The definition of unencumbered is free from cares and responsibility or not burdened with difficulties. Well the Christian life is definitely not free from hardship, difficulty and pain; although, we often put too little emphasis on scriptures which keep us positive. Whatever is true, noble, right, pure …. . God did not give us a spirit of timidity but of power of love and of self discipline.
The Christian life also shouldn’t be free from responsibility. I often feel a desperation and burden when I think about what else I could be doing to build God’s kingdom. How else could I be used? How much more could I make myself and my resources available for this mission? So this move toward minimalism is not a cop out. It’s not an attempt to coast through life.
Seeking a minimalistic lifestyle is not an attempt to steer clear of pain, and stress and troubles. It is an attempt to live free from the bondage of debt. To live free from the bondage brought on by too many possessions. The bondage of having no time to invest in the things that matter most. That is the bondage I’m speaking of. Often I think of how great it would be to leave everything. To just sell it all or give it all away and then have the things that truly matter as the only things left. I created a funny but serious little list a while back. If I gave it all away what would I keep?
I called it my Hebrews 12:1 Taxonomy.
Leave yours in the comments.