Top o’ the Mornin’ to Ya!
TLDR: Spencer asked if following God was easier in Bible times. Samuel’s story reveals that simplicity isn’t about circumstances—it’s about singular focus on seeking first the Kingdom of God.
Spencer and I have been reading through the book of Samuel together after watching a movie about David. Pretty solid film—didn’t see anything grossly out of alignment with Scripture, though obviously there’s some poetic license involved. But it sparked something in my son that I think many of us wrestle with as Christian men.
We were reading the story where young Samuel is sleeping in the temple with Eli, the aging priest whose sons had become corrupt. Three times, God calls Samuel’s name. Three times, Samuel runs to Eli thinking the old priest needs something. Finally, Eli realizes what’s happening—God is speaking directly to this young boy. He instructs Samuel how to respond: “Yes, Lord, I am here. I am ready.”
After we finished reading, Spencer said something just made me smile with joy: “Things seem so much easier back then.” He was talking about Samuel serving in the temple, about the simplicity of life without our modern distractions. Just you, your team, and God. No phones buzzing, no emails demanding attention, no constant noise competing for your focus.
And I get it. Don’t you feel that sometimes? Like if you could just escape to a simpler time, it would be easier to seek first the Kingdom of God? Easier to keep your eye on the Lord without all this stuff pulling at you?
But here’s where the conversation got really interesting. A few moments later, the kids asked where Samuel came from. And that’s when we remembered his backstory—his mother Hannah couldn’t have children. She begged God for a son, weeping in the temple. God answered her prayer, and she’d made a vow: if God gave her a son, she would dedicate him to the Lord’s service.
So Hannah raised Samuel until he was about seven years old, then brought him to live at the temple. Permanently. As a father, I can’t even imagine that. Living through my wife’s perspective on that—raising your boy for seven years and then giving him to the church to serve for life? That wasn’t simple at all. That was one of the hardest sacrifices imaginable.
Before Samuel’s dedication, Hannah’s life wasn’t simple—it was filled with the agony of barrenness and the ache of unfulfilled longing. After his dedication, her life wasn’t simple—it was marked by the sacrifice of raising her son from a distance. And Samuel’s own life? He became the prophet who anointed the first two kings of Israel. He stood between God and an entire nation. Nothing simple about that calling.
So was life really simpler back then? Or is my son—and maybe all of us—confusing simplicity with singular focus?
Here’s what I’ve been wrestling with: a couple days ago, I realized I was serving two masters—money and God. And I came back to that verse that keeps challenging me: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you.” Those times in my life when things felt simple, when everything seemed to line up, I wasn’t living in simpler circumstances. I was focused on one thing. Granted, sometimes it was the wrong thing, but it was one thing, and that singular focus created clarity.
The problem isn’t that we live in complicated times. The problem is that we’re trying to seek first about seventeen different things simultaneously. We’re serving multiple masters. We’re splitting our focus between our careers, our bank accounts, our comfort, our reputation, and somewhere in that mix, we’re trying to fit God in too.
But seeking first the Kingdom of God doesn’t mean life gets easier. It means life gets focused. Hannah’s sacrifice wasn’t easy—it was focused. Samuel’s calling wasn’t simple—it was singular. David’s life as king wasn’t uncomplicated—but when he kept his eye on the Lord, he knew what mattered most.
The simplicity we’re longing for isn’t found in having fewer things to do or fewer responsibilities to manage. It’s found in knowing what we’re really seeking. It’s found in alignment. When you’re seeking first the Kingdom of God, everything else falls into its proper place. Not because life becomes simple, but because you become focused.
I’m pretty confident in this: my faith says that when I get this alignment right—when I truly seek first His Kingdom—complete fulfillment follows. Not because my circumstances change, but because I’m finally pursuing the one thing that actually satisfies.
So maybe the question isn’t “How can I simplify my life?” Maybe the real question is “What am I really seeking first?” Because from the lips of babes comes wisdom—my son saw something true. But the answer isn’t to go back in time. The answer is to move forward with singular focus.
What are you seeking first today?
You be blessed!
