Moving Towards Minimalism

I'm not sure if it's just me, but lately I've been hearing and reading a lot about the concept of minimalism. The reason I think it's just me is because I took an exam that asked which is one of the following trends in America and I put "living a more simple lifestyle" having seen it around so much the past few months. Apparently, that's not the way my teacher saw it...

http://tinyhouseswoon.com/

From adoring the pictures of minimalized houses on tinyhouseswoon.com, to changing my wardrobe to contain more simple, staple pieces to having new desires to declutter my room and just in general have less, the idea of a much more simple lifestyle is really appealing to me.

I read about these guys called the minimalists- CEO's who left their jobs to find meaningful lives in having only the necessities. It's an extreme for me, but I definitely think they're on the right track. After all, Jesus was a minimalist too.

I'm always convicted of the story of the rich younger ruler in Mark 10:17-27 who claims to have kept all the biblical commandments. When Jesus tells him to sell everything he has and follow him, the young ruler walks away sad. He ultimately treasured his things more than Jesus, and I relate to that a lot. If Jesus asked me to give up all I had, would I do it or explain it away that surely the Lord wouldn't ask that of me? If I lost all I had would I feel entitled to it? Yes, I surely would. My heart sinks when I read this story because I identify so much with this guy.

And while Jesus doesn't ask every person to give up every possession, I can't get around the fact that he does call us to live a life below our means where our clutter won't get in the way of us following him. Where we can live dependent on him for our needs. Where we can give generously without our hearts being hardened.

While I'm not there yet, I hope one day to look in my closet and be so satisfied with a few clothes I still have there. I hope to one day follow the examples of my friends Emily and Jimmie and not buy clothes for a whole year. I hope to truly enjoy a small home when I have one and not covet the riches of others. I hope to sacrifice my comfort to truly accept Jesus as enough, and see him more clearly because of it. I hope to truly understand the meaning of asking God for my daily bread, and stop letting Satan feed me the lie that I will be happy when I just have that new, cozy, unnecessary-because-i-already-have-four sweater, or when I get my hands on my sixth cup of Starbucks coffee this week when I have free coffee at my house, or when I keep my tithe offerings to myself for reasons I can't even find an excuse for.

If you look at my heart or my room, you will not call me a minimalist. But I'm praying constantly that by the grace of God he'll change my heart and give me the desires and strength to repent of my sinfulness of loving creations more than the Creator. He knows how slowly I'll grow, and He is not disappointed in me for that despite the fact that I feel like He is. He uses my weakness to show that he is able to work through me. And the less there is of me, the more space there is for Him.