The Sin of Materialism

Materialism DefinedIts not just having a lot of stuff.Someone can have little but still be materialistic.How?By being excessively devoted to things.Excessively devoted = being consumed with thoughts of making more money and spending more money.

Luke 12:1321

Mark 4:1320

Matthew 19:1622The Rich Young Ruler

Isnt it ironic?The higher the standard of living becomes, the more worried, anxious, and neurotic our society has become.It seems to be that that more affluent we get, the less content we get.Ecclesiastes 5:12The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.

AdvertisingThe main goal of advertising is to get us to buy more.They dont care that we cant afford it.The lure is basic enough.Were not happy, but if we just had that one thing theyre advertising, that theyre selling, wed be happy!

The Overspent AmericanThe most striking feature of household spending in modern America is its sheer volume.If you are a typical American consumer, you did not always have so much.There was probably a time in your adult life when you could fit everything you owned into your car and drive off into the sunset.

The Overspent AmericanEach purchase made sense at the time. Many were truly necessary.Some were captivating, giving you that I just have to have this feeling.But added together, they raise the possibility that yours is a lifestyle of excess.

The Overspent AmericanHow does it happen? And so quickly?The sequence of events starts with a social act being exposed to consumer goods.It proceeds through the mental stages of fantasizing, wishing, and rationalizing.Borrowing may be the next step for the process culminates with the purchase. See, want, borrow, buy.Juliet B. Schor. The Overspent American: Upscaling, Downshifting, and the New Consumer (1998) pp. 67-68.

Ecclesiastes 5:1315There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: Riches kept for their owner to his hurt. But those riches perish through misfortune; when he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand. As he came from his mothers womb, naked shall he return, to go as he came; and he shall take nothing from his labor which he may carry away in his hand.

In reaction to the rich rulerLuke 18:24,25And when Jesus saw that [the rich ruler] became very sorrowful, He said, How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

Idolatry Is Alive and WellColossians 3:15

Covetousness1 Corinthians 5:911How many of us would refuse to eat with someone by saying, Im sorry, I cant eat with you, because youre covetous?1 Corinthians 6:911Ephesians 5:371 Timothy 3:3not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous;

Covetousness in Religion1 Timothy 6:310, 17192 Peter 2:1214What did Jesus teach?Matthew 6:1934What are we staring at?Consider what Paul said: Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.1 John 2:1517

Its not about God anymore!People do what THEY want to do.Its my money! (Job 31:24ff)Its my life!Do we ever wonder why things might not be going so well for our country when states like Connecticut legalize homosexual marriages?

Its not about God anymore!Moral issues are real issues.Materialism or covetousness which is idolatry is a moral issue!Galatians 5:1624Verse 20 idolatryWe cannot continue to ignore moral issues and expect God to bless us!

When more money comes our way, do we first think about what we can buy for ourselves, or do we consider how we can increase our giving to the Lord?

Ecclesiastes 5:10He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver;Nor he who loves abundance, with increase.This also is vanity.

Job 31:2425, 28If I have put my confidence in gold, and called fine gold my trust, if I have gloated because my wealth was great, and because my hand had secured so much; . . . That too would have been an iniquity calling for judgment, for I would have denied God above.

The Remedy to CovetousnessContentment.Hebrews 13:5,6Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we may boldly say: The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?

Matthew 6:11Give us this day our daily bread.

Proverbs 30:8,9Give me neither poverty nor riches feed me with the food allotted to me; lest I be full and deny You, and say, "Who is the LORD? Or lest I be poor and steal, and profane the name of my God.

Matthew 6:33,34But seek Wrst the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. SuYcient for the day is its own trouble.

Philippians 4:1113Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.