Materialism
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Materialism is defined as a preoccupation with material possessions rather than spiritual or intellectual pursuits. The passage tells a parable of a rich man who had an abundant harvest but was greedy, wanting to store more crops and take life easy without considering God. God tells the man that his life will be demanded that night, showing that one cannot take possessions with them after death. The passage warns against greed and storing up possessions instead of being rich toward God.
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Materialism
- 2. What is Materialism • Who wants this iPhone • Who wants this Bible? • Materialism is defined as “the preoccupation with material things rather than intellectual or spiritual things • He who dies with the most toys…
- 4. 13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” 16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest.17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ 18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ 21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
- 8. It’s up to you! •Will you let material things strap you down? •Will you worship the creator or the created? •Keep your things in this world in-check •Give honor to God with every “thing” you have •You need to be “in” the world, but not “of” it •Prioritize the spiritual and intellectual
Editor's Notes
- Materialism is defined as “the preoccupation with material things rather than intellectual or spiritual things We live in a materialistic world Materialism leads to greed – - that 27” TV is never enough.. We upgrade to the 32”, then 42” then a 50” and so on - That iPhone 4 is not good enough, I need the 5, I need the 6 … If a Christian is preoccupied with material things, well that is wrong. That is not to say we cannot have material things, but the obsession with acquiring and caring for “stuff” is a dangerous thing for the Christian God created us to love people and use things, but materialism leads us to love things and use people. Interesting topic for me, as I picked a time when I would speak to you, not the topic. Made me re-evaluate myself. Personal check-up I look to my father as an example. Growing up, lived in nice home, new car, never went without. As he got older, his possessions became less and less to finally when I moved him to Utah a year ago, everything he owned could fit in the back of my truck. Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not lay up for yourself treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Two Reasons
- Materialism is defined as “the preoccupation with material things rather than intellectual or spiritual things We live in a materialistic world Materialism leads to greed – - that 27” TV is never enough.. We upgrade to the 32”, then 42” then a 50” and so on - That iPhone 5 is not good enough, I need the 6, I need the 7 … If a Christian is preoccupied with material things, well that is wrong. That is not to say we cannot have material things, but the obsession with acquiring and caring for “stuff” is a dangerous thing for the Christian God created us to love people and use things, but materialism leads us to love things and use people. Interesting topic for me, as I picked a time when I would speak to you, not the topic. Made me re-evaluate myself. Personal check-up I look to my father as an example. Growing up, lived in nice home, new car, never went without. As he got older, his possessions became less and less to finally when I moved him to Utah a year ago, everything he owned could fit in the back of my truck. Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not lay up for yourself treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Two Reasons
- Materialism is defined as “the preoccupation with material things rather than intellectual or spiritual things We live in a materialistic world Materialism leads to greed – - that 27” TV is never enough.. We upgrade to the 32”, then 42” then a 50” and so on - That iPhone 4 is not good enough, I need the 5, I need the 6 … If a Christian is preoccupied with material things, well that is wrong. That is not to say we cannot have material things, but the obsession with acquiring and caring for “stuff” is a dangerous thing for the Christian God created us to love people and use things, but materialism leads us to love things and use people. Interesting topic for me, as I picked a time when I would speak to you, not the topic. Made me re-evaluate myself. Personal check-up I look to my father as an example. Growing up, lived in nice home, new car, never went without. As he got older, his possessions became less and less to finally when I moved him to Utah a year ago, everything he owned could fit in the back of my truck. Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not lay up for yourself treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Two Reasons
- First, any preoccupation, obsession or fascination with anything other than God is sinful and is displeasing to God. We are to “love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5), which is, according to Jesus, the first and greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37-38). Therefore, God is the only thing we can (and should) occupy ourselves with habitually. He alone is worthy of our complete attention, love and service. To offer these things to anything, or anyone, else is idolatry. Some would say that Satan’s greatest resource is in his effort to take our focus off God and onto money. Money is universal. It affects all of us.
- Jesus tells us in Luke 12 that the materialist is a fool. A fool! In this parable we see a man who lives completely in a materialistic worldview. He fills up all his barns with everything he has. When he eventually accumulates so much that it won’t fit anymore, he just builds a bigger barn. And when he dies he finds out that he has spent so much time focusing on the physical that he totally ignored the spiritual. But this parable is about a man, who is of the world, and we are Christians, we are in the world but not of it…right? We do not ignore the spiritual do we? We don’t pursue the material to our own detriment…right?
- econd, when we concern ourselves with the material world, we are easily drawn in by the “deceitfulness of wealth” (Mark 4:19), thinking that we will be happy or fulfilled or content if only we had more of whatever it is we are chasing. Materialism is a lie that is perpetrated by Satan. He wants us to be chasing after something he knows will never satisfy us so we will be kept from pursuing that which is the only thing that can satisfy—God Himself. Luke 16:13 tells us we “cannot serve both God and money.” With materialism he promises us that happiness can be found in things, not just things, but the newest, biggest, best and most costly things He tempts us to lust after these things, and it is so very seductive. I have fallen prey to it, and have learned the hard lesson. I would buy things with a credit card when we really couldn’t afford it. Essentially I was going into debt for materialistic pleasures We must seek to be content with what we have, and materialism is the exact opposite of that contentment. It causes us to strive for more and more and more, all the while telling us that this will be the answer to all our needs and dreams.
- The Bible tells us that a person’s “life is not in the abundance of the things which he possesses” (Luke 12:15) and that we are to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).
- If materialism was ever to satisfy anyone, it would have been Solomon, the richest king the world has ever known. He had absolutely everything and had more of it than anyone, and yet he found it was all worthless and futile. It did not produce happiness or the satisfaction our souls long for. He declared, “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income” (Ecclesiastes 5:10). In the end, Solomon came to the conclusion that we are to “fear God, and keep His commandments. For this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). We have fallen prey to the God of American culture …. Materialism We sacrifice our families, our time, our future, our marriages on the alter of the latest and greatest “thing” We covet what others have
- The money we receive is God’s money given to us to be used wisely. If we make that our starting point, it will certainly affect our choices in all aspects of life and cause us to think deeper Are we spending for the here and now or for eternity At the end of the day, it comes down to recognizing that everything belongs to God This does not mean you can’t enjoy life But we need to put God first, make sure our responsibilities are taken care of God has blessed us all tremendously Let’s use it to God’s glory