Minimalist Christianity
June 6, 2012 in Simple Religion
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How does Minimalism relate to Christianity? I have thought about this a bunch because I believe that both minimalism and Christianity are things which need to relate and spread through my whole life. I have wanted to write this post for a few months and am now writing the complete post for a second time. (this is the beauty of writing posts ahead of time…I sometimes change my mind a the last second).
The thing with Christianity is that it often gets cluttered. Christianity’s closet get full of old baggage. Some is trash, some stinks and leaks, and some is valuable treasure. I want my Christianity to be clear, clean, and focused on priorities and what matters instead of just what I have collected over the years but might not still…or have ever needed.
I think there are definitely things that are the most valuable in my religion (my previous post highlighted them) but I still wasn’t comfortable with my list.
With Christianity and with life all I need is Christ. There are lots of problems, questions, and struggles but the solution is all the same – Christ.
This is minimalist and simplistic right? Learn about Christ, get to know Christ, spend time with Christ, trust Christ. One focus and one priority.
Only with this clear focus can we spend time in the Bible. With this focus we can spend time in prayer. With this focus we can join a community of believers also striving for the same goal.
Last weekend we were studying in Romans and came across Romans 15:13
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
This summed up to me what we need and what we have in Christ:
- Joy – we are loved by the most important person around, we are forgiven, and we have the opportunity of salvation. That is something to be happy about.
- Peace – because of this love and forgiveness, and because we know that God is in control of the world even when we aren’t.
- Hope – There is nothing to live for without hope. With Christ we have hope for becoming a better person through His power, we have hope for making a difference for good in this world, we have hope of Heaven. We have hope. Something to live for – something to get out of bed for.
- Power – Not our own power but the power of the Holy Spirit. God’s power. Power to live, be, grow, do, follow, stand.
There is so much more that we could pull out of this verse but these four words really jumped out at me. Christianity means admitting our need for Christ and deciding to follow Him. This is what we are promised.
Thank you for boldly connecting the ideas of Christianity and minimalism. A lot of the minimalist bloggers talk about peace, joy and hope without ever really stating their true source, which is Christ, and Christ alone. They are right in that we can’t find peace and joy in our “stuff”. But we won’t find peace and joy by simply getting rid of our stuff either. I believe Solomon proved to us in Ecclesiastes that it doesn’t matter how much stuff you have, or don’t have. True joy comes from Christ.
amen
Lorilee,
I am with you in that way (Christianism). I converted to Christianism at about 1 year ago. In the past few days I felt the necessity of declutter my house and my life and live a simple life. For that reason I found your blog. I simply loved this post. It told me I am in the right way. Thank you. I will keep following your blog.
Beatriz
(sorry my English is not really good, I am from Brazil…)
Welcome! Thanks for your comment! You comment much better in English than I would in Portuguese
Well said. Thank You for adding clarity and focus. Really enjoy your blog!
thanks
I love this Lorilee. I find my desire for a simpler life stems from my desire to follow Christ. I think He is the absolute example of living minimally. His teachings (and the teachings of his followers) continually point us toward generosity and away from hoarding wealth or accumulating stuff or worrying about stuff.
And I totally agree with you that our Christianity can get cluttered. So many of us tend to read what others think about Jesus, but miss spending time in His word.
Thank you for this great reminder.
Yes, I agree
and You’re Welcome!
Hi Lorilee:
I just discovered your blog, and the following quote aptly captures my own sentiments on the matter of minimalist Christianity: “I want my Christianity to be clear, clean, and focused on priorities and what matters instead of just what I have collected over the years but might not still…or have ever needed.”
Thanks and keep up the good work. I have bookmarked lovingsimpleliving, and will visit regularly.
Eric
Welcome! Good to meet you
I have SO been thinking someone needs to write an article about this! I read The Minimalists site and every time I think of a biblical connection. Great thoughts Lorilee!
Thanks so much! I it is good to meet you
I think that the Christian life and the minimalist life do go together nicely. There is much in scripture that admonishes us (ooh, look at the big words 8=) to hold on to things lightly. And that is also the minimalist philosophy as I understand it.
God does bless some people with a great deal of material wealth, but it is important that the focus be on him and our spiritual development. I think of Paul’s statement that he is content whether he has plenty or not.
Yeah, Paul goes to the hungry or well fed (the Phil 4:12 I had to look it up since you mentioned it
)… and that is even farther than the material stuff. I like the hold lightly too.
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Hi Lorilee, I am new to your blog but I am a firm believer in Christian Minimalism. I really, really needed this post today. What speaks to me is the focus on Christ. My focus has been on everything else. Learning about Christ, getting to know Christ, spending time with Christ, and trusting Christ – this is where my focus should be. This is the heart of minimalism. Thank you so much for reminding me of that.
thanks so much for your comment
So good to meet you!
I’ve been struggling with this issue of holding on to possessions. Thank you so much.
you are welcome! Nice to meet you