The Zero-Step Plan to Joy

Pet peeves. We all have them. Some large, some small. Those things that niggle and annoy and get under our skin, often for no good reason, sometimes for reasons that are wise. I certainly have them. Silly ones, but others - not so much.

One of my pet peeves is any article or book that begins, “The Five Steps to...” “Ten Ways to...” “Your Perfect 3-Step Plan to...,” Given the hundreds of such books on Amazon, in bookstores, in libraries - yes, and certainly in used-book stores, I personally think that such an approach to life - or to whatever it is that we are striving for - is overly simplistic, and just doesn’t work.

We all want a quick fix. If I can make-over my personality in three easy steps - why not? If I can raise my kids better, make my husband happier, be smarter at work, have a cleaner house, or better food - all in three or five or eight easy steps, what’s the big deal? Bring it on, many say! That may be so when it comes to managing our finances, or losing those extra 10 pounds in 2 weeks. But I must draw the line somewhere - the line in the sand - which line for me scores deep and sure when it comes to matters of the soul. You see, I don’t think God works that way. In fact, I know He doesn’t.

I’ve learned that God is about process. He’s about the slow burn of transformation, the tedious melting away of the impure dross of who we once were into glowingly new creations formed by the hours of prayer, the days of seeking, the years of perfecting our imperfect souls into the reflection of who we really are - the Imago Dei - His very image.

I don’t think it’s possible to distill Kingdom wisdom into a formula compromised of “ten easy steps”. For one thing, life is far more complicated than that, and when things get tough, and difficulty and sorrow enter in, the ten-step plan goes out the window, and I’m left with the hot-mess of my anxiety, worry, sadness, anger.

I also don’t believe that to live wisely, according to the call of God upon my life, in order to attain joy, can be reduced to a simplistic formula. God is too merciful for that, and our lives far too complex to respond to a simplistic plan of steps and goals.

Jesus Himself took three years to share His wisdom for joyful living. The gospels are filled with far more than a formula for easy holiness. I suppose one could look upon the Beatitudes as a sort of formula for life, but even they fail to encompass the full wisdom of all Jesus brought to us for joyful living. That was only the Introduction to the full glory of living The Way. Trying to distill God’s glory and wisdom into “3 easy steps” cheapens the grace and mercy provided to live this life we’ve been given to His glory. It also supposes there’s a shortcut to getting this “living holy” right. And there isn’t.

God wants us to labor in the glory; to work through the process of learning just Who He is, and coming to that joyful discovery on our own. It’s in the laboring that we discover joy. It’s in the process of unwrapping Who He is that we come to that place of incredible discovery of just how great He is, and how wondrous His love is for us. And because each of us is a different reflection of Who He is, each of us has been given a particular road to walk, a different valley in which to weep, a special mountain to conquer. My journey is different than any other. A 3-step plan, or 5-step formula crafted by another based on their own journey fails to appreciate the great wisdom and diversity of God, Who crafts each heart according to His own merciful plan.

I’ll take the process that leads to the joy that flows from God’s heart any day. There is no easy formula for coming into the fire of His love. It’s a labor of love; a gift of joy. And I’ll willingly do what it takes to receive that joy - no matter the steps, no matter the difficulty. As Paul put it, Jesus Himself walked His own road of suffering “for the joy set before Him”. (Heb. 12:2, NASB)