Feature
Purpose-Driven Purging
Minimalism Is Not the New Christian Approach to Managing Possessions
by Harma-Mae Smit
Whatever happened to materialism? What happened to the unapologetic celebration of glitz, the songs about the accumulation of stuff, the vaunting of consumerist culture? The prancing "material girl" and the slicked-back "greed-is-good" tycoon have receded. Materialism has retreated with a whimper, still existent, but unable to deny that stuff, stuff, stuff cannot fulfill. People point at the inescapable flaws: More stuff can make you more anxious, not less. It doesn't bring you everlasting happiness. It can stand in the way of your fully developing your potential, and it can hold you down in a place you don't want to be. To celebrate materialism takes an increasing amount of effort.
Talking heads have preached against materialism for years now, and we've all nodded along. Researchers have conclusively demonstrated that materialism decreases your overall sense of wellbeing. But nothing has stemmed the tide of products filling our houses, trash flowing out of our homes, or things overflowing from our self-storage units. All our agreement with the emptiness of materialism has accomplished nothing. The idea that what you own doesn't bring fulfillment has become so common and clichéd that the message has faded into the background.
THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:
Harma-Mae Smit lives in Edmonton, Canada, where she works as a library assistant and studies theology at the Canadian Reformed Theological Seminary. She is a professing member of Immanuel Canadian Reformed Church. Her work has previously appeared in The Globe and Mail, The Edmonton Journal, and Reformed Perspective magazine.
more on Christianity from the online archives
8.4—Fall 1995
The Demise of Biblical Preaching
Distortions of the Gospel and its Recovery by Donald G. Bloesch
27.5—Sept/Oct 2014
on Growing Vegetables as a Primer in Moral Philosophy by Rachel Lu
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
• Not a subscriber or wish to renew your subscription? Subscribe to Touchstone today for full online access. Over 30 years of publishing!
personal subscriptions
Purchase Print &
Online Subscription
Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95. That's only $3.34 per month!
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives including pdf downloads for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!
gift subscriptions
GIVE Print &
Online Subscription
Give six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for the reduced rate of $29.95. That's only $2.50 per month!
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
kindle subscription
OR get a subscription to Touchstone to read on your Kindle for only $1.99 per month! (This option is KINDLE ONLY and does not include either print or online.)
Your subscription goes a long way to ensure that Touchstone is able to continue its mission of publishing quality Christian articles and commentary.
more from the online archives
24.4—July/August 2011
The Cultural Marxists’ Strategic Assault on Religion, Life & Family by Patrick F. Fagan
