Before we can answer that question, we first need to define what minimalism is, as it can mean different things to each person.
The Oxford Dictionary defines it as:
1. A movement in sculpture and painting which arose in the 1950s, characterized by the use of simple, massive forms.
2. An avant-garde movement in music characterized by the repetition of very short phrases which change gradually, producing a hypnotic effect.
Whilst this definition focuses on art and music, my guess is that if you asked someone on the street now what minimalism you’d probably get a response saying ‘Having less stuff around the house’.
The more recent change in thinking from art or music to possessions can in some part be attributed to Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus AKA The Minimalists.
The Netflix documentary pushing minimalism
Josh and Ryan were very successful men who described themselves with a ‘lingering discontent’ as they approached the age of 30. Feeling unsatisfied and out of control, they began to reclaim their lives through minimalism.
Through this experience they have started a website, a podcast, written a book, been the subject of two Netflix documentaries and regularly speak, gaining a following of over 20 million.
Their definition of minimalism is:
Minimalism is a tool to rid yourself of life’s excess in favor of focusing on what’s important—so you can find happiness, fulfillment, and freedom.
They wouldn’t say it’s just about owning less stuff, although that’s a part of it. They see it as a tool to assist you in finding freedom from fear, worry, depression, and the raging consumerist society we now live in.
They argue that we assign too much meaning to material items, focusing on them rather than bigger less tangible things like health, relationships, personal growth, and more altruistic endeavors.
Minimalism helps you make decisions about everything more deliberately.
Did Jesus live a minimalist way of life?
With that context, let’s think about the question – would Jesus support this way of life?
From a brief look at Jesus’ time on earth, it would seem he lived the ultimate minimalist way of life. Although he worked until he was 30, he never owned a house, didn’t own much beyond what he could carry and devoted his last three years to teaching, healing and spending time with people.
Here are some things Jesus said about material things:
“Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.
Matthew 6:19-21
And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
Luke 12:15
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5
Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!
Ecclesiastes 5:10-11
So far so good – it looks like there is a lot that minimalism agrees with Jesus.
But it only goes so far.
Minimalism promises freedom, fulfillment, and happiness. And while it’s a good way of life and I certainly feel more free and happy when I’ve done a round of decluttering, I simply don’t think Jesus would have supported it as a way of redemption and lasting happiness. It just can’t deliver.
Josh and Ryan have shared that minimalism has helped them:
- Eliminate our discontent
- Live in the moment
- Pursue our passions
- Discover our missions
- Experience real freedom
- Create more, consume less
- Focus on our health
- Grow as individuals
- Contribute beyond ourselves
- Rid ourselves of excess stuff
- Discover purpose in our lives
There is probably undeniable evidence that living with what we need rather than always trying to accumulate more stuff leads to feeling more grateful about what we have.
We also probably know people who work incredibly hard to be able to own whatever money can buy but at the expense of losing things like relationships with a spouse, their extended family or their friends.
These people who have succeeded so much in worldly terms often elicit our sympathy as we see the depth of relational richness that they miss out on.
But whilst i think minimalism helps us to do some of those things Josh and Ryan talk it, I don’t believe it can give us the ultimate purpose for why we were made, remove all our discontent and help us experience true freedom.
Answering the big questions in life
I don’t believe it can answer the fundamental questions we have like ‘Why was I made’ and ‘what will happen when I die’. I think all the answers to those big questions are found in Jesus.
I think only He is the true answer to those and I’d encourage you to look more into the Gospels before you write off my statement. I don’t think minimalism can answer any of those.
Does having a house with only the things we need and a life focused on relationships and society remove discontent? If you look back on some of those verses Jesus isn’t saying just be content because you have what you need.
That’s not why we can be content.
We can be content because Jesus is with us, whether we have what we need or not. Being content shouldn’t ever relate to stuff.
Being truly content is not about our stuff
Stuff can be taken away at any time. True contentment has to be found in something that can’t be taken away.
A house, belongings, a spouse, children, family and work can all disappear. Jesus can’t.
But is it always wrong to feel discontent? I think suffering should make us feel discontent in the sense that it doesn’t feel right. Because it’s not. God didn’t create a world where there would be cancer, covid, divorce and unemployment.
God created a perfect world and humans decided we had better plans of how to live. Minimalism cannot fill the anger as we encounter suffering or death. Because it doesn’t have an answer.
And true freedom? Yes, minimalism does offer freedom from having to worry about keeping up with that silent do-to list, having to buy more things, or maintain all the stuff we already do have. But true freedom? True freedom is found in Jesus.
True freedom is knowing that a Sovereign God is in control, and whatever happens to you is according to his plan, for his glory and our good.
That’s true freedom.
So would Jesus support minimalist?
I think all of the principles of minimalism are in keeping with a Christian way of life, and Christians should be taking on more of this way of life.
But would he support it to give us our sense of true meaning and freedom? No. Only he can do that.
Let’s lose our focus on stuff, fix our eyes of Jesus for our purpose, and use all the things he has given us for his glory and for the good of those around us.
