Simple Life or Full Life?

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By Cara Davis

In the years since its launch about six years ago, Real Simple, the magazine nearly every woman you know subscribes to, has grown to more than 1,900,000 readers. Breaking all the "rules" of other magazines it shares shelf space with, Real Simple always features a simple photographic image, soft colors and little text but the masthead. It's a visual oasis from the cluttered newsstand images of half-clothed thin bodies, large clunky headlines and bright colors. The stories found in Real Simple are as... um... simple as picking out a good pair of house shoes to organizing a home office or making easy desserts from yellow cake mixes.

Why does the message and look of Real Simple connect with and draw readers away from 20 other magazines with a proven look and editorial appeal to the same demographic? The answer is, again, simple. People are looking for breathing space in their cluttered and complicated lives - in fact, they're desperate for it.

But although people are looking for escape, and finding it (everywhere from yoga to the movies to extreme sports), most are only finding a temporary fix. After all, no one can actually spend 24 hours sipping lemonade and making potholders. We've got to work. We've got to put in overtime. We've got to take the kids to soccer and gymnastics. We've got to grab dinner on the run - every night. Then we've got to work some more to upgrade our cars, cell phones and homes.

The sociopolitical revolution of the '60s brought with it the expectation of being happy and demanding that right. Americans - including Christian Americans - tend to make their money, housing, cars and clothes the focus of their pursuit of happiness. And while we live such blessed lives materially, so many of us have broken homes and a meager spiritual commitment. I wonder if what we call happiness settles for less than what Jesus came to give us: full life (John 10:10).

While the "simplicity" counterculture is touting the virtues of a life lived simply, the reason it fails to fulfill people's lives is because it lacks an eternal perspective. That fact is our life here does count toward something eternal. Divorcing ourselves from the ebb and flow of everyday life isn't going to solve our problems or alleviate our stress. We were created for more than this life. That subconscious hunger will constantly be searching for satisfaction.

That's where you come in. As a minister, the perspective on living life that you have to offer can be much more powerful than the one they find in Real Simple or any other source. But before you can help others see this truth, ask yourself: Am I pursuing happiness or fullness? An abundant life may be anything but simple, but it's the only kind worth living. Pass it on.