Do you notice the fad on having less stuff in the house? I first heard of minimalism maybe some 3 or 5 years ago and the idea was borrowed from Japan, if I remember right. Some folks are beginning to find stuffy spaces too "noisy" and suffocating not just the airways but the mind most especially. Too much stuff clogs.
Photo by Bench Accounting on Unsplash.
Minimalism goes well with small dwellings in the Philippines but even in cramped housePinoys you'd see how they try to stock up with appliances because it's supposed to prove they're somewhat well-off. Few Pinoys appreciate having ample space in the house to give way to movement because the majority see more blank spaces as barely affording things and crowding up the house with stuff as being moneyed.
Well, finally some Pinoys are catching the practicality of it all. Some are even going nuts for it. Besides being cost effective and allows savings, minimalism is also highly maintainable and makes physical activities more possible so you have more leeway with mobility. It allows air to circulate more freely as well. But why isn't the idea really taking off in the country?
Because minimalism shouldn't just be a fad. It should be a mindset, a life principle applied not just on house designs but in all of life. It's a mindset that says only urgent needs should be possessed or consumed. It should rule your daily schedule, priorities, diet, thoughts, conversation and dealings with people. No excesses or extras but just the exact amount you really need.
It took people centuries to realize that having a lot of things is meaningless. Japan homes have been minimalist since the beginning (though I don't know when the beginning actually was) but minimalism got attention only in our times, some centuries hence. We have been thinking owning material possessions was the life. Now a growing number of us see how it sucks.
Jesus has been batting for it in his time. He said:
Life does not consist in the abundance of possession. [Luke 12.15]
The Old Testament, too, has been urging believers about a simple life, no extras, extravagance or prodigality. Having your "daily bread" was enough.
"...give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.” [Prov.30.7-9]
Does the church believe this? Nope. Just look at how they load up all kinds of electronic junks on their altars to make their worship sound good--not really to God but to the audience. In fact, they see you lacking favor if you have less in life and blessed if you have more. They know how Jesus lived (the Jesus they claim to worship) and owned no earthly possession, emptying himself, but see how churches buy massive properties to showoff and attract.
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