 Minimalism. When you hear that word, what do you think of? Maybe you think of a guy in an empty house with one shirt. Maybe you think of a hippie traveling the world, living out of his van. Or perhaps you think of someone ditching all their worldly possessions just for the fun of it. But what really is minimalism? In an article written by Joshua Becker, he states, minimalism is intentionality. It is marked by clarity, purpose, and intentionality. At its core, minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of things that distract us from it. Promotion of things that we value and the removal of things that distract us from it. But what is that it? What I think minimalism does a good job at highlighting is that for most of us, what that it is, what we most value is not cars, houses, video games, new clothes, new equipment, our stuff. In order to get to the center of what really matters, we need to actually tap into our core beliefs, values, why we believe we're here and what we believe we're here to do. For me, my Christian faith plays a vital role in helping me answer those questions. Do not store up for yourself treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourself treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. In the Bible, we're told our purpose is to enjoy God and honor Him and serve Him. That is a distinct calling, a high calling. But Jesus understands our sinful relationship with stuff, how we get pulled towards our stuff, the accumulation of stuff, playing with our stuff, fixing with our stuff, trying to get more stuff, comparing our stuff. I fall into this trap too, letting the pursuit of stuff get in the way of my calling and the things that really matter. I want to make something clear here, minimalism won't save us. Minimalism is not the savior that we're looking for, it won't give us purpose or meaning on its own. The reason I wanted to talk about this is because I think minimalism identifies a problem in our culture with our relationship with stuff, our attachment and codependent relationship with the things we own. And what I would call an often sinful relationship with stuff. But what I see happening often in our secular culture is that they're quick to identify a problem but either provide a completely wrong or incomplete solution. I believe minimalism has provided us with an incomplete solution. I want to go back to Joshua Becker's definition of minimalism. He talks about how minimalism is all about getting the things that get in the way of what is most important in life, that it, whatever it is for each one of us. He leaves it open for each one of us to decide what is most important. It's incomplete because you see an atheist minimalist may come to find the detrimental effects of stuff in his relationships and family so he may decide to clean house but he's no more closer to God or his calling to serve and honor and enjoy him. A hippie may get rid of his possessions because his it, what's most important to him is getting close to the earth but he's no more close to his maker. These people leave one idol and master and replace it with a new idol or master. If God is not that which we most value then minimalism is futile. But if we can truly understand that that which we most value is serving honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ on this earth then the next step of that is to get rid of distractions that are around us in order that we can focus on our it what is most important to us what is most important on this earth in our lives. I'm always hesitant to take on labels but I guess to some degree I do consider myself to be a minimalist with all the caveats and nuances that I've shared with you in this video. I hope this can kind of begin a conversation about our stuff and our relationship with it. Thank you so much for watching this video guys I super super appreciate you and your support. Big shout out to my patrons on patreon thank you for supporting the work that I do this ministry you're helping me be able to do this and I'm hoping one day I'll be able to do this full-time that's the goal so help me do that. Join on patreon.com daily underscore disciple if you enjoyed this video and you want to help support the work that I'm doing like this video if you like this video and subscribe because we're putting out new videos all the time Mondays and Thursdays. Thanks so much for watching guys and leave a comment down below with your thoughts. See you later