The Dead End of Oversimplification

During an English class in high school, "KISS" was a principle regularly emphasised:  "Keep It Simple, Stupid!"  It was a funny reminder of our purpose in writing, to clearly and concisely communicate imagery and ideas to a reader.  We were taught to "keep the main thing the main thing" without seeing writing as an opportunity to show how intelligent or clever we were.  For all the great benefits of simplicity, however, we must be aware of the risk of oversimplification.  Stripping away the paint from a framed canvas does not leave a viewer with the impression the painter intended.  Oversimplification can lead to improper emphasis, misunderstandings and even worse--a smug contentment of knowledge founded upon ignorance.  In biblical and spiritual matters the dangers of oversimplification are very real.

I have heard it said there are always "two sides to a story" but the truth reaches beyond this assertion:  there is his story, her story, what I think after hearing the stories, and the reality only God knows.  Man has been designed by God with limits of understanding, memory and powers of observation.  We must be aware of our filters, bias and opinions which colour our interpretations of what we hear and see.  Perhaps due to our limitations, we regularly embrace an "either or" mentality, to stuff entire people into boxes where they are labelled generally under one banner:  Boomer, Millennial, feminist, vegan, Christian, gay, hipster, social-justice warrior, etc.  The reality is when we actually take the time to know, understand and walk in love towards each other the boundaries we erect to contain a person to our surprise are knocked down.

This is also true concerning the Bible and our understanding of it.  A great disservice is done to new believers to oversimplify terms in an attempt to be relevant or to show how simple things are.  Nothing about life is simple.  Take any hobby you have embraced and it will not take long before the depth to where it leads becomes overwhelming.  I used to enjoy 10-pin bowling for fun, and after I took it as a university course my eyes were opened to a whole new world of systems, equipment, oil patterns and ball-drilling placements I never imagined.  I grew to realise what passed as a winning score with friends at a birthday party was an embarrassment as a league average.  The concept of knocking over 10 pins grouped together by rolling a ball is very simple, but being able to do it over and over consistently with changing conditions over two lanes under pressure is not easy at all.

The Gospel is simple enough for a child to understand and receive it joyfully, but it is complex and challenging to walk in the light of it every day.  Christians are called to embrace theology, the study of the nature of God and doctrinal beliefs from scripture.  Oversimplifying words like "justification" or "sanctification" can strip them of meaning and significance to those who would greatly benefit from learning those definitions.  Careful observation of the Bible will provoke all kinds of questions which, if answered from the scripture, will be most fruitful to cause believers to grow to maturity.  Even for questions we can answer it is good to remember there remains more to explain and understand than what we currently know.  In our answering questions and considering the explanations of others we must remain vigilant to avoid the pitfall of oversimplification, to content ourselves with a sliver of truth and tout it as most important when there is more to know, believe and walk in.

A humble perspective and a teachable heart is vital to our spiritual growth and maturity.  Oversimplification of a text and interpretation is a dead end which leads to us cutting ourselves off from new avenues and applications to God's truth.  Limiting the meaning of a passage to only what we currently understand can strangle the life out of it.  The truth God reveals in His word does not shift and change, but our ability to recognise and connect it to our own lives and situations ought to expand.  Thus as we grow in wisdom and understanding instead of being proud of how much we know we will be humbled by how much we have yet to learn.