The Eternally Valuable Practice of Becoming A Minimalist

Last night, I decided to become a minimalist! A minimalist is someone who owns only what they need. Nothing more, nothing less! We live in such a materialistic society, and even though the only place I ever shop is at thrift stores, I still have found myself accumulating far more than I need.

Just because something is on sale or is cheap to buy, it doesn’t mean you need it! Click To Tweet

In fact, when you think about what you really need in order to live your daily life, you’ll be amazed at how little it is.

eternally-valuable-practice-becoming-minimalist

Now, I’m not advocating having two cups, two plates and one pot if you’re a family of seven! I’m also not saying that we need bare walls and nothing in our homes that would give us pleasure, even though these pieces may not be necessary for survival.

What I am endorsing, though, is a lifestyle where you don’t have to spend hours of your day tidying, rearranging, organizing, cleaning, and maintaining your possessions. If we’re honest, a large part of our lives as women is doing just that.

  • Imagine your home with half the stuff. Stuff that you have forgotten you have because it’s buried deep inside cupboards you haven’t had the need to open in months.
  • Picture your crowded kitchen cupboards without bits and pieces tumbling out each time you open them.
  • Or the decision of what to wear each day being made simple by not having tens of items to go through in your closet.

The Effect That Your Stuff is Having on You

You see, my sweet darling friend, these things, this mess, this excess, is actually taking away from what you truly want to do, to accomplish, and to invest in.

We’re not called to be minimalists. Biblically we are called to be followers of Jesus.

But…

We can use letting go of the huge number of our possessions as a tool to travelling lightly in this world in order to make following Him more efficient, productive, and fruitful.

Jesus is our ultimate example! If he had a house full of belongings taking his energy to oversee and take care of, how much time do you think He would have had to minister, heal, disciple, and teach? His thoughts would have been divided between His Heavenly calling and His earthly possessions.

Jesus didn’t even have a home!

Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests,

but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.

Matthew 8:20

The Blessing of Having Less

Now, it’s not wrong to have a home and effects, but the problem with our depraved and idolatrous hearts as humans, is that more often than not, our goods take up far too much space, time, and energy than they were ever meant to possess, simply because we have so much more of everything than we actually need.

We can’t be dabbling in, overwhelmed by, and preoccupied with our things. That will only take away from the important; that of being occupied with the eternal calling and work that God has for you and I.

The less stuff you have, the more you can focus on the people that God has brought into your life, the ministry that He has called you to, and the biblical priorities in which He expects you to grow.

Possessions are never laid out as a priority in the Bible. God did bless some in His Word with wealth and prosperity, but usually only those who were able, in spite of their riches, to keep their minds steadfast on His wisdom, voice, and path.

It is a hard and counter cultural decision to let go of our things, our comforts, and our abundance, and to choose to serve God with the time and energy they take away from us.

I, for one, want to spend more time investing in my husband and children instead of hoarding stuff and then having to maintain it all.

Practically, go through your home and ask yourself this question about each item: Do I need this? Click To Tweet
  • We don’t need three sets of dishes, we need one.
  • We don’t need 8 ice trays, we need two.
  • We don’t need 15 towels, we need eight.

Of course, we each need to take into consideration the size of our families, the amount we host others, and our personal needs, but if you live in the western world, you, too, probably have an exorbitant amount of stuff that is populating your storage spaces, and starving you of time and stamina for your God given, biblical priorities.

Our forefather Joshua asks us the bottom-line, heart-piercing question in Joshua 24:15:

Choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.

But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

The gods of today my friend may not be the Amorites, and they certainly aren’t “beyond the River.” They may right in front of us – in our homes – the gods of greed, exuberance, materialism, covetousness, and self. Will you choose to serve these gods? Feeding them each time you see something that appeals to you, or that’s on sale?

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Matthew 6:24

Choose this day, whom you will serve! And make it the right choice!

Join me in going through your home and stripping it of everything you don’t need. By doing so, you’ll free up your time, life, and stamina to wholeheartedly serve our Holy God, laying up for yourself treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. (Matthew 6:20)

Are you up for living out the eternally valuable practice of becoming a minimalist?

Where are you going to start in decluttering your home? How do you foresee that having less stuff will help you to focus more on eternal priorities?

Update

Over the past few days I have literally halved our stuff (and believe me, I was no hoarder even before this) in the kitchen, bathroom, living room, and some bedrooms. I have some storage spaces to still go through as well as our garage (help!)… And already, the time and stress that I am saving by not rummaging through things and just seeing what’s in each cupboard at first glance is incredible!! Plus I’ve loved giving it all to people who need and appreciate what I won’t miss. Seriously sis, go for it!!! xoxo

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