. We are the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Jesus. We are the foolish simple yet we are also the Jesus simple. His word is light and understanding for the simple.