1. A worldly view of Materialism
A. Essential to Quality of Life
- i. For the world money, or material goods, is synonymous with the quality of life for an individual, or a society. In other words, we can judge how “good” a person is living based on what they own, and/or where they live. Of course, this is not to say that these things do not, or cannot, contribute to a high quality of life; the point is that the world sees them as necessary features of it.
- “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Luke 12:15
- Jesus warns that “life” can be defined by “abundance of possessions”. The world depends on these things in order to have an identity.
- ii. This identity that the world finds leads to this supposed Quality of life that material goods are an essential part of. Once the quality of life is defined, the world now has a class or level of society to identify with. This is exactly what Jesus warned against. As long as material possessions are defining us, they will control us.
b. The Means and the Ends
- i. For the most part, individuals can do, or obtain, certain things in life in order to reach a greater goal. Material possessions and wealth have the funny nature of contradicting this. They constantly become the means and the ends – whatever they intend to reach is only more of the same thing. When someone in the world only has an identity in money, they may pursue it vigorously. Once they’ve succeeded, all the money can do, by its very nature, is possess more possessions. Therefore, the personal happiness, or “quality”, of an individual has no real connection with the stuff they own. It’s only in the imagination.
- He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity, Eccl.5:10.
- Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun, Eccl.2:11
- “The Preacher” can’t understand any real or physical connection to material goods either. As a matter of fact, he comes to the conclusion that it’s simply “vapor”.
- ii. The worldly view of material possessions will have society chase after money, in order to obtain more of it, ad infinitum. When there is a lack of actual “ends” to these “means” – the “ends” actually being the glory of God – then we fall into an endless circle; happy for the sake of being happy, or satisfied for the sake of being satisfied.
2. The Christian view of Materialism
- A. Christ is the Quality of Life
- i. Although we aren’t denying any connection whatsoever of material goods to high quality of living, the Christian would deny any real, physical, or, more importantly, necessary connection to quality of life. God tells us that satisfaction is found in Him and for Him.
- Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice, Prov.16:8
- Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife. Prov.17:1, also Psa.37:16
- Righteousness and Peace are indicated as having a higher value than riches. But also, Solomon defines them as simply, “better”. This means that peace and righteousness, both of which Christ fulfills for the Christian, are a quality of life that can be obtained, separate from material possessions. So, the Bible denies any necessary connection to our personal quality or happiness with “stuff”.
- ii. Since Identity is found in Christ, the Christian’s pursuit of righteousness, holiness, and so on, can be done apart from the material goods they own. There is no intrinsic value found apart from what Christ brings.
b. A Means to an End
- i. Unlike other worldviews, such as asceticism or some branches of Buddhism, just because something doesn’t have intrinsic or eternal value, that doesn’t mean it’s useless. Christians have an “end” in clear sight; and the “means” of material possessions can be used to glorify this “End”. Far from ignoring the impact and influence of material goods, Christianity would seek, for a lack of a better word, to manipulate them. The believer should not be controlled by money, but, to the contrary, they should control it.
- Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Heb.13:5 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils, 1 Tim.6:10a
- But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matt.6:33
- What should be noticed here is that material possessions are never identified as the intrinsic evil that causes a person’s destruction. Rather, it is his/her disposition towards these things. Money becomes master. However, the Christian is called to serve only one Master. Just like any other form that derives from the world, art, music, literature, and so on, there are some forms of these that are used for good, and some for evil. There is good music and bad music; good art and bad art. And it’s the proper identification of an End, which the Christian has, that makes it useful for the glory of God.ii. In addition, no one can deny that although the Scripture warns constantly against the love of money, it also commends the possession material goods as a blessing.
- Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine, Proverbs 3:9, 10
- The LORD will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. Deut 28:8
- …May our granaries be full, providing all kinds of produce; may our sheep bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields; Psalm 144:13
- This small selection indicates that possessions, rightly managed, can be a blessing from God. Unlike the world, the Christian does not fall into disparity when it ceases to idolize material goods. Rather, the Christian can find its proper use by utilizing it the way God intended.
3. Applications
- The opportunity to bless others – Christians can use these things for the Glory of God. Countless dollars have been used to provide essential services to 3rd world countries, send servants to mission trips, provide for inner cities, and create critical ministries for emergency response.
- Inspires the Christian to action – This inspiration can come from many directions. Whether someone needs a job to provide, or marriage is on the horizon, since money is acknowledged by God as an aspect of the Christian life, a believer cannot be lazy. That doesn’t mean every Christian will have a high salary, but it does mean that every Christian should rightly work for what they own.
- Promotes Stewardship – Possibly one of the more pressing and serious parts of Christian living, the believer is called to learn how to handle these possessions. This can be confrontational for us, in terms of changing spending priorities and goals. Remember, since Christians can’t ignore its influence and impact on reality, we must develop the knowledge necessary to use it rightly. How else are we to glorify God with it if we have none left at the end of the month!
- Further developments of thought – Without delving into specifics, we also must acknowledge how Christianity and Scripture have influenced economics. Since material goods are not idolized or ignored, biblically based economics has had a hard time finding a home with theories such as communism, socialism, or unrestrained capitalism. After the Protestant Reformation, much has changed across the economic landscape. Luther promoted the idea of God blessing vocational work. Calvin further developed this concept regarding the money that is produced through this vocational work, and what constitutes a Christian society based on that capital. At any rate, it would be most beneficial to apply what we’ve learned so far on how the world and Scripture view money, and to apply that knowledge to these theories. As Christians, we should not be fooled into any “packages of thought” that we think promote fair handling of money and goods. The bottom line is that regardless of where we’re at personally, the Bible has final authority on these matters. And sometimes that doesn’t always fit into the neat little boxes we’d like them to.
Discussion Questions:
- Do our own spending habits affect our Christian walk?
- What is being “materialistic”, and how do we know where to draw the line? What is poor, what is rich?
- What can we do as Christians to prevent ourselves from idolizing money while still pursuing a decent living? However we define “decent living”.
- How does an inadequate understanding of God’s view of money lead to poor stewardship habits?
- Can the Christian Church truly be a steward of money/material goods and still be free from temptation?
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