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Materialism: Is Your Money Under God�s Control?
Self-control. It’s part of the fruit of the Spirit which Christians are to have in our lives as evidence that we are led and walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-26). It’s one of the Christian qualities that we are to have increasingly in order to “be richly provided…an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5-11). In fact, none of the other traits of love, joy, faithfulness, steadfastness, godliness, and the like that Paul and Peter command us to have would be possible without self-control. Generally, most Christians know this. That’s why we are quick to cite self-control as necessary to overcome such sins as fornication, addiction, and anger.
What about our finances, though? Regrettably, it’s hard to imagine self-control being applied when one looks around and sees how much we Americans are in debt and, more importantly, why we are in debt. Throughout my lifetime, American society has stressed how important it is to “get ahead” by defining success as having the absolute best of everything right now. This is what we call “The American Dream.” Many of us are making that dream a reality, no matter what it takes. According to sociologist Michael Kimmel, the average American home has three TVs, two VCRs, three radios, two tape players, two CD players, more than one video game console, and more than one computer.[1] A website devoted to the video-game industry reported HD-TV ownership growing from 35% in 2008 to 53% in 2009.[2] Add to that what many of us aspire to—nice automobiles, annual season passes to our favorite sporting events and amusement parks each year, a roomful of toys for the kids, and the two-story, double-car garage house with plush carpet, expensive furniture, a putting-green yard with a swimming pool, basketball court, and award-winning flowerbeds and trees.
While nothing is inherently wrong with possessing any of these things, several serious questions must still be raised. For one, how long did it take for our parents and grandparents to acquire these luxuries, if in fact they acquired them at all? The sober truth is that Mom and Dad in some cases got along just fine without having the best of everything, or else saved, scrimped, and sacrificed for years in order to have them in their later years. Not this generation, though. The average credit card balance of young adults is $1,465,[3] yet the average person in that age bracket works on the minimum-wage level.[4] In other words, many of my peers are spending money they don’t have for things they think they need and want to have as soon as possible. We have let ourselves be deceived by Satan’s temptations manifested in the media and by what we see in our society into thinking that happiness will never truly be ours and life will never be at its fullest without_(insert product here) .
Meanwhile, where is our Lord and what is His will for us? Sadly, in many aspects of our lives, they are ignored and eventually forgotten due to our materialistic mindset. God’s kingdom—the Church (Colossians 1:13; Revelation 1:6, 9)—and righteousness are supposed to come absolutely first in our lives (Matthew 6:33). We are supposed to meditate on God’s Word “day and night” (Psalm 1:1-3). We are supposed to offer our best to Him instead of our leftovers (Malachi 1:6-8). We are supposed to cheerfully and liberally give beyond our means to the work of the Church (2 Corinthians 8:1-5; 9:6-7). We are supposed to provide for our families’ necessities (1 Timothy 5:8), which would include food, clothing, and shelter (Matthew 6:25-34), as well as education (Proverbs 22:6; Luke 2:52) and health needs (Matthew 25:36; James 1:27). In addition, husbands are supposed to love and honor their wives (Ephesians 5:25-33; 1 Peter 3:7), wives are supposed to love and respect their husbands and be homemakers (Ephesians 5:33; Titus 2:4-5), and parents are supposed to bring their children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4; cf. 2 Timothy 3:15; Deuteronomy 6:6-7).
Would materialism allow for this? Think about it. If you had the mindset that you have to have the absolute best of everything—right now—then each month an average American family household would probably spend around a minimum of $500 on food and clothing, and $2000 on a mortgage for a very nice house and all the taxes, furnishings, insurance, and utilities that come with it. Add to that a minimum of $850 for at least three nice vehicles (two for the parents, and at least one decent car for the kids so they can feel popular at school) and all the driving expenses, maintenance, and loan and insurance payments that come with them. Don’t forget the $500-800 you’ll need on average every month for college and savings for your children, and $450-700 for health benefits for the entire family. Add this up and we’re looking at a minimum required annual income of $51,000-60,000—just to cover the cost of the necessities, specifically the best of the best of said necessities. This is not counting the annual minimum of $10,000-20,000 needed to cover the cost of the various luxuries that we think we must have, some of which was listed earlier!
Now, how many of us have a job that pays $50,000-80,000 a year? Some do, but more of us do not. That means that either we will go into credit card debt and have to work very hard for a long period of time to get out of it, or both the husband and the wife will have to work. Granted, there is nothing inherently sinful about both spouses working (Proverbs 31:13, 16, 24). However, remember that a week only has 168 hours. With one or both parents working a total of 50-70 hours a week, often at all hours of the day or night, what time is left for their marriage? What time is left for the type of parenting that God wants from them? What time is left for the work of the Church, or for the worship assemblies of the saints? What time is left for personal Bible study and devotion? And when one has the mindset that I must have the best of everything right now and therefore puts the majority of his income towards achieving that end, what amount of his finances goes to the Lord?
Not much.
Are we too busy laying up treasures on earth instead of in Heaven (Matthew 6:19-21)? Have we forgotten that in the end what we obtain here on earth is meaningless (1 Timothy 6:7; Ecclesiastes 2:1-11)? I think many of us have. How else do you explain why so many Christians are apathetic and lazy in their service to God? How else do you explain why many missionaries and church works cannot get proper funding? How else do you explain the high divorce and adultery rate and how our society as a whole becomes more and more corrupt with each generation? Our materialistic desire for riches has truly caught us in a snare and has caused us to stray from the Faith (1 Timothy 6:9-10).
How would we know if God truly had control of our finances? This will happen if we remember that we exist only to serve Him (Ecclesiastes 12:13). We must also remember that everything we do must be by His authority (Colossians 3:17). If we truly believe that, we will then “count the cost” (Luke 14:25-33). This means that we will figure out what our income will be and then make a godly budget which puts Him and His Church first (Matthew 6:33), followed by the true needs of our family and others before our own needs and desires (1 Timothy 5:8; Philippians 2:3-4). In order to follow this budget, we must then work to always have an attitude of contentment, regardless of how much we have or don’t have, knowing that as long as we are faithfully obedient the eternal reward will be more than worth it (Philippians 4:11-12; 3:12-14, 17).
What is needed for any of this to happen? Once again, we come back to self-control. Do you have self-control in your life? Is your money in God’s control?
[1] Michael Kimmel, Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men. New York: HarperCollins, 2008. p. 145.
[2] http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=24757
[3] http://www.money-zine.com/Financial-Planning/Debt-Consolidation/Credit-Card-Debt-Statistics/
