The Difference Between Simple and Easy

One of my favorite quotes of all time comes from Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., the father of the famed Supreme Court Justice.

“For the simplicity on this side of complexity, I wouldn't give you a fig," he said.

"But for the simplicity on the other side of complexity, for that I would give you anything I have.”

What does he mean? What is the “simplicity on the other side of complexity?”

It is the kind of simplicity not easily attained. While they are often confused, simple and easy do not mean the same thing.

Think of the Ten Commandments. They are simple. They are a list of ten things we should and shouldn't do.

But are they easy? No. If they were easy, we would leave in a world without murder, theft, adultery, or conflict. They are simple but not easy.

How do we tell the difference between simple and easy? Let's look at some examples.

Certain acts are easy and simple. Baking a cake from a cake mix is simple and easy. You pour out the mix, add water and eggs, stir, put in the oven, and enjoy.

Some acts can be easy but not always simple. Habits often fall into this category. Take driving, for example.

Driving is easy for many of us if we have been doing it for years. But anyone who has sat with a new teenage driver in a car knows it is not simple! It becomes easy over time.

Now the most meaningful category: Simple but not easy.

Following a diet is an example of simple but not easy. We generally know which foods are healthy and which are not. But we do not have an easy time sticking to them.

A life of faith is simple but not easy: Do Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly with thy God. (Micah 6:8) That is simple, but it is not easy.

Alas, today we are often tempted by easy spirituality. Say this prayer or take this vacation and you'll feel closer to God. But authentic faith is not easy. It is simple.

So can we make it easier? The only way is by developing consistency and wisdom. Over time, we begin to see the benefits and the truth of what we do. Then deviating from them becomes uncomfortable, even unthinkable.

A long-term vegetarian, for example, would not be comfortable eating meat. A consistent church-goer could feel uncomfortable missing a Sunday morning.

In both cases, it has become easier to stick with what was once not very easy. The simple has become easy.

This is the point where we have found the simplicity on the other side of complexity.