The Futility of Materialism

There is nothing wrong with living in a mansion or driving an expensive car. Many times wealthy Christians have been ostracized for having a lot of money. Some of them have inherited riches while others have worked for it. Having money isn’t sinful—however, allowing money to have our hearts will drive us towards a lifestyle of materialism.

Materialism is driven by discontentment with what God has provided. If we aren’t careful, we can easily get sucked up into materialism. All of a sudden, our home is not good enough for us to live in, our vehicle looks old and dated, our clothing is out of style and our technological equipment runs too slow. Our vision turns from gratefulness to feelings of entitlement. We find ourselves running up debt just to feed our pride and give the appearance of success to others.

Yet, how refreshing it is to live within the discipline of contentment? This doesn’t mean that we never upgrade our homes, cars, clothing, or technology. It means that we can find a place of contentment whether everything is updated or not. We learn to temper our wants and needs so that we are living a balanced spiritual life.

The futility of materialism is that all of it is perishing. Every home, car, clothing item, and technological device is going to one day come to nothing. And nothing we own on this earth will mean anything when we pass from this life to the next. Our opportunity while there is life in our body is to use our things to glorify God as we enjoy them. The Lord has blessed us with things to own, but not for them to own us.

Prayer

Dear Lord, I want to be free from the pursuit of materialism. Simplify my desires so that they are within Your will for my life. In Jesus’ name, amen.

In His Service,

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