What Marie Kondo Doesn’t Tell You about ‘Tidying Up’

Overconsumption and materialism are the root of our problems.

Every person featured on Tidying Up has one thing in common: their homes are overstuffed with stuff. They have more than what they need. I am not casting judgment; I struggle with this as well. Many of us do.

Shopping is fun. Walking out of a store with something new is exhilarating. It makes us feel good to wear a new shirt that brings out our eyes or to buy a flattering dress. But that new item loses its appeal after a few wears. Expert marketers convince us that we need the next new thing. So we go back for more and more. The cycle never ends.

Many people feel overwhelmed in their homes. Entering the house doesn’t bring a sense of peace; it brings a feeling of drowning in excess. We don’t know how things got to this point, but we recognize that something is wrong. Some people will even combat this feeling by buying more to have that exhilarated feeling of having something new again.

Overconsumption is what happened here. We bought more than what we needed. And now we’re drowning in the aftermath.

Shopping can become an addiction, as much as smoking, drinking, doing drugs, gambling, viewing pornography, and overeating. Something inside us craves more and we shop to satisfy that need – that’s materialism. Unfortunately, we are only temporarily satisfied. The addiction urges us to buy again and again.

The KonMari method can help us pare down to the essentials, but it won’t stop us from bringing more stuff into our homes afterward. What Kondo fails to mention is that the open space we create by purging items is not meant to be restocked with new things. It should remain open.

It’s a contentment issue.

If you struggle with the feeling that you need more, what you’re wrestling with is contentment. There is only one thing that will leave you feeling whole and that’s Jesus. Turn to Scripture for understanding:

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:6-12)

These verses are telling us to stop pursuing earthly treasure and seek God’s Kingdom instead. . . . For the rest of the article click here