Does it Need to be This Complicated?

Saturday morning, May 24, 2008
Have any of you noticed how complicated the US government can make, even the simplest of things? The meaning of “red tape” is becoming increasing clear, to say the least. I never will forget the letter my mother received from a particular government agency (long after they had been duly notified of her death) telling her they agreed with her conclusion that she no longer needed to pay the amount in question. Go figure! I have never written many letters to dead folk (actually none!) but I seriously doubt that those who have ever received a response. I mean you would think the government would let you alone after you are dead.
Maybe the problem is with the forms they send for the likes of you and me to complete. It wouldn’t be so bad, if the information on the forms didn’t determine some major piece of the rest of our lives, but most of the time it does. For me, most recently it has been Social Security forms and Medicare forms. Gosh, I paid into Social Security for 50 years (still do, for that matter!), so it was rather important to me that I completed the forms correctly, when it came time for me to begin receiving my “benefits”. Then there was Medicare Part A, and now it is Part B and Part D. If I had the energy, I would explain to you what I have been through to get these activated (I’m still not sure the are!). All I know is this: I am paying higher monthly premiums, now that I have these “benefits,” than I was before I had them. Maybe I should have majored in Government Logic!
Don’t lose me but I want to take a brief detour. The other day (Thursday to be exact), I was having a computer problem, so I called the tech support (what a novel idea!) in the hopes that he/she could solve my problem. After about ten minutes of my attempting to translate a foreign language, I finally asked, “Where are you?” and she said, “the Philippines.” I just hung up! I knew that it would be much less complicated for me to go to computer fixin’ school than to resolve my problem with someone on the other side of the world, who can’t even speak English, much less Georgia English. Don’t we have enough English speaking people, who actually own a computer and live somewhere within a hundred mile radius, that companies can hire to be their “tech support”? Apparently not!
Anyway, this experience reminded me of my dealings with the US government. I dare you to call either the Social Security Administration or the Medicare Office and ask a simple question (if you can get anyone to answer!), one like, “How do you spell “Medicare” or even better, “How much will my Social Security check be, if I ever get one?” and see if you can get a straight answer. Try asking this one: “What are the advantages of my purchasing Medicare Part D?” I will (almost) promise that you will hang up before you get a sensible answer, if you get on at all. I will guarantee you that you will not get the same answer from two different people, not even on how to spell Medicare!
Now for my point: the church has done the same thing with the gospel. Jesus made it so simple that even a child can grasp it and love Him, but the church has chosen sides, divided ranks, and made the simplest of messages so complicated that, well, that it is very difficult (if not impossible) to get a straight answer from anyone, and to be sure, one cannot get the same answer to any question from two different believers. It leaves many feeling about Christianity the same way I have felt about Social Security and Medicare—is it really possible for this to become a reality for me?
Jesus made it very simple: Love Me and love one another; but, then, that might not be as simple as it sounds! Even so, it is much (very much) simpler than trying to follow some illusive system of rules and attempting to understand systemic theology.