Less Clutter Is More Life: A Biblical Approach to Minimalismনমুনা

When I first met my friend Joshua Becker, a former pastor turned Minimalism author, I was fascinated by his approach to what he chooses to own and how he decides.

He agreed to let me interview him so we could discuss some of the ties between Christianity and minimalism. Much of this plan has been extracted from that conversation we had.

And being completely honest, initially, I was scared of the idea of minimalism. I had no interest in moving my family of 5 into a tiny house with 5 forks, no TV, and having to get rid of some of my most precious possessions.

But that’s where Joshua’s approach seemed to be quite rational, reasonable, and Biblically sound.

He defines it like this: “Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from it.”

And so if our walk with Jesus is the thing we value most, then maybe we should be focusing on removing things in our lives that are distracting us from following Him.

So it isn’t defined by a set number of items. And it isn’t about getting rid of everything you love.

But rather, it can be simply about ridding ourselves of all the clutter and noise so we can better focus on the things that are truly important.

So today let’s start this discussion by looking at the life of Jesus.

Jesus lived simply and was intentional about prioritizing the important (which often was counter to what the world thought was important).

As we see in the story of the rich young ruler, his possessions were the thing that was separating him from a relationship with Jesus.

He was literally invited by Jesus himself to follow him, and because he loved his stuff too much, he (presumably) turned Him down.

And this is the power of stuff.

Our stuff, if we allow it, can separate us from God.

So today, let’s surrender our stuff to God. As we will explore tomorrow, this doesn’t mean that you have to sell everything that you have and it's important to remember that minimalism looks different for everyone.

But, we can be assured that God wants our hearts and doesn’t want anything to come in between.

Let’s pray:

Heavenly Father, I acknowledge that everything I have belongs to You. Help me to remember that I am merely a steward of Your creation. Guide me, Lord, to discern the things in my life that may be distracting me from You. Grant me the strength to let go of material possessions that prevent me from seeking You wholeheartedly. Teach me to prioritize my spiritual relationship with You over my earthly treasures. I surrender all my possessions to You today, knowing that You desire my heart more than anything else.

In Jesus' name, Amen.