Simplify

I recently heard an interview with NBA superstar Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. In it, the reporter was talking with Bryant about his knack for making the game-winning shot in extremely high-pressure situations. She asked, basically, how he did it. How he was able to be so deliberate in such pressure-packed moments. His answer was that he tried to simplify the situation. “You only have to make one shot, “Bryant said. “You only have to make one shot.” One shot. That is the essence of simplifying a difficult situation. It isn’t about the standings or the game situation or the fans screaming or the coaches yelling instructions or the expectations of teammates who are depending on you. “You only have to make one shot.” Simplify.

I like that. Sometimes we compound our challenges in life by making them larger than the task at hand. In a recent conversation with a friend facing an extraordinary pile of difficulties, I encouraged him to view the mass of problems like a pyramid. “Start at the top, take the issues one at a time, and work your way down.” Simplify. We can’t do it all at one time—and when facing complex and weighty problems we can’t solve them all in the next minute. We need to simplify—to break the challenge into essentials and then handle the essentials one by one.

Jesus even spoke to this problem. Recognizing that life is too big for us, and the challenges of life can be both overwhelming and suffocating, Jesus urged us to take matters in hand by simplifying. He said, “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34) This was His wise conclusion to an extended teaching section on the debilitating power of worry. Worry doesn’t accomplish anything positive—it just adds to the sense that we are drowning under the waves of trouble we are facing. We have to take things as they come—and trust Him for the wisdom to respond properly.

If you feel overwhelmed by the trials of life, take a second look. It may be that the very best thing you can do is simplify. Do what you can today—entrust the rest to Him. As Jesus said, “Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Bill Crowder, Sport Spectrum Chaplain