NEEDS & WANTS Greed and Materialism EDGE NIGHT OUTLINE SCRIPTURE & CCC: Matthew 6: 19-20 Matthew 6:24 Mark 10: 17-31 Mark 12: 41-44 CCC 2535-2540 CCC 2515-2517 Paper Pens SUPPLIES NEEDED: Random Props for the commercials Handout A: Treasures in Heaven (page 57) GOAL The goal of this Edge Night is to help the youth keep in perspective the things they want and desire in life. If they can recognize the difference between wanting and needing something, they can avoid falling into traps of greed and getting caught up in the materialism of the world. EDGE NIGHT AT A GLANCE Greed and materialism is a difficult topic for us to explore because it challenges all of us to take stock of what we have, what we want, and how blessed we truly are. We read in Scripture, Do not love the world of the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him (1 John 2:15). To have material goods is not bad, but the Church warns us that we should not be consumed by the desire to have material goods. Greed and materialism take our focus off of loving God and our neighbor and place it on loving things. The focus of tonight will be on differentiating between our needs and our wants and on sharing the excess that we do have. For the Edge night tonight, we will start out by making commercials trying to sell something the youth come up with. This will give a glimpse into how we are all convinced we need things that we really do not need. It would be great for someone who has been on a mission trip to give the Proclaim for this night to help give the perspective of how blessed people who have less than us truly are. The youth will be creating lists of what they want for their birthday, what they own now that they truly need, and what they own now that they do not really need. Those lists will lead to a reflection on recognizing how much we do have and a challenge to share with those who have much less. ENVIRONMENT Have a background set-up as a home you might find on a mission trip. It should be very simple just a bed, a small table, and a small cabinet and it should be worn but clean. Show how much pride is taken in these few objects a person in a third world country would have. If the walls and floor could appear dusty or brown, it would help with the image. GATHER OPENING MUSIC See song suggestions in the Media Suggestions sidebar. W E LCO M E & INTRODUCTION 1. Welcome and introduce new youth. 2. Recognize and celebrate any youth or Core celebrating a birthday by singing Happy Birthday. 3. Present a brief overview of the session. OPENING PRAYER This prayer should be based on the overview of the session. Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance and understanding about the theme/topic for the night. BUY ME NOW! In your small groups, brainstorm some of the best and most memorable commercials you and the youth have seen. Then have the youth create a make-believe object 52
that they need to sell to the rest of the large group. Come up with the characteristics of this object and some selling points. Create a 30-second commercial to sell this object and remember to make it seem as if the group cannot possibly live without this item. As time allows, have the small groups present their commercials to the large group. PROCLAIM SCRIPTURE PROCLAMATION Luke 12:15-21 PROCLAIM TALK What We Need and What We Want Wow, those were some pretty good commercials. I am pretty interested in buying a few of those things, especially if they really do everything they claim to do. But did you all catch what went on? That is what commercials trick us into believing that even though we have our basic needs met, we need to buy things to make us happy and to feel complete. When we created our commercials, we even used some of these tricks to sell something that none of us really need. It s the same thing with commercials we see on TV we get convinced we need to have a certain thing to be happy or to fit in or to make our lives better. Now, some things that are advertised are pretty cool and may make our lives simpler or easier in some ways. I am not trying to say that all commercials are lies and that you should not want anything. But it is important to recognize the difference between what we need and what we want. Sometimes, when we make a birthday or Christmas list, or when we see TV commercials, we forget the difference. Greed Part of our Catholic Social Teachings warns us against greed and materialism. This is because greed and materialism are opposed to the Gospel. We hear many times in Scripture, not to make things more important than people. Greed is when a person is extremely selfish and only wants more and more for their own gain. We may be greedy for more toys, more video games, or even more attention or popularity. To want a video game or to want attention is not bad, but to want more and more for selfish gain is when it turns to greed. How can we be careful not to be greedy? We continue to develop our relationship with God through prayer, going to Mass, and participating in the sacraments. This helps us take the focus off of ourselves and back toward God. This can also help us recognize when others are in need others in our community and throughout the world. Materialism If greed is wanting more and more for selfish reasons, what is materialism? It is when we consider material possessions and physical comforts more important than our relationship with God. Materialism can also be when we see things as more important than people. Material things are just that things. They may help or assist us with a part of life, but it should not get in the way of our relationship with God. Think about some things you own that get MEDIA SUGGESTIONS: Song: Treasures in Heaven by Burlap to Cashmere (Anybody Out There?, A & M Records) Song: My One Thing by Rich Mullins (Songs, Reunion Records) Song: Headphones by Jars of Clay (The Long Fall Back to Earth, Provident) Video: What is a Trader? by BrianMosleyBlog (www. youtube.com) 53
NOTES: NEEDS & WANTS Greed and Materialism EDGE NIGHT OUTLINE in the way of your relationship with God. Having a cell phone may be cool, but if we are spending more time with our face glowing from texting all day we may need to examine if this is getting in the way of our prayer life. If we are placing more importance on our phones, clothing, video games we need to readjust and place more attention on God. True Joy Here is the big lie that advertisers want us to believe that their product will bring us happiness! If you eat certain foods, wear certain clothes, or go certain places, then you will be happy! The truth is happiness comes and goes. You may wake up in the morning feeling happy and then someone says something bad about you and the happy feeling goes away. What we can experience is joy joy is not an emotion, but a fruit of having a relationship with God. Joy is not having a big smile on your face all day every day it is finding peace in God and His great love for us. Listen to this great quote from Pope Benedict XVI: The world promises you comfort. But you were not made for comfort, you were made for greatness. Like we have said the world tells us that if we have things (and more and more things) then we will be comfortable and live an easier life. Perhaps that is true on some level. However, being a Catholic Christian, we are not made for comfort. Life is sometimes hard when we enter into relationships with people, and we may experience pain and suffering all of this is to remind us that in this world we will not find comfort, but in the next world, heaven, we will experience everlasting joy, peace, love, and comfort. Pope Benedict XVI reminds us that we are made for greatness to share and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Who s is whose? One last thought on greed and materialism: the best way to guard our hearts is to pray and keep our relationship with Jesus number one. Another way we can guard our hearts is by remembering that all we have is a gift from God. Lastly, we can remember that all of the stuff we have will soon fade away. After we are gone, stuff is still stuff, but we cannot take it with us. This is why the Catholic Church continues to remind us to place more importance on our relationship with God and not on our stuff. It is important to be thankful for what we do have for the joy those things can help to bring us but we need to keep in perspective that these objects are being used for their enjoyment and should not run our lives. BREAK SMALL GROUP PRAYER As your small group begins, say a prayer for the group and the activities for that session. (You could also invite a youth to lead the prayer, read something from Scripture, etc.) SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION In your small group, give everyone a pen, a piece of paper, and the following instructions. After everyone has had a chance to write down their 54
ANNOUNCEMENTS: lists, discuss questions four through seven. 1. Write out a birthday or Christmas list right now. 2. Write down ten things you own right now that you need. 3. Write down ten things you own right now that you want but do not need. 4. Let s start by going over our birthday and Christmas lists 5. What are some of the things you own right now that you need? Did anything on this list surprise you? 6. What are some of the things you own right now that you don t need? Did anything on this list surprise you? 7. How do we tell the difference between what we need and what we want? What are the deciding factors? 8. What are some ways you can guard against becoming greedy or materialistic? What are some real ways that you can share with those less fortunate than you? PERSONAL REFLECTION Give each youth a copy of Treasures in Heaven (Handout A on page ). Allow them time to reflect on the Scripture verse and the quote from Pope Benedict XVI and how that applies to them individually. If time permits, have the youth share a part of their reflection with the small group. SEND CLOSING PRAYER Circle up and quickly recap some of the main points of the night. Close by inviting the youth to pray for a spirit of charity. Ask St. Anthony (generator of charity) to intercede and close with a Hail Mary. SUMMARY CHALLENGE Before the middle school youth are sent home they will be challenged to remember: 1. It is not necessarily bad to want things that we do not have we just have to be careful not to get carried away. 2. It s important to remember that there is a huge difference between what we need and what we want. 3. To keep God in the proper place in our lives, we should not get carried away with our stuff it will distract us from what is important in our lives. 4. Challenge the youth to talk with their families about the importance of charities maybe even ask for a donation to be made to a charity in their name for a birthday or Christmas present to keep in mind that we are called to love people more than things. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 55
ADAPTATION IDEAS: Have someone who was on a mission trip give the Proclaim and expand upon the true joy they find in some of the poorest areas of our world or even in local communities. Invite someone in from a local charity to talk about what he or she does for the poor of the area and how the youth can help. Schedule a service day as a follow up since we are trying not to be greedy, help the youth to start by being generous with their time and energy. NEEDS & WANTS Greed and Materialism EDGE NIGHT OUTLINE TO THE PARENTS OF During tonight s Edge Night, we talked about greed and materialism. We focused mainly on how most of us have more than what we need. We helped the youth to understand the difference between want and need. It is ok to want things, but we have to keep these wants in perspective and not get carried away with either the things we do not have and want or the things we do have and really enjoy. True joy comes in right relationship with God and healthy relationships with family and friends. Some topics of discussion for the ride home might be: 1. What does it mean to get carried away with the things we want or have already? 2. What s the difference between what we need and what we want? 3. How can our family be more active with charities, by donating items, money, or time and energy? 56
TREASURES IN HEAVEN Handout A EDGE NIGHT HANDOUT INSTRUCTIONS Below you will find a Scripture verse and a quote from Pope Benedict XVI. Take some time to read each one and quietly reflect on what they mean to you. When you are ready, write down your thoughts in the lines underneath each quote. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matthew 6:19-21) The world promises you comfort. But you were not made for comfort, you were made for greatness Pope Benedict XVI. 57