I can't stand that new Dr. Pepper commercial. You know the one with the words "I want it all/I want it all/I want it all/And I want it now" blaring in the background while the guy jumps from scene to scene. How obnoxious. I mostly hate it because that song is pretty much the motto of our culture. So much so that I think those words concisely sum up all of the problems with our society. We are so materialistic and self-focused that we have no clue who God is or what He wants for our lives. And we don't really care because we're so consumed with our collective sense of entitlement that we don't see the need to concern ourselves about the bigger picture at all.
God has some things to say about greed that would make most Americans stop in their tracks if they took the time to listen and really understand what He is saying. I will just highlight a few key points from the Bible on materialism.
Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." --Luke 12:15
These are words straight from the mouth of our Savior. The enemy has infiltrated American culture so deeply that many of us truly believe that our lives do in fact consist of the abundance of our possessions. One of my favorite lines from Rent is "And when you're living in America/At the end of the millenium/You're what you own." We're now at the beginning of a new millenium and these words still ring true. Many of us in the upper-middle class sector spend our days slaves to jobs we don't like because we say we need the money. Maybe there is something we would rather be doing, but that would mean a pay cut and a sacrifice of the lifestyle we love. The line between what we truly need and what we simply want is so blurred that when we speak we say we need it all. Inadvertantly or not, we have given our lives to our possessions. We still feel empty because we are missing the abundance of life that God has for us that has nothing to do with what we own. But instead of recognizing our emptiness for what it is, we seek to fill it with even more possessions.
But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. --Ephesians 5:3
Paul is pretty clear here. The very things which permeate American culture are basically the opposite of what God wants to see in our lives. The enemy has used the media to normalize that which is improper for God's children. I am certain it breaks God's heart to see how many of His children have chosen the enemy's path rather than God's path. Falling into Satan's trap of immorality is not an excuse to stay there when God has given us access to the truth. Maybe it is difficult to overcome the daily pressure from the media to live a certain lifestyle, but nowhere in the Bible are we promised an easy life when we become Christians. Part of the way God refines us is through our daily battle with temptation. We cannot get away with using the influence of the media as an excuse for leading improper lives. We are called to overcome the lure of materialism and we will be held accountable for our lifestyles, including how we use the financial gifts He's given us.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. --Colossians 3:5
Paul's words in the verse are similar to the verse above from Ephesians, but what we need to focus on now is that last word: idolatry. Our materialism translates into idolatry because we are worshipping our posessions. God does bless us materially sometimes, but if our possessions become our focus instead of the One who gave them to us, we are idol worshippers. When we walk around with the "I want it all" mantra cycling through our heads, that attitude becomes part of our hearts and our spriits and we live subject to our things rather than to subject to our Creator. God is jealous (Exodus 34:14). He wants our whole selves--heart, mind, body, soul--and He is angered when we give all or part of ourselves to anyone or anything other than Him. This is the sin of materialism and the very definition of idolatry. Many of us give our things and the pursuit of more things lordship in our lives.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence." --Matthew 23:25
I saved these words from Jesus because His description of the Pharisees sums up the lifestyle of so many Christians living in our society today. We purify our lives from the outside rather than from the inside. We spout off self-righteous words, but our lives reflect hypocrisy rather than purity. We are quick to cast judgment on others for the sin we see in their lives (sexual sin being a favorite topic of judgment for many Christians), but we don't recognize the areas of sin in our own lives. Certainly it is easier to dwell on the things we are doing well rather than to look at the areas where we are failing God's call on our lives. Much like in Jesus' day, our society focuses all of its attention on outside appearances which is how we got so caught up in materialism in the first place--our possessions are easy to see and an easy way to measure our worth. But Jesus called the Pharisees to look at the inside rather than the outside, and He is calling us to do the same.
At the beginning of DC Talk's "What if I Stumble" song, a recording says, "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips then walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable." If our mantra is our culture's mantra, "I want it all," then this becomes our lifestyle. People can tell by looking at us whether we serve the God of the Bible or our culture's god of greed. Which god do you live for?
Posted by Kim at February 12, 2007 09:26 AM