Today, the more people pay attention to their house, the more they are in the fall. In this country a great deal of time, money, and energy are spent on the matter of housing. It takes a lot of time to maintain a modern house. This is a strong sign of being in the fall. I am concerned that even Christians may devote so much time to their house that they have very little, if any, time for prayer. However, the more we are delivered from the fall, the simpler we will become in the matter of housing. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He could say of Himself, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of heaven have roosts, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head" (Matt. 8:20).
The more fallen we are, the more things we need. On the contrary, the more we are delivered from the fall, the simpler we become regarding what we need for our existence. This is a principle, and we need to keep it in mind. Consider the matter of clothing. Worldly people are occupied with clothing and spend much time and money on their adornment. A saved person, however, should simply care to have clothing that is proper, neat, and clean. The principle is the same with our need for food and transportation. If we look at the life of the Lord Jesus, we will see how simple He was regarding the necessities of human existence.
God agrees that we have all the things that we need for our existence. He has prepared food and the materials for clothing, housing, and transportation. However, there is a limit to what we need.
The things that we need for our existence are earthly things, but they are not worldly things. What, then, are the worldly things? Just as the flesh is the corrupted body and the self is the corrupted soul, so the worldly things are the corrupted earthly things. Concerning the origin of the flesh, the self, and the world, the principle is the same.
How were the earthly things corrupted to become the worldly things? The earthly things which are necessary for human existence have been corrupted by Satan with his systematic scheme. Satan has made a system out of all the things which we need for our existence. He has taken the earthly things and has utilized them to make a system. This system includes not only all things but also all people. This means that we have been captured by this system and have become occupied with the things in this system.