“A THEOLOGICAL K.I.S.S.”
MARK 12:28-34

28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”
29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him.
33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Are you familiar with the K.I.S.S. Principle? When it comes to the K.I.S.S. Principal the K.I.S.S stands for “Keep it simple silly!” The last word is supposed to be stupid but that sounds a little insulting. So, I change the saying to “Keep it simple silly!” It’s good advice even though it isn’t always easy to follow that advice.

Unfortunately, we sometimes make things more complicated than they need to be. Take, for example, the homeowner who had a clogged drain. The homeowner solved the problem by pouring some hydrochloric acid down the clogged drain. Later on though he began to wonder if the acid might be harmful to the cast iron pipes. So, he wrote a letter to the company that made the cast iron pipes and asked them. A week or so later the company sent him the following reply, “Dear Sir: The effect of such acid upon ferrous-constructed material will most definitely have a deleterious effect.” The homeowner wrote back and said he was relieved to know he wasn’t doing that might be harmful to the pipes. When the company received that letter it sent the homeowner the following reply, “Dear Sir, We fear that there may have been some miscommunication in our previous correspondence. Acid, of that propensity and potency when applied to a cast iron pipe is certain to have dubious results. Therefore, please desist from your current practices.” Once again the homeowner wrote back and said he was relieved to know that he wasn’t doing anything that might be harmful to the pipes. When the company received that letter it sent the following reply and stated in all capital letters, “DON’T USE ACID! IT WILL RUST THE HECK OUT OF YOUR PIPES!”

Why is it that we make things so complicated? Jesus wasn’t one to make things complicated. Jesus liked to keep things simple. You can see that in the conversation that he had with that scribe. When the scribe asked Jesus which was the most important of all the commandments Jesus gave him a simple answer. Jesus basically gave him a theological version of the K.I.S.S. Principle. Which is the most important of all the commandments? Jesus said, “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”


Believe it or not, what Jesus did with that answer was take all 616 commandments from the Old Testament and boil them down to a single Great Commandment!

As far as Jesus was concerned the purpose of life is to let God love you and for you to love others the way God loves you. You can’t make it any simpler than that!

Life can be simple! Now I may be wrong but I think that’s what a lot of people want these days. How about you? Do you ever wish your life was a little less complicated? Do you ever find yourself stressed out and wondering does it really have to be like this? The desire for a simpler life can be seen in a short essay that I saw some time ago. The essay is called “Advice From A Dog.” It goes like this:

If a dog was you teacher you would learn stuff like:
When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
Practice obedience and be sure to take naps.
Stretch before rising.
Run, romp, and play daily.
Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.
On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the guilt thing and pout…
Run right back and make friends.
Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.
Be Loyal. Never pretend to be something you're not.
If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
And the most important thing of all…
When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.

You could call that the dog’s version of the K.I.S.S. Principle. In some ways it’s a lot like the theological version of the K.I.S.S. Principle. Life doesn’t have to be complicated. Jesus said that it all comes down to one simple rule. Let God love you and love others the way God love you.

So, if life really come down to that one simple rule why do we make it so complicated?
The answer to that question is probably different for different people. Sometimes having a complicated life makes you feel important. If you’re always running from this appointment to that meeting and juggling six different commitments at the same time it must mean you’re an important person. Right? Sometimes having a complicated life means you don’t have to face something that’s painful or frightening. When you’re constantly on the go you don’t have to think about the marriage that’s in trouble or your son who’s flunking out of college or the possibility that you may be the next person in your office to loose your job.
Your life can also become complicated when you think it’s your job to make everything perfect and to make sure that everyone around you is happy. Then there’s the biggest reason why your life can become complicated. It happens when you buy into the American Dream that says happiness will only be found in the things that you buy. When that happens you spend your life working and working and working so you can fill your days with bigger and better toys and fill your house with the latest gadgets and gizmos. Before you know it your life revolves around those things that will eventually wear out and wear you out.

The French have a story about a rich man who lived in a castle and spent all his days counting his gold. Outside his castle there was a poor cobbler who spent his days mending shoes. Every day the cobbler sang as he worked. Unfortunately, the joyful singing irritated the rich man. So, one day he decided to give the cobbler some gold coins. That meant the cobbler didn’t have to work for a while and the rich man wouldn’t have to listen to his joyful singing. The cobbler was thrilled with his good fortune. He took the coins and hid them. It wasn’t long though before he began to worry about the coins. So, he went back to see if they were still there. Then he began to worry that someone might have seen him checking on the coins. So, he moved the coins to another hiding place. It wasn’t long though before the cobbler began to worry that the new hiding place might not be safe. So, he kept moving the coins and hiding them and worrying and hiding them again. One day as the cobbler was running here and there to find a new hiding place for his coins he suddenly realized that he wasn’t singing any more. So, he went back to the rich man. “Here,” the cobbler said. “Please! Take your coins back and give me back my songs!”
Let me ask you this question. When was the last time you found yourself singing a happy song while driving down the road? Has it been too long? The songs will come back when you embrace the theological K.I.S.S. Principle. The songs will come back when you let God love you and love others the way God loves you.
Many years ago an elderly missionary received a letter from his religious superiors. In the letter they informed him that they were sending him an assistant. The plan was for the assistant to learn the ropes so he could keep things going when the time came for the elderly missionary to retire. When the assistant arrived he was fresh out of seminary and eager to share his knowledge of God with the natives. So, the chief gathered his people to welcome the new assistant. After the assistant was introduced he was asked to say a few words. Because the assistant didn’t speak the natives’ language the elderly missionary was asked to translate for him. The assistant began by raising his arms. Then he said, “People, we must always remember that there is an infinite and qualitative difference between the eternal gospel and all the historical manifestations of it under the contingencies of human existence.” When he was finished the elderly missionary turned to the chief and his people and said, “Friends, he says he loves you and he’s glad he’s here.”
Life is really simple when you come right down to it. It’s all about letting God love you and loving others the way God loves you. When you embrace that theological K.I.S.S. Jesus will say the same thing to you that he said to the scribe. My child, “you are not far from the kingdom of God.” Amen.
Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes November 1, 2009