Luke 3 - Simple Action

John the Baptist begins his ministry. He's out in the desert baptizing people and telling them they aren't special just because they are children of Abraham. His message comes across as very harsh. He gets even more in their faces when he says the axe will be taken to the root of every tree that doesn't produce fruit. What should we do, they ask?

John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."

Tax collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?"

"Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told them.

Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?"

He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely—be content with your pay."

In essence, John calls them to change their actions. If you are sinning, cut it out. If you aren't doing good, start. Too many times we look at ourselves and say, "What now God? Where do you want me to go, what do you want me to do?" We complicate things that should be easy. If we're sinning, we should stop. If we aren't serving others, we should start.