John Calvin said we should "almost forget ourselves and in surely neglecting all selfish aspects." This idea became very clear when I thought about my exercise watching TV and ads. For one week, I saw how hard the world tries to change my mind and attitude. This showed me deep lessons about simplicity and solitude.
Ads constantly push for self-focus and wanting more. Every commercial works against simplicity. They tell me my worth comes from what I buy, that happiness is a product upgrade, and my identity is tied to what I own. My exercise proved that simplicity isn't just about not buying things. It's the deep choice to stop the craving that media builds in me. By seeing the world’s push for complexity, I realized simplicity means emptying myself, which is exactly what Calvin asks us to do.
Solitude is the necessary cure for all the media’s loud distractions. The constant talking and fake drama make it hard to pay quiet attention to God. Solitude gives me the spiritual space to forget the worldly me, the me shaped by trends and ads, and focus on my true identity in Christ. It’s the needed practice of quieting the crowd so that the Holy Spirit can speak clearly.
Living long-term with simplicity and solitude would be key to my work as a Wesleyan pastor. These practices protect me and give me strength. They protect me from getting burned out and from judging ministry success by cultural rules. They keep me grounded in God's sufficiency. Most importantly, they give me the strength to preach a real, counter-cultural Gospel. They let me live out a simple faith that shows a better way than the focus on things I saw in the media, offering a clearer path to Christ for my church.
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