Dancing Fountains Gives Me the Shakers

Celine Dion's voice was singing the theme from the film "Titanic" in the background as the smoke rose from the water and the close to 60 fountains of water shot into the night air. Welcome to the football size "man made" lake in front of the huge, ostentatious and ornate Bellogio Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. Lighted by dozens of spot lights, the fountains "danced" to the music of several well orchestrated contemporary songs. I watched with amazement at what I was seeing.
As the aquatic performance was coming to an end, the music changed for the "grand finale." The melody sounded strangely familiar....and as I thought about it, strangely out of place! While the composition was only instrumental, I remembered the words - "'Tis a Gift to be Simple'." It is a hymn of the Shaker community - a Christian religious sect which flourished in the late 18th and 19th centuries.
The Shakers lived by the motto "keep it simple." They stored up their treasures in heaven and worried little about acquiring the material things of this world. (If you don't believe me, check out the Shaker historic site in Massachusetts.}
The Bellogio - grandiose, over the top, a placed filled with frenetic seekers of easily made material wealth - few with smiles on their faces......the Shakers - humble, calm souled people who did keep it simple.
My concern is that we are more impressed by the big and bold rather than the simple gifts that we have received God's hand. Jesus would probably say that if we chase after treasures on earth we will find a sinking feeling in our souls. When it comes to bringing our Spiritual lives into sync with Christ's call to us, let us do more than just "rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic!"

Bob