Materialism and Christmas. Some businessmen are saying this could be the greatest Christmas ever. I always

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1 Materialism and Christmas Some businessmen are saying this could be the greatest Christmas ever. I always thought the first one was. Art Fettig The attitude of defining even very sacred things by a material measure is known as materialism. A preoccupation with or stress upon material rather than intellectual or spiritual things is one of Webster s New Collegiate Dictionary definitions. Materialism is not just a modern-day problem, nor is it a problem restricted to the wealthy. In fact, we don t even need money to be a materialist. We may be consumed by what we have or by what we don t have. Materialism is a heart issue. Materialism is composed of the two things God hates most idolatry and adultery. The New Testament calls covetousness idolatry (Colossians 3:5). Because the desire of the materialist can never be satisfied, materialism progresses from covetousness to idolatry. Like all idolatries, it finds ultimate meaning in an aspect of the creation rather than in the Creator. And like all idolatries, it finds outlet in destructive trends that wreck human lives. When we carry on a love affair with things, we are committing spiritual adultery. We abandon God, our rightful husband, and sell ourselves to what brings us the greatest short-term pleasure. However, materialism brings with it many dangers: Materialism destroys spiritual life. Materialism is an attempt to find meaning when we have not found meaning in the only place it can be found God. We have a vacuum that only God can fill. The Laodiceans thought they were rich, but in reality they were poor in the things of God. (Rev. 3:17,18) Materialism is a barrier to contentment. The uncertainty and insecurity of material things makes materialism the mother of anxiety. We lay up treasures on earth rather than in heaven because of greed, covetousness, selfishness, and fear. All the while as we put our hope in earthly treasures, our anxiety multiplies because they

2 are so uncertain. To set our heart on earthly riches is not only to deprive God glory, others of help, and ourselves of reward, but to destine ourselves to perpetual insecurity. * Materialism leads to pride and elitism. One of the worst manifestations of pride is elitism, a shared sense of superiority over others held by a privileged few. Repugnant to our Lord is the tending of the rich to despise the poor. (Job 12:5) I am continually alarmed as parents nurture this tendency in their children by buying designer clothing and other things whose sole purpose is to say, I m better than you. Materialism distracts us from our purpose. It takes time to care for things. Everything I add to my possessions is one more thing to be concerned about. We have to clean, repair, display, rearrange, and replace it when it wears out. In the parable of the great banquet, they were so preoccupied with their treasures that they said no to the banquet. Are your possessions or desires for possessions causing you pressing concern that results in you saying no to God? Materialism treats eternity as if it were non-existent. Eternity will hold for us what we have invested our life in. When earth becomes our heaven, when we see God s blessings as being primarily immediate and temporal, we lose sight of who we are, why we are here, and what awaits us beyond this world. The materialist is entrenched in this present world. Materialism can only be corrected by a different perception of God. This comes from study and belief in the Word of God. We must stop saying the Scripture is unclear on this subject. While it does leave room for differences in lifestyles, it leaves no room for materialism, greed, envy, pride, self-indulgence, hoarding, irresponsible spending, unjustifiable debt, or indifferences to others. When these things are justified on the basis of legitimate lifestyle differences, we may fool ourselves, but not our Lord. For some of us, it is time to ask God s forgiveness for our self-indulgent lifestyles and indifferences to the needs of the harvest. In all of human history, has there ever been a time when believers have been given more than we? Money and possession are assets when they meet basic needs, serve God-given purposes, and allow us to focus on the harvest. They are liabilities when they themselves become the objects of our desire and love.

3 Materialism will produce the kind of society we see in America today. Mothers are leaving children to be raised by others that lack their values. The census bureau states that in 1998, 62 percent of mothers of preschool children worked outside the home, and 78 percent of mothers of 6-to 17-year-old children. On of the weaknesses of our age is our apparent inability to distinguish our needs from our greed. Amos spoke of people who lie on beds of ivory and drink wine in bowls (Amos 6:4-6). For the materialistic people, an ordinary cup was not large enough, so they used enormous vessels customarily reserved for sacrificial purposes. (Exodus 38:3). Materialism always takes something from God and indulges man to a weakness and ultimate ruin. In Zambia, a man buys a new suit and a motorcycle. Meanwhile, his wife and children suffer from malnutrition. His youngest child starves to death before his eyes. If he hadn t bought the suit, or if he sold the motorcycle, he could feed his family for a year. Across the Atlantic, in the United States, another man chooses to work 20 hours of overtime a week while his wife takes on a job to increase their already large income. They eat in the best restaurants, belong to an elite club, and supply their children with all the latest fashions. They gave their girl a prize horse for her twelfth birthday and their boy a new car for his sixteenth. Their children have everything from private telephones to color televisions to expensive ski equipment. They plan to send them to the most prestigious colleges in the country. Dad doesn t have the time or interest for personal talks, family devotions, or church. In fact, the children rarely see their father for more

4 than a few minutes but they know his checkbook is always there. Two countries, two men two materialists more similar than we think. The first man will stand before God and give an account for the precious wife and children he allowed to suffer and die rather than surrender the prestige and pleasure of his things. The second man will give account for another deadly form of abuse his emotional and spiritual neglect of his family, whose deepest needs he sacrificed on the altar of his own lust for money and possessions and the status they afford. He must answer for rearing his children in an indulgent and irresponsible easy come and easy go environment that will so warp their values and inhibit their characters that they will probably never recover. On the day of judgment, no thinking person would want to stand in either man s shoes. * In today s world, it takes a miracle not to be a materialist. Many Christian families are held back from following God s call to a more simple lifestyle because they don t want to deprive their children of material advantages. In the process, they deprive their children of spiritual and eternal advantages. The disrespect of children for their own possessions, and those of others, is a direct result of their overindulgence. A child that grows up getting most of what he wants will misuse credit, default on his debts, and be a poor worker. Can we change the pattern of materialism in our homes? Certainly. Let us begin with Christmas. We can make a commitment to buy far less. Take your children to the toy box or the closet and show them the piles of treasures that were formerly Christmas presents. Consider a gift to a needy family instead of an abundance of presents to our

5 family. Practical Guidelines to Control Spending: Realize that nothing is a good deal if you can t afford it. Recognize that God isn t behind every good deal. Understand the difference between spending money and saving money. Look at the long-term cost, not just the short-term. Pray before you spend. Examine every purchase in light of its ministry potential. Understand and resist the manipulative nature of advertising. Learn to walk away from things you don t need. Realize that little things add up. Set up, and live by a budget. *Randy Alcorn, Money, Possessions, and Eternity (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.), pp. 70,371,372. Jan Couch Stewardship Ministries Director

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