Could
you live in a tiny house? It’s all the craze these days. I love watching the
tiny house shows on TV. I’ve told Jane many times that I could definitely “go
tiny” but she’s not really sure I could, and she’s absolutely sure she couldn’t. Imagine, living in a house the size
of a garden shed!
I
think what fascinates me most about the whole concept of “living tiny” is the
willingness of many to give up the things that most of us assume are absolutely
necessary. For example, I think most of us consider a stove, oven and full-size
refrigerator “necessities” for our kitchens. Not so, for many tiny houses. I
just watched an episode where the couple was completely satisfied with a single
hotplate and a microwave oven. Many THP’s (tiny house people) are willing to
climb into a micro-loft at night to sleep in what I would consider to be
claustrophobic sleeping quarters. Or how about the “necessary room,” perhaps
the most necessary room in the house? I’ve seen a few who are willing to turn
the clock back 100 years and traipse into the woods to the “outhouse.” Now that
is commitment to tiny living.
I
have been observing this trend for a while now and although I’d like to “live
tiny” occasionally, maybe on weekends, I’m really not sure I could cut ties
with the comforts of home. I like my recliner, my 46” television and my baby
grand piano. I don’t want to bump my head on the ceiling when I get out of bed
and I sure don’t want my bathroom to be out in the woods. Bottom line: I like
my stuff.
But
when Jesus was teaching, one of the things he taught was “tiny living.” He
talked about not getting too attached to our stuff, not relying on our own
financial resources and not being so tied down with obligations that we could
not follow Him at a moment’s notice. I know some have disagreed over the years,
but I don’t think Jesus owned much stuff. He doesn’t appear to have owned real
estate or even his own donkey (he just borrowed one when he needed it). He was
pretty emphatic about being willing to walk away from the things that generally
keep us tied down by our obligations and indebtedness. Sometimes I even wonder
if Jesus wouldn’t have thought even a tiny house was a bit extravagant.
The
point is this: A Jesus follower is called to follow. Anything that prevents us
from following has become a hindrance instead of a help. To be honest, I don’t
think Jesus minds if you have a big house or car. I think what He wants to know
is whether or not you’d be willing to walk off and leave it, if that’s what it
took to follow Him. It’s easy to say yes, kind of like it’s easy for me to
watch tiny house shows and say, “I could do that.” But when Jesus asked the
rich, young ruler to sell everything he had and follow him, the Bible says, the
young man went away disheartened because in reality, he knew he could not leave
his possessions behind.
People
ask me all the time what I think the Church’s problem is and how it is that we’ve
gotten so far off track. I could write a book about the subject but let me sum
it up in a sentence: Frankly, I think most of us love a whole lots of things
more than we love Jesus. The Church and her people have become holders of
property. We’ve allowed our property to take the place of faith and trust and
hope. I think that’s incredibly sad…that we could love things more than the One
who loved us so much He gave up everything.
I’m
going to keep thinking about downsizing. Maybe even into a tiny house. But more
importantly I’m going to be contemplating what it would look like to cling only
to Jesus; to not have coins in my purse, or lots of extra clothes in my closet but
to simply fall in behind the One who promised to take care of me like He does
the birds of the air and the lilies of the field.
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