Materialism

   God doesn’t say that we aren’t to have and enjoy material goods.  But He does make it clear that we are to be stewards of all that we possess in this life.  A steward is a manager; a “trustee” of the property that actually belongs to another.  Paul reminds us in I Timothy 6:17 that it is God who abundantly gives all things. The Christian, therefore, is to think and to live in a way that acknowledges God as the true owner of all that He brings into our life, and that He has a purpose for those possessions beyond our earthly provision and enjoyment.  

   All Christians have been entrusted with time, talents, treasure, temples (our bodies), our testimony, and much more. God has promised eternal blessings to those who wisely, faithfully, and fruitfully invest what He entrusts to them.  However, there is an enemy of our faithful stewardship. It is the enemy within -- the flesh, our old fallen nature.

   Paul warns of this “old man” when he describes the inordinate desire for material goods as “the will to be rich” (I Timothy 6:9).   But, actually, the truth is: money itself is not the real problem. Money is actually neutral. Instead, it is the love of money, our tendency to crave and to trust in uncertain riches, which is the problem.

   Let’s be clear -- this problem of man “loving” riches is not unique to our materialistic generation. In Genesis 3, we read that Eve eyed the forbidden fruit, which we’re told was pleasant to the eyes, good for food, and desirable to make one wise.  Note that the desire for material goods isn’t always the desire for great wealth.  It may simply be the yearning to gain control over our lives and to minimize uncertainty.  But, while God doesn’t promise that we will have all our needs stored up in advance, He does offer us a life free from uncertainty if we will trust Him. Still, the temptation is to see material things as a means of control in our lives.   That’s what Eve wanted to do.  The tendency of our flesh is to seek material things; first, for our provision; second, for power; and third, for purpose in life.  

   We tend to focus our energies on providing our material needs.  You might ask: “Isn’t that natural?  After all, we need food, clothing, and shelter.” Yes, these needs are natural, and that’s just the point.  Jesus calls us not to a natural, but to a supernatural life.  He promises to meet the material needs of the Kingdom-seeking believer. (Matthew 6:33)   From the day that Paul met the Lord on the road to Damascus, he pursued the purposes of the Kingdom, and his needs were always met.  He said that he learned how to be content with much or with little.  He told Timothy to be content with food and clothing (I Timothy 6:8).

   Yet, the old nature is almost never satisfied with merely our needs.  We also have wants -- desires for things we don’t really need.  In my law practice, I’ve counseled many people with problems that started with coveting things they couldn’t afford.  I Timothy 6:6 teaches that “godliness with contentment is great gain.”  God wants His stewards not only to live by faith, but to live in contentment.

   Unfortunately, that old nature isn’t satisfied even when its needs and wants are met.  It craves more; it craves ease.  Remember Luke 12:16-19: “And he spake a parable unto them, saying, ‘The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I store all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.’” Our old natural man, our flesh, wants ease, the ease to eat, drink, and be merry.  This is an earth-bound way of thinking.

   In contrast, God wants His stewards to have an eternal perspective, not a temporal, earthly perspective. Believers do not live on this earth to have ease, but to serve God until He removes the stewardship from us. We should not be seeking physical and circumstantial ease.  Rather, if we seek God’s kingdom, He will give us “ease of soul” or spiritual ease.

   In my law practice I see wealthy people every week. Many are miserable and empty. They have no focus, no purpose, and no joy. Even though they may have acquired physical ease through their riches, they have no ease of soul.

   Many times over the years I have had the opportunity to introduce clients to our Lord Jesus Christ -- numbers of them on deathbeds in hospital wards.  What a privilege to be able to give them the Truth that brought them ease of soul for the first time!

   Perhaps you have accepted the idea that you will not make a lot of money in ministry or at your current vocation.  But that does not mean you are immune from the temptation of pursuing more income than God intends for you.  You might consider taking on another job or seeking a larger church. But if money becomes your motivation, you will never be satisfied no matter how much money you earn. You will be anxious and dissatisfied because the flesh is never satisfied.  It continually desires more.

   Jesus told us that we should see our material possessions not as ends in themselves, but as tools to use for Christ. In Luke 16:9, Jesus says: “Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness that when ye fail,” that is, when you die, when the stewardship is removed from you, “they may receive you into everlasting habitations.”  That’s the supernatural, eternal perspective. We should use the mammon of unrighteousness (our material possessions) to invest in souls for eternity. That is good stewardship.  That is the life pursuit that will be rewarded beyond our imagination.

   Beyond seeking provision, the old nature is also seeking material possessions in order to acquire power.  We think that money will purchase control over our circumstances.  Well, doesn’t it?  With money we can buy cars and homes.  We can travel or move to a different part of the country.  We can control our circumstances, right?   Well, it may seem so for a while, but it is God who meets our needs and, in reality, controls our circumstances.  He tells us to trust in His providence.

   Evangelist Bob Jones, Sr. said: “Success is finding the will of God and doing it.”  That’s true success -- finding the circumstances that God ordains for you, not trying to purchase advantageous circumstances with the power of money.  It is true, money can buy social visibility and popularity for a time, but it is not lasting.  Money can also buy power in business and in social organizations.  Money can buy authority.  Buy enough stock in a company and you control the company.  A person can buy a seat in Congress if he has enough money.   Remember the earthly golden rule?  “He who has the gold rules.”  But trying to buy social power, status, visibility, approval, popularity, or recognition reveals a lack of confidence in, and commitment to, God’s sovereignty.  

   God is the one who lifts up, and God is the one who brings low. “The Lord maketh poor and maketh rich. He bringeth low, he lifteth up.” I Samuel 2:7.  Ezekiel 17:24 says: “And all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish. I the Lord have spoken and have done it.”  When Joseph was lifted up to second-in-command in the kingdom and when Daniel was lifted up, they did not politic for their positions or attempt to purchase them.  They recognized the sovereign will of God for their lives, and they were faithful and content in it.   

   Lastly, not only does our old flesh look to material things for provision and power, but it also looks to money for purpose in life.  Evolution teaches that animal life climbed out of the primordial swamp, that man evolved from monkeys, and that there is no Creator.  If there is no Creator, then man is not responsible to a higher authority, man is not dependent, and man’s fate depends entirely on whatever he does for himself.   Consequently, there is no reason he cannot pursue all the things he wants. His purpose in life becomes the accumulation of, and the preoccupation with, material goods.   It is so easy for our flesh to be deceived into this way of thinking.

   In contrast, God’s intent for man is that he glorify God and enjoy Him forever. In order for man to enjoy God forever, he must first trust Him for salvation. In order for man to continue glorifying God, he must trust Him daily for everything else and be His loving, obedient servant.

   The love of money and the pursuit of material things leads us away from God and into spiritual impoverishment.  On the other hand, seeking the Kingdom, promoting the Kingdom, and expanding the Kingdom bring blessing and spiritual reward.  If we fear anything, we should fear standing before our Lord empty-handed, with no crowns to cast before Him in praise, or standing at the judgment seat of Christ with all of our earthly works burned up and lying in ashes at our feet.  That is a frightening picture -- but it is one that will be the result of being sidetracked by materialism, and of being deceived into thinking that provision, power and purpose are to be found in material things.

   Richard Owen Roberts said: “We are not here to entertain ourselves, to accumulate a fortune and die.  We are here to do the will of God, to find our place of service in His kingdom and to persevere faithfully in God’s ministry until the end.”  Don’t be distracted by materialism. Do you want real provision, true riches, real power, and real purpose?  Lay up for yourself treasures in Heaven.

Atty. Joe Helm
McLario, Helm, Bertling & Spiegel, S.C.
www.mclario.com
N88 W16783 Main St.
Menomonee Falls, WI 53051-2890
Tel:  (262) 251-4210