Simplicity in spiritual life is frequently praised and rarely practiced. The complications that accumulate — additional practices, spiritual hierarchies, elaborate frameworks for approaching God — often come from genuine devotion. But Scripture suggests that simplicity is not a deficit. It is, in many respects, the goal.
The Mistaken Assumption
More elaborate spiritual practice is deeper spiritual practice. The more structure, the more stages, the more requirements, the more you are engaging seriously with God. Simplicity is for beginners. Maturity means moving into more complex spiritual territory.
What Scripture Actually Shows
Paul writes to the Corinthians about his fear that their minds would be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ, as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning (2 Corinthians 11:3). The concern is about departure from simplicity — not toward it. The New Testament model of spiritual life is relationally focused, not structurally elaborate. Jesus summarizes the entire law in two commands: love God, love neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40). The complexity of the religious system He operated within did not produce more faithful people — it produced people who knew the law thoroughly and missed its point entirely. Colossians 2:20-23 addresses spiritual complexity directly: elaborate rules and structures have an appearance of wisdom but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.
Why This Feels Hard
Complexity feels like seriousness. Simple things feel like they might not be enough. The suspicion that direct, uncomplicated relationship with God through Christ is too easy to be sufficient dies hard — even though that suspicion is exactly what Hebrews is written to address.
What Faith Looks Like Here
Spiritual simplicity is not the absence of depth — it is depth without unnecessary complication. Reading Scripture, praying honestly, gathering with other believers, loving the people God puts in front of you. These are not starting points to graduate from. They are the thing itself, practiced for a lifetime. The discomfort of simplicity is worth sitting with — because what it eventually produces is a faith that is genuinely rooted rather than elaborate and hollow.