The Sin of Materialism

Materialism Defined
>Its 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 19:1622

The Rich Young

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 5:12
>The 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.

Advertising

>The 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 American

>The 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 American

>Each 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 American

> How 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 5:1315
There 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 ruler

>Luke 18:24,25
>And 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 Well

Colossians 3:15

Covetousness
> 1 Corinthians 5:911
>How many of us would refuse to
eat with someone by saying, Im
sorry, I cant eat with you, because
youre covetous?
> 1 Corinthians 6:911
> Ephesians 5:37
> 1 Timothy 3:3
>not given to wine, not violent, not
greedy for money, but gentle, not
quarrelsome, not covetous;

Covetousness in Religion
>1 Timothy 6:310, 1719
>2 Peter 2:1214
>What did Jesus teach?
>Matthew 6:1934
>What 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 5:1624
>Verse 20 idolatry
>We 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 5:10
He who loves silver will not
be satisfied with silver;
Nor he who loves
abundance, with increase.
This also is vanity.

Job 31:2425, 28
If 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

The Remedy to Covetousness

>Contentment.
>Hebrews 13:5,6
>Let 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
6:11
Give us this
day our daily
bread.

Proverbs 30:8,9

Give 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 6:33,34
But 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 4:1113
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