Simple Living Devotionals

St. John’s UCC, Greeley, Colorado
February 20, 2022

LANETTA

Matthew 16:19-34

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust[a] destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

“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.

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

CORI

Most of the experts say the term “minimalism” officially emerged in New York (around the 1960s). What is amusing is that it was also called ABC art, Literalist art, Object art or Cool art. However, these days we mostly use the term “minimalism” or “minimalist” in order to refer to simple living. Christ calls us to simple living.

One of the major reasons we are Christian minimalists is because we truly believe Jesus is a minimalist, and as a follower of Jesus we look to him to see how to be the best human we can be.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways Jesus is a minimalist.

Jesus lived a simple life, and encouraged his disciples to live simply, too.

Over the course of Jesus’ ministry in the Gospels, Jesus travels. A lot. As he traveled to spread the good news and teach and heal, he lived a pretty simple lifestyle. He ate and stayed at other peoples’ homes, and didn’t take much with him. He encouraged his disciples to do the same when they traveled to do ministry as well (Mark 10:10, Luke 10:4). In fact, we find out that Jesus didn’t even have a home (Matthew 8:2). Jesus even distilled all the laws and commandments down into the two most important: love God and love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37-40)

We also read about Jesus in Paul’s letter to the Philippians– he “emptied himself, taking the form of a servant” (2:7). At its core, minimalism is about emptying oneself of that which is unimportant, so that we can focus on what’s most important (serving God and others).

Now, we’re not encouraging people as a followers of Jesus to live like nomads and not take extra clothes with them (unless God is calling you to do so)! But it’s obvious that Jesus simplified his life so he could focus on his ministry. That is the basis of Christian minimalism.

KAREN

Jesus taught against greed and accumulating possessions, at the detriment to ones’ relationship with God.

Jesus said it best: “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” (Matthew 6:24) Jesus is very clear that our life’s meaning isn’t found in accumulating wealth and material goods– it’s in our relationship with our Triune God. We are told by Jesus not to gain the world at the expense of our souls (Mark 8:36). Time and time again, Jesus shows us that our love of money and possessions can hinder us from cultivating our relationship with God.

Jesus focused on what’s most important, and encourages his followers to do the same.

Because Jesus led a simple life, he was able to truly focus on what mattered most. He made relationships with others a priority (spending time with his disciples, sharing the good news with “sinners” and those who needed to hear about God, spending time healing and casting out demons, etc). He made it a point to rest when he needed to (Mark 6:31-32 and Luke 8:23, for example), and he made it a point to spend time alone with God in prayer (Luke 5:15-16, Mark 1:45, Luke 6:12-13, etc). He taught and lived out a focus on serving others in God’s name (Parable of the Sheep and Goats: Matt 25:31-46, Parable of the Good Samaritan: Luke 10:25-37, etc).

Jesus focused on his ministry, relationships with others, sharing the good news, serving others, taking care of his health by resting when necessary, and spending time in prayer. All of these things come together to form the bedrock of the Christian minimalist lifestyle.

Jesus reminds us that God is our provider and we don’t have to worry.

Our drive to accumulate possessions and wealth is, at its core, a trust issue. We don’t trust God to provide what we need.

But Jesus makes it clear that God will indeed provide, and we don’t have to worry. He reminds us of this in Luke 12:22-34; he says we don’t have to worry about what we will wear or eat or drink– we don’t have to stockpile these things. God will take care of us.

Even Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness– selfishness, worldly power, and fame were all offered to him. But he was able to resist temptation, and afterwards “angels attended him” (Luke 4:1-13). These things tempt us as well (Satan is active in our own lives, that’s for sure!), but Jesus shows us that God will help us resist temptation and God will make sure we are given what we need.

Jesus summarized this well in Matthew 6:33: “But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” If we– as Christian minimalists strive to do– put God first, the rest will fall into place. God will provide.

Living an Abundant Life

Jesus says: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) But this abundant life is not what our world tells us it is– it’s not about fortune, fame, or material possessions. The abundant life is one that is rich with the love of God and others, and doing God’s work to build up the Kingdom. Christian minimalists aim to live how Jesus taught us, and to cut through the clutter to live the abundant life Jesus wants for us. May God bless us as we heed Christ’s call to simple living.