It’s a sign of the times and how far we’ve taken things that we are trying to find our way back to the simple. Not less robust or dumber, but less complicated. We’re striving for a more analog lifestyle. A quieter mental state. An uncluttered workspace. Less creature comforts. And we’re heeding the call to do harder things. And this isn’t a trend. Well, not completely. Outside of the inevitable hipster need to be “different” and “unique,” the average Joe is seeking out a handmade, homemade, focused, intentional, present - even traditional - way of life. And no, I’m not talking about the “trad” trend. I’m not talking about people cosplaying “Little House on the Prairie” for clicks and clout. I’m talking about those people who are being pulled into being unintentionally authentic in the most sincere way. And it’s permeating every facet of life, except one.
Faith.
Many Christians think they want a more intellectual faith, never mind how cluttered it gets. They see their overflowing, unread bookshelves of classic and modern Christian thinkers as a statement of piety more than the chaos of the mind they actually represent. They collect books as they scroll through TikTok, claiming never to have enough time to read all of them, all the while doomscrolling through various Christian Booktuber and -tokker accounts, lusting - salivating - over every recommendation. Yeah, I know, I’m describing a bunch of Christian white girls with that illustration, so let’s talk directly to the men who are reading this.
You men collect and discuss Chesterton and Lewis like y’all are homies, discussing the breadth and depth of their theology, philosophy, and insights, while you haven’t touched your Bible on a weekday since last Lent. Speaking of, it’s you same dudes who think Lent is a good thing, not a pointless endeavor unless it produces actual, lasting change. And you think it’s a good thing because your pastor said so, cuz him and his priest buddy have coffee once a week and realized that Catholics and Protestants have more in common than naysayers like me would have you believe. It’s because of those darn “non-essentials,” isn’t it? I knew it! Nah, broseph. You just don’t read your Bible.
And that’s the root of the problem.
Men don’t read their Bibles.
Y’all would rather read everything ever written about the Bible, by those who “love” the Bible, or allegories for the Bible, than the actual Bible itself. And it’s because you’ve been led to believe it’s hard to read, hard to “get,” and hard to “get into.” You were told “it’s got some solid wisdom, a ton of boring genealogies, and even more wildly outdated opinions written by people who were mostly inspired by God but sprinkled in their own ideas about women, children, and what should or shouldn’t go on inside the bedroom. And if that’s not bad enough, man, wait until you find out who Satan actually was!”
Yeah, I’ve heard those retards claim to smell the color nine, too. And you know what they all have in common? They read their Bibles the least. What they don’t realize is that they’ve not only cluttered up their own faith, but they’ve managed to clutter up yours and a whole bunch of others’. It’s a travesty. And yet, we can remedy it.
“How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You. Blessed are You, O Lord; Teach me Your statutes. With my lips I have told of All the ordinances of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts And regard Your ways. I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word.”
Psalms 119:9-16 NASB1995
King David is very well-known at this point, and Psalm 119 isn’t really ever out of the Christian discourse, but we forget what kind of faith David had. Sure, we know he had the faith to kill a giant, the faith to lead Israel, and the faith to trust he’d see his bastard son someday. And anyone who’s read the Psalms or about his life in Samuel and Kings knows not to call his faith anything but honest, robust, humble, confident, passionate, and intellectual. He’s a warrior and a poet, a philosopher and a man of the people, a king and a servant, an intellectual and a simple believer. But the modern Christian today somehow calls all of those things contradictions rather than unifiers that reside in every heart of a godly man. A godly man has all of those things in spades and has the God-given wisdom to know when to lean more into some than others. And that’s what David did, even with all of his flaws. We can see where David went wrong when he cluttered up his life. What might have happened if he had cluttered his faith? A different kind of adultery.
And that’s what a cluttered faith is: adultery. It’s an open relationship with God’s Word. Because you don’t hold the Bible as complete, inspired, and inerrant, you seek to fill the void with other voices and words. The only remedy to this is repentance, correction, and restoration to an ordered, decluttered faith.
“You have ordained Your precepts, That we should keep them diligently.”
Psalms 119:4 NASB1995
If God’s Word was enough for David, the man after God’s own heart(Acts 13.22), is it not enough for you? If “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work”(2 Timothy 3:16-17 NASB1995), are you the exception? If Jesus used scripture to combat the temptation of Satan in the desert, is it not just as powerful for you in times of oppression?
What about the Bible is so insufficient that you need everyone else to add to its truth? Or is it your sinful heart that says, “I know better. There’s more I need.” If you continue down that road, you’re going to start thinking you have to work to keep your salvation, too. The same God that said, “…My grace is sufficient for you…”(2 Corinthians 12:9 NASB1995) is the same God who breathed the words of scripture. And that God is not insufficient, perfectly or otherwise. He is sufficient, which means what He says is sufficient. In fact, it’s all we need for our faith.
Declutter your faith, my friend. You don’t have to know everything to know the God of everything, who gave you everything, and who wants to give you more. All you have to do is strip away the noise, get rid of the clutter, repent of your unfaithfulness. Let Him who is more than enough be more than enough. You don’t need anyone else. You need Him. And He wrote you a beautiful love letter waiting to be read and cherished. It’s full of adventure, romance, treasure, war, peace, philosophy, monsters, demons, heroes, and a Savior who offers grace upon grace upon grace upon grace.
What more could you ask for? What more do you need? You’ve not known faith, my friend. Not yet. But you can.
Pro-tips:
If you can only read one thing a day, make sure it’s the Bible. And read it before anything else.
If you have time to read anything else, only read what makes you want to read the Bible more. For example, Spurgeon’s “The Golden Alphabet” will make you want to read Psalm 119 over and over and over again. His passion for that psalm is palpable and contagious.
And if you have time to read or consume other content, only consume edifying content. “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”(Philippians 4:8 NASB1995)
Repeat tips 1-3
These tips will nearly ensure your faith declutters, and at speed, especially if you go all in.
Is there still room for studying commentaries, thinkers, and such? Of course. But not to make your faith more robust. The foundation for those writings about the Bible is the Bible itself. So it’s only worthwhile to study that material if it makes you want to study the source material, which is the second pro-tip above. If their material makes you want to read more of their writing and watch more of their content, that defeats the purpose of making your faith more robust. It makes you want to consume their words and not God’s, which brings you back to an open relationship. So be conservative with what you read outside of the Bible, and that includes what I write. If you find yourself wanting to read what I write about the Bible and godly living more than the Bible itself, don’t read what I write. I hope my writing makes you want to read God’s Word more. Especially since much of it tells you to read more of God’s Word, so tread carefully with what you consume. Err on the side of only consuming what God wrote for you. Everything else can wait or be completely ignored. Don’t clutter up your life or your faith. A simple, decluttered life of faith doesn’t mean dumb or not robust. It means you’ve prioritized God. And that’s the point.
Be faithful,
Alan
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