Is Hygge Biblical for Christian Women?
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Have you heard of hygge?
Hygge is a Danish word pronounced “hue-guh” used to define a feeling or a moment in time when you have a sense of warmth, comfort, contentment, and living in the present.
The idea of hygge has taken the world by storm the past couple of years, and recently has even made its way into Christian circles.
But is Hygge biblical for Christian women?
As we have explored the ideas of self care and how as Christian women we care for ourselves to be able to serve others, why positive affirmations are dangerous, but meditating on God’s Word is vital for our Christian life, we wrap up by taking a look a hygge.
I believe hygge has become so popular in our culture today, because we have so emptied our lives of God that there is this deep longing for something meaningful in our lives.
And we somehow think that we’ll find that meaning in simplicity.
Sadly, this is true for much of the church as well, and why so many Christian women are buying into the idea of hygge, self-care, and mingling eastern meditation practices with Christianity.
This kind of mixture of Christianity and paganism is not pleasing to God!
Sermons are filled with more platitudes than Scripture and more personal affirmation than the gospel. Parishioners leave feeling good about themselves, but void of a real experience with Jesus Christ.
What people are really longing for is joy. Peace. Hope. Contentment
A feeling of calm in this chaotic world. A sense of meaning in a culture where everything is disposable, replaceable, and short-lived.
A sense of belonging in a world where relationships are 1-dimensional.
A sense of being settled and grounded in this fast-paced world where nothing is guaranteed, where our neighborhoods have revolving doors, and our lives are filled with shallow friendships.
Over the past decade as our culture has quite literally become a runaway train of the 9-5 being replaced with more demands from our employers for longer hours…
where our relaxing weekends have been replaced with working weekends, sports games, and all of the overflow from Monday-Friday that didn’t get done…
where technology has enabled us to be available 24/7, we’ve somehow tricked ourselves into thinking that the answer is found in simplicity.
Minimalism.
Imitating the Amish.
And now hygge.
Is Hygge Biblical for Christian Women?
The meaning of hygge is the ability to be so present in the moment that we are able to have a sense of satisfaction, pleasure, comfort, and warmth from the most simple, ordinary things in life, like
- a cup of tea
- a cozy blanket
- fluffy socks
- a warm fire
and there isn’t anything inherently wrong in enjoying these simple things in life.
But there’s a trap here.
A dangerous trap.
A trap that even very godly people have fallen into, and it has lured them into this false sense of pleasure and enjoyment, even deceived them into the false narrative of a simplistic life.
Two reasons why hygge and the Christian walk are at complete odds with one another
1. Hygge is all about finding pleasure and comfort, warmth and peace, contentment and joy in the simple things in life.
In this moment. In this world.
Any pleasure derived in this life that doesn’t have God as the very source and doesn’t involve Jesus Christ being the central figure of our pleasure is a worldly pleasure.
A false pleasure.
Any pleasure that seeks tangible things in this natural world, and not our heavenly reward, as it’s source of contentment is a deception.
Does this mean we aren’t to enjoy a nice cup of tea by a warm fire? Absolutely not.
But it does mean that if we’re looking for that deep sense of pleasure, comfort, warmth…that deep sense of inner peace, and we think we can find in a hygge life, we’ve been deceived.
The Christian walk is all about finding our pleasure and comfort, peace and joy, and above all our contentment in Jesus Christ!
No matter now simple or chaotic our life is.
No matter how much drama is going on around us.
We are able to to live in pleasure, comfort, peace and contentment because the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, and is the source of this incorruptible joy!
And this pleasure, contentment, peace, and joy are truly incorruptible because they are more than just a feeling. They are a tangible gift of God – who never gives us gifts that are short-lived.
His gifts are eternal and are independent of the corruptible things of the world: like tea, a warm fire, and fluffy socks.
2. Hygge traps our hearts in this world.
Hygge is all about finding pleasure and contentment in the tangible things in this world. It’s about slowing down and becoming present in this moment.
But the Christian walk is all about finding joy in the fact that our names are written in glory; taking our minds out of this moment and fixing our eyes on eternity!
It’s about remembering that we are not of this world, we are ambassadors sent from God to this world for a single purpose: to make disciples of all nations!
Hygge is about living in this natural world and completely leaves out the spiritual realm.
The Christian walk emphasizes the fact that the spiritual realm is even more real that this natural world, because this natural world will pass away, but the spiritual realm is eternal!
“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Colossians 3:1-2
The danger that even many godly people have succumbed to is that they have allowed their hearts to become some captivated by the things in this natural world that the spiritual realm has become fuzzy and distant to them.
This is especially true for Christians in western countries.
We are bloated with much stuff; we have filled our minds with so much information; we have filled our souls with so much noise of technology that our lives have become divorced from a sense of the spiritual realm.
Rather than living with a sense of spiritual realm being ever present around us, we live in this one-dimensional world where all we hear and see are the things in this natural world.
The voice of the Holy Spirit is distant and muted.
Our ability to discern deception has become dull.
The ability to immediately connect current events and daily situations with a spiritual significance has become weakened.
And it’s because we are far too connected with this natural world!
It is time to seek God’s kingdom again!
It is time to fix our eyes on Jesus again!
It is time to remember who we are again: that we are children of God, we are not of this world, we have a heavenly citizenship!
“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;” Philippians 3:20
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So I’ve been reading your blog for a few weeks now. I think this one just about did me in. I’ve had enough. I understand all about new age and how easy it is to slip into it.
But man, you have gone to the complete opposite extreme. Legalism anyone?
I have been stressed out for almost a week because you had me believing I was selfish for taking care of myself or trying to take several deep breaths (somehow THAT is new age now?) to calm myself down. I believed the root of my stress was selfishness…thanks to YOU!
After much prayer I realized it has nothing to do with that. I have ADHD and tend to have an overactive mind (oh that’s right…I can’t “clear” my mind because that’s new age now right? God forbid I get help from someone speaking to help me calm down…that’s new age meditation and you can’t worship God the way pagans worship…who said anything about worship? Bet you have a Christmas tree in your house in December…but that’s rooted in paganism. They used to worship the tree. We don’t worship it so THAT is okay for Christians to use right? Also with ADHD, there is difficulty making decisions and with transitioning. All things you need to calm yourself and your mind to fix. Sometimes adding scripture in those moments is just more noise!
I understand we live in this world and are not to be of it…BUT we still live in this world! Not every single thing we do has to be “religious!”
You are way off. This one did me in. I’m waiting to hear that reading fiction is a sin next…has nothing to do with God and blah blah blah. I can’t believe the emotional turmoil I’ve been these past couple of weeks because of your legalistic, judgmental, extreme views. There’s a lot of truth in what you said and those things I agree with…but then you add a sprinkling of legalism and extremism and you lost me.
Off to go light a candle, make some coffee, put on nice soft music, and some fluffy socks. Give me a break!
I am sorry you feel that my post is legalistic. In no way do I mean to imply that one’s salvation or eternal security is based on their works. However, I do think that these things are important for our spiritual health and well being. I do, however, think that you may have completely misunderstood what I’ve been trying to say in this series. In no way do I believe that caring for ourselves is selfish. I, myself, battle a chronic illness that requires me to be very careful about keeping my life low-stress, I require more rest than most people, and a lot more margin in my life. I am a mother – so you can imagine that this requires that I care for myself. I have even written a few posts on this very topic (one of those posts in this series: https://rosilindjukic.com/christian-women-care-for-themselves/).
As women we should care for ourselves. We need margin. We need rest. Even Jesus rested. But, I do believe that our motivation and the philosophies that we adopt in our lives is vitally important to our spiritual health.
1000000% agree with you. This is lunacy.
Well said dear sister Rosilind!
Too many are are living out of their souls & cannot discern, nor know how to walk in the Spirit with Jesus Christ & in the power of His Holy Spirit. It is a narrow walk & it is a divine walk & ordained in the Spirit with our LORD. We are changed from glory to glory as we SEE CHRIST … not ourselves or someone else. Taking care of ourselves should be as natural & simply as you mention. It is a great joy … not to have ‘me’ on my mind all the time … BUT CHRIST & HIS PRESENCE GREATER than everything else.
I pray this resonates with many … for the enemy loves to see us powerless & entangled with everything else … EXCEPT CHRIST.
God bless you & TY for your beautiful & powerful website.
You said it so well – too many are living out of their souls. There is huge danger in that! We need the HOly Spirit to daily give us discernment in this culture we live in today. Your comment was right on!
Amen! Thank you Rosilind for speaking so boldly, but doing so with grace and kindness. I too have watched with stunned amazement as my inbox has been filled with worldly ideas adopted by Christian women… and sadly watched friends be led astray by it.
Thanks so much for the encouragement and the reminder that set apart is a narrow road… but we don’t walk it alone!
Prayers and blessings!
Thank you so much for your encouraging words. Yes, I am also saddened to see so many led astray by this. There is so much deception out there – and it is very subtle….taking grains of truth and twisting them into something that doesn’t glorify God at all.
I’ve been looking at hygge articles for our church newsletter. I take your point about materialism and depending on our own efforts instead of on God. But it sounds to me as if hygge is a lot more than making yourself comfy with fuzzy socks and hot tea It’s creating a feeling of contentment and peace, of goodwill and togetherness. It’s being satisfied with what you have, and appreciating the small and simple things in life. A little like counting your blessingst. I don’t see why it should be un-Christian to want this in your life as long as you realize it’s all ependent on God.. Psalm 23 expresses hygge to me. Or the poem “Pax” by DH Lawrence–whom I don’t care for in general, but his phrase “to be at one with the living God” sounds likea good plan . And why should hygge only have to be directed toward yourself? Creating a warm and accepting atmosphere for other folks to be in, that’s hygge too. It could be a way to show Christian love for other people, and to sow gratitude for God’s goodness.. It all depends on what you do with it.
How sad to see the demonization of a cultural norm that is harmless, appropriate and biblical, from a culture that finds a way to justify sexism, misogyny, polarized gender roles, white supremacy, male supremacy, conspicuous gun ownership, politicization, Christian nationalism, oppression of poor aand exploitation of the environment as perfectly godly.
Your insight on hygge was one of the only write-ups that expressed what I was sensing in my spirit. Most promote it as a good thing, but I can not ignore the godless & self-centeredness that I’ve seen with such a ‘lifestyle’ … There’s also an unspoken cult like feel to it that’s repulsive. As Christians, we are called to deny ourselves and our fleshly desires; that includes ‘the little things’ in life that hygge emphasizes.
Luke 9:23 NASB95 — And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
Not only are we to deny ourselves, but we are called the pick up our cross every day … This is quite uncomfortable and would not be considered ‘hygge’.
Gratitude and enjoying the gifts that God gives is a wonderful experience, but we should not be living for and focused on these gifts, but on God Himself.
Exposing deception & shedding light on the dark snares of the enemy will surely get the attention of demons. Take heart during times of those lashing out at you and the persecution that follows the believer who obeys the Word of God.
I want to thank the writer for getting this across perfectly clear!!
I was given a book on hygge a few years back. there, in the midst of all the lovely comfortable things we all enjoy was a small blurb stating the real purpose of hygge. I threw it away when I realized what it was truly about. I do wish I had kept it just to have a reference to point to thst people couod physically see. I’ve been trying to find something on the net that would explain it perfectly!!
this right here is needed to be said. I applaud Holy Spirit for leading me here before getting caught up in something I would’ve regretted later on in my faith journey. God bless you and may the Lord continue to use you for His kingdom and shower you in His love!
Thank you so much for your encouragement. The Holy Spirit must have been witnessing to you the truth. God bless you. Keep following Him