Minimalist Christian?
There seems to be a new phenomenon where people are becoming
obsessed with being a minimalist. We see this new thing of tiny homes where
people see how small a space they can live in with as few amenities as
possible. There are smart cars that honestly don’t look that smart. There are
minimalist wallets and other things in life that many have gravitated to to be
more minimalistic.
Many of these things are great and I always encourage people to be
more “minimalistic’ in their lives and my wife and I have worked hard on
minimizing the things that we have to maintain because it seems to simplify
life. However when it comes to Christianity is there such a thing as a
“Minimalist Christian”?
I recently
studied through 1 John and a few verses made me consider this. In 1 John 2:2-6
John states “And by this we know that we have
come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments
is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is
perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way
in which he walked.”
What John is saying here is that real, authentic
believers are marked by their obedience to the commands of Jesus. If God has
truly saved them then their desire is to please God by being obedient to the
teachings and commands of Christ. This begs the question, what are the commands
of Jesus? Many consider the commands of Jesus being something along the lines
of the Ten Commandments. Have no other God’s before Him, have no idols, honor
the Sabbath, do not lie or steal or murder or covet or disrespect your parents
and so on and I would not disagree with that but think about this. There was a
time when Jesus was asked what the greatest Commandment was. His response was
to love The Lord your God with all your heart and soul and your mind. He then
said the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Now consider how great a command these are. Paul
Washer states that at no point in any believer’s life has he ever loved God
with all of his heart and soul and mind and I tend to agree with him. I would
also add that it is nearly impossible to love your neighbor as yourself.
However these are the commands of Jesus and He adds that all of the Law is
summed up in these two commands.
In modern day Christianity it seems there is a
grave misunderstanding of the commands of Jesus that is spoken of in 1 John.
Many in the churched culture seem to have a minimalistic attitude when it comes
to somehow qualifying as a follower of Jesus. There are many that only consider
the least amount of what they can do in order to somehow qualify or justify in
their hearts and minds as being a “Christian”. Maybe they have walked the isle
and prayed a prayer and got dunked and have not considered their growth in
their faith since. Or they claim to be a church member because they attend once
in awhile yet are not connected to and serving in the community of believers in
that church. Or they give just enough that they don’t feel guilty but rarely
give sacrificially. Maybe they will slap a fish sticker or cross or “I worship
at …” on the back of their car and somehow feel ok with rarely or never openly
sharing their faith. They will post a need for prayer or complain to others
about sufferings but are afraid to publicly approach the Lord in prayer even in
the smallest group. They complain that they are not being fed in their church
or criticize the ministry yet never volunteer to help facilitate Gospel
centered change.
Honestly are these the types of commands that Jesus
says are ok for followers of Jesus? It seems to me that when Jesus tells us
that we are to pick up our cross and follow Him it means much more than we give
it credit. John seems harsh in verse 4 when he says the one that claims to know
Him but does not keep His commands is a liar but it is a harsh truth that we
would do well to hear. Are we lying to ourselves when we do the minimum when
Jesus actually calls us to so much more?
What I see is that Jesus tells us not to strive
or be happy with the minimum bet He tells us to strive for so much more. To
love God with all that we are and to love our neighbors as ourselves seems to
be the impossible but that is the standard that Jesus calls us to strive for.
When we are struggling financially the minimum
would be don’t go out and steal and that would be good. However if we take
Jesus’ standards we ought to look around for those that are worse off and see
how we can serve. If our brother asks us to go a mile with him the minimum is
to go that mile without grumbling. Jesus however commands us to go further than just what was asked. When our enemy attacks us the minimum would be not to return with
an attack. Jesus says that we are to turn and offer the other cheek.
I pray that we consider these words of John. I pray that we abide in Jesus and our heart’s desire is to keep His commands. There is no such thing as a “Minimalist Christian” according to scripture. May the Spirit help us to see the areas that we are minimal and strive for the maximum. If we KNOW Him we Will KEEP His commandments. Are we walking in the same way in which He walked?
