A little airing of laundry: our family recently foreclosed on a house we had attempted to purchase 7 years ago. The house had sustained foundation damage prior to our attempted purchase, and having escaped the careful home inspector’s eye, and not willing to file suit against a brother and sister in Christ, we were stuck, not being able to afford the repairs, in a neighborhood and economy where houses were sinking in value, and yet needing to move to be closer to the church I pastor. In addition to this, we consolidated our debt into a second mortgage, and so owed even more on the house than it was worth (a bad decision on our part no doubt).
So we decided to move into an apartment (after all our credit is not happy right now!). Page and I both spent many years growing up in apartments, and so we both knew what to expect. God gave us the perfect spot! A four bedroom, spacious apartment, right in the middle of the action of our lives: close to family and jobs. And big enough to hold our growing family!
As I tell this story to folks, I get the feeling that people feel sorry for us, and many of our friends say things like, “Maybe one day you can get another house.” Though I appreciate the sentiment, to be honest, I’m not real sure I ever want another house! As a Christian, I am learning some of the incredible advantages to living in an apartment rather than a house.
This post is not to knock Christians who choose to buy a house, by the way. Obviously, there are advantages to owning one’s own home, including having enough space for hospitality. But the purpose of this post is to show that apartment living brings a set of advantages as well. And so the examination of these advantages begins.
Apartment living helps remind me that here and now, temporary structures are to be preferred. Heaven is for permanent structures.
Now, of course, I realize that brick houses are temporary and impermanent structures, just like apartments. But apartments have a more “tent-like” feel to them. Most people do not view an apartment as their final home. It reminds me a bit of Abraham’s situation as recorded in the book of Hebrews:
Hebrews 11:8-10 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith — for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.
In other words, living in an apartment reminds me daily that the world is not as it should be. The permanence of God’s city is coming in the future, at the time of full restoration:
Revelation 21:1-3 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.”
This is the permanent city that God is building, without the help of the hands of men. It is in this city that I want my “house” to be.
Please do not take me wrong. I am not (emphatically) saying that if a Christian purchases a house, then he is not looking for this city. I am not saying that at all. What I am saying, is that apartment living is a daily, real-life reminder that we are living for the God who has designed the New Jerusalem, and not for any building on the earth as it stands now.
Apartment living saves me untold amounts of time not doing lawn care and basic maintenance work.
While living in “our”/the bank’s house, I spent thousands of hours and dollars mowing, weed-eating, trimming hedges, paying workers to cut trees, spraying for bugs, replacing A/C filters, repairing toilets, and the list goes on and on, as you well know. There were plenty of days when I could have used those hours to minister to someone in need, or prepare a sermon, but if I did not cut the grass our neighbors were going to burn our house down!
I am not a lazy person. I love to work, and I don’t mind physical work. But the sheer amount of upkeep to that house was highly distracting at times from the vocation I felt the Lord calling me to.
When we first moved into our apartment, I remember hearing a lovely sound. It was a leaf blower outside, getting louder and louder. I told Page, “I want to go out and give that guy a huge hug!” I was not kidding, even a little. Since living here, I have been able to maximize my family time and ministry time, saving lots of hours each week. I cannot stress how invaluable this has been for me.
Apartment living may not be a long-term investment like purchasing a house, but it also removes the risks involved in purchasing a house.
For our family, honesty is needed: we know very little about houses. So we bought a bad house, and took a serious economic risk. Sure, we felt like we were “saving” money, since we could later sell the house later and supposedly recoup our losses, but as it turned out, we ended up stuck in a bad house and the only way out was to ruin our credit.
In other words, our apartment does not function as a savings account, or a financial investment, as buying a house does, but neither does it bring the risk house buying brings, especially in an economy such as ours. I realize many people who read this are much smarter than I, and would only purchase houses that would be good long-term investments. And, I personally am not afraid to take risks in life, when need be. But in our case, this is one risk that hurt us bad once, and I’m not so sure I’ll be willing to take that risk again.
Sure, apartment living may not offer a tax advantage, but it does come at a cheaper monthly cost, and much less direct expense for upkeep. Some say that the tax break owning a home gives is well worth purchasing a home. And we did get the tax break (on mortgage interest), and it did help our returns. BUT, we are paying much less monthly for our apartment than we would for a house in this area (allowing us to live in a nicer area closer to school and jobs). And we do have the tax advantage of not directly having to pay property taxes. In other words, what we save each month on rent and no have to buy lawn mowers, gas for mowers, weed-eaters, etc., seem to balance our the potential tax savings of purchasing a house.
Of course, buying a good house and paying it off is a great long-term investment, and the tax benefits are real. And for some, that is definitely the way to go. But it is also important to point out that there are at least some financial advantages to apartment living.
Apartment living allows (sometimes) closer contact with neighbors, and opens up better opportunities to share and live the Gospel.
We have lived in our apartment for several months now, and have already gotten to know two office workers, two maintenance guys, and several neighbors. Our back door leads out to the pool where, this summer, I’m sure many of our neighbors will gather. Our kids (under careful supervision) will hopefully befriend other kids in the complex.
Some might say, “That is unsafe.” Well, of course we have to be careful, and protect our family and property, but wow, the opportunities to share Christ through relationships and conversations are enormous.
Living in a house, people often cut themselves off with space and fences. And I, too, am a fan of privacy. But if the reason why I am on the planet is to glorify God by receiving, understanding, enjoying, and spreading a passion for His glory, than I can’t think of a better place to live in order to do that.
Sure, the neighbors upstairs play their music a bit too loud. But the other day, I was bringing in a bag of groceries, and my loud-music neighbor held open the main front door for me with a smile and a “hi.” Loud music is a small price to pay for the potential of building a relationship through which the Gospel of Christ can flow!
Apartment living allows for the quick ability to relocate should God send.
I love our church, I love being a pastor, and I’m not looking to move anytime soon. But one of the advantages of apartment living is, if the Lord calls, we can quickly pull up the stakes and go where He leads. Again, I am not looking to do so at all. I love where God has us so much I could picture us here for the rest of our lives.
But on the other hand, so many people get deep into the house-purchasing process, only to sense the Lord calling them to the mission field. It then becomes a difficult process to attempt to sale the house. For some, it isn’t that hard to sell, but for others, it takes months and years. With an apartment, we sign one year leases at a time, that can be broken easily with the payment of a fee, if need be.
While we are waiting for the Lord’s return, and the permanence He will bring to our lives, it seems like a good idea not to sink roots to deep. Please don’t take this as me saying we should not sink roots at all. Again, I would love if this is the place God has our family long-term. We are putting roots down, in spite of living in an apartment. But those roots should not go so deep that if the Lord calls we can’t go. Remember, God called Abram out of his home of Ur. And indeed, He may call His people to a myriad of locations, and we need to be able to say “Here I am, Lord, send me.”
This post is not an attempt to persuade all Christians to rent apartments instead of buying houses. But it is an attempt to show some of the real advantages of apartment living for Christians, and to encourage people who choose to go this route.
Poet and English Professor at Duke University, Reyonlds Price collaborated with the ever-captivating muscian James Taylor to write New Hymn.
