What does the bible say about our relationship to possessions? It was a conversation with Joshua’s elderly neighbour, June who while trimming her hedges watched as Joshua took out all the clutter from his garage, observing “The joy of owning a home.” Joshua responded with a phrase he had seen on bumper stickers: Soon after commencing the big clean up, Joshua recalls his son Sam running off to play in the backyard after discovering two boxes of toys he hadn’t seen all winter. The plan was to take everything out of the garage, hose it down, then return everything in an organised fashion ready for Spring. He can now see the absurdity of the idea: “What was I thinking that my son would want to spend his Saturday cleaning the garage!”

After working away from home the whole week he thought it would be a great way to spend some quality time together. Joshua Becker’s curiosity towards a minimalist lifestyle began 7 years ago on a Memorial weekend in Vermont, where a plan to clean the garage with the help of his 5 year old son was quickly derailed. But examining how he was living and what God was asking of him proved to be too difficult to reconcile in his mind. He would read what Jesus would say about money, living generously and taking care of the poor and believed it to be a good thing. In his honest moments, Joshua was conflicted in how he was spending his life’s energy and pursuits. Although never in deep consumer debt, like 70% of Americans, he and his wife lived paycheck to paycheck even though he experienced many job promotions and pay rises. As a Christian, searching the Scriptures, he was always uncomfortable with the way he spent his money. Advertisers have the same essential message “We will be happier if we buy what they are selling.” Since we hear this message so many times and in so many ways, we begin to believe it.įor Pastor turned Minimalist, Joshua Becker describes the discontent he felt immersed in a materialist culture. One million by the time you reach the age of 21. If you live in the suburbs in the US, statistics will tell you that you will see 5,000 advertisements every single day. Going against an ingrained consumer culture

Joshua becker the minimalist home