Minimalism. Many people have their own unique definitions of what they believe minimalism is or should be.
For example, some people believe it means to live in a small apartment with blank white walls and less than 100 possessions to your name.
Others feel minimalism is living off the land–literally. To not buy into the corporate culture, and to wear denim overalls while farming your own blueberry fields.
Still others believe minimalism to be little more than a pagan, eastern philosophy of religion. Buddhism, in other words. A lifestyle practiced by monks in red and yellow robes who meditate for hours and practice Kung Fu.
But what does the Bible say about Christian minimalism?
Did Jesus believe in minimalism? Did He teach His followers to be minimalists? How did Jesus define the minimalist lifestyle? Was He the minimalist Himself?
Maybe it would be best to try to define what we mean by minimalism and…more specifically…Christian minimalism. Certainly there are many possible definitions of minimalism, but I’m mostly concerned about how minimalism and faith intersect in everyday life.
Wikipedia has a pretty interesting definition of minimalism, and it can be boiled down to this:
“…eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts.”
Essentially, then, Christian minimalism could be defined as “a removal or decluttering of one’s lifestyle in order to focus on that which is most essential–God Himself.“
To me, that sounds like the basic definition of Christianity altogether. Christianity is the denying of self; the removal of focus upon oneself in order to worship the One who alone deserves it. True biblical Christianity, then, is minimalism at its very core. It is, as Wikipedia has defined it, eliminating all the non-essential forms, features or concepts, and focusing all our heart, mind, soul and strength on the Lord.
Yes. I do believe that God is very much into minimalism. And since that is the case, His incarnate Son, Jesus Christ, is The Minimalist by definition.
Did Jesus Christ Teach Minimalism To His Followers?
Besides being the minimalist Himself, Jesus also commanded His followers to adhere to a lifestyle of minimalism. Or rather, a lifestyle unconcerned about hoarding the treasures of this world and a “give unto others” mentality.
Do you agree or disagree with me on this one?
Rather than fuss over semantics and opinions about what Jesus Christ was or wasn’t (or rather, is or isn’t), let’s hear it from Jesus Himself.
Jesus Christ: The Minimalist
The following are words from Jesus’ first recorded sermon in the Gospel of Matthew. As I believe you will see, Jesus advocated a minimalistic lifestyle for His followers. Jesus was, indeed, a proponent of Christian minimalism.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
– Matthew 6:19-34 (Sermon On The Mount) –
What Should You Do Next? Allow Me To Suggest Two Things:
- Please leave a brief comment or suggestion below and let me know what you think about this article, whether good, bad or otherwise.
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* Image credit: Steve Smith (Creation Swap)
Do you think Jesus Christ was a minimalist? Why or why not?
Jesus was a minimulist with himself and words. He had to say a minimal of words which ment lots. (I find your words so passay but a good reminder) My statement would be that God does not belong in the Corporate World. I know, I worked in the banking industry for 22years . After I got sick (I was an employee that made a big difference) I was discarded like a dirty rag. Wisdom is learned from Trials and Tribulations (The good and the bad).
very well said, bro. charles. 🙂
Joshua Becker, the blogger of Becoming Minimalist also talks about the Lord Jesus being a minimalist Himself.
i agree with you both! minimalism, at its very core, is prioritizing. and God wants to be the first and the last in our lives. everything else comes in between.
Well said, Raymund. It is amazing how Jesus had so few possessions and never relied on or stressed about “worldly” things. In fact, when He sent His disciples out by two’s, he commanded them to take only a few things, no money belts, etc. Jesus works through faith!
Have you found that to the case with your pursuit of minimalism?
Thanks Charles! I’m reposting this.
That awesome, Bob! So glad to hear it. May God be praised through it all.
The minimalist lifestyle preached by Jesus flies in the face of what we refer to as “The American Dream”. We have come to associate the American Dream with conspicuous consumption. Buy more, get more, have more. Satisfy your every whim.
I once read somewhere that them more you try to acquire to satisfy your desires, the emptier you feel. The more you give the more fulfilled you feel.
Jesus said those who try to save their lives will lose their souls, but those who lose their lives for Christ will save their souls
I think you bring up a good perspective regarding this, Charles. Matthew 22:37-40 would follow well with these thoughts to me. I can say that personally, I somehow always missed the “as yourself” and thought of it as “instead of”. While I certainly think there is “self love” that can be flat out self-serving and contrary to the minimalist concept you illustrate clearly in your post, I also think there is a form of it that fits within the definition and is required. It’s really difficult to truly love others if you hate yourself. Kind of you can’t give away what you don’t have maybe? My thoughts at least. Thank you for sharing this!!
Wonderful article! Thank you for taking the time to write this. I have shared it on my FB & Twitter pages. 🙂
For me it is simple. We make the choice to eat simple meals, dress ourselves and the children simply, and then laternwe come across someone (even a whole family) who is in need and we can afford to feed them. We can help them get a job where we work. This is loving, this is what Jesus wants us to do. What would we hope for if we were hungry and jobless? How desperate would we feel looking at our own child and have nothing to offer them. End suffering of another person when the opportunity arises. Or you can take to spending your extra money all on eating drinking and taking pictures and flying around the world and sitting on beaches. Why not find a balance where you can in fact enjoy life and still have it in you to help the sick, poor, disabled orbunlucky people you meet on your path? What do you want to see when you look back at the end of your short life? Indulgence, or service to others? Decluttering is the first step to make room for your potential and to focus and prioritize with less to distract, less time wasters. Start where you are.
To be a simplelist is not one with family or husband. I studied Theology I will post what a simpleist actual.