Materialism – Breathe. Pray. Repeat.

Greedy or Giving?

Mine.

It’s one of the first words we understand as children. From the moment we begin to understand the concept of possession, selfishness becomes part of our nature.

No, you can’t have that toy. That’s mine. No, I don’t want to share it with them. It’s mine.

Not to piggyback on a cliché, but — ahem — sharing is caring. We must give to others because we care. But this is a concept many struggle with throughout their lives, namely in the form of financial giving and sacrifice.

All that we have belongs to God, especially our money and treasures. He is the one who blesses us with increase, no matter how hard we may have worked for it. It’s the Lord who gives us abilities and opportunities to receive financial blessings. And when we refuse to give what He’s blessed us with back to Him, we’re stealing from Him.

“Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.”
Malachi 3:8 KJV

Not only are we robbing God when we refuse to give Him a mere ten percent of our increase, but we’re also depriving ourselves and others of blessings. The more we hold onto our money and treasures and say, “Mine,” the more we make idols of them. We cannot serve two masters.

“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
Matthew 6:24 KJV

The love of money is the root of all evil. If you’re having a difficult time giving your treasures to God and His Kingdom, perhaps it’s because you love it more than you love God – perhaps it’s because you trust money more than God or perhaps it’s because you aren’t really invested in His Kingdom.

“Tithing is not a bill or tax. It’s obedience. It’s an act of faith.”
Tony Wyatt Jr.

You love God, you say, but you can’t do what He asks you to do. You love His Kingdom, you say, but don’t want to give to support its growth. You trust the Lord, you say, but when times are tough, you withhold more from God rather than let Him be your Provider.

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:19 KJV

I have never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging for bread (see Psalm 37:25). It rains on the just and unjust, and we will all struggle with financial difficulty, but when we still give to the Lord what is His even in tough times, we’re showing how much we truly trust and love Him. And He will take care of our needs every time.

Loving money more than trusting God will lead you down a selfish path. If you withhold from God financially, chances are you’ll withhold from Him in other areas. Greed takes many forms. Treasure is more than just money.

If you refuse to obey God’s command and give to Him and His Kingdom, how else will you refuse Him? You can be greedy with your time. You can be greedy with your talents. You can be greedy with the blessings He’s given you.

“The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”
Matthew 19:20-24 KJV

The greedy person reaps the refusal of God, but the giving person reaps acceptance into His Glory.

Give not just your money but your time, your talents, your blessings, your love, your abilities – give yourself to God, to His Kingdom, and to reach your community.

What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world but lose his own soul? (See Mark 8:34-37)

Give yourself away to God, and He will provide for your every need and bless you with greater abundance in life’s blessings than the world could ever promise to give.

“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over…”
Luke 6:38a KJV

BONUS:

Here are 7 good financial habits that we went over in our Sunday morning Hyphen/young adult class a few Sundays ago. Write these down and start working today on applying them to your life:

Budget
Pay your bills on time
Don’t go into needless debt
Give & pay your tithes
Save
Plan for the future
Write down your financial goals

The Temporal vs The Eternal: Tuning Out the World and Tuning into the Spirit

Hollywood held the 93^rd Academy Awards ceremony this Sunday, but not many tuned in to see it. In fact, recent polls reveal that the majority of Americans have not even seen or heard of any of the films nominated at the Oscars. This is, of course, very good news.

Ten-plus years ago, I remember hearing of the films that won awards at the Oscars and being somewhat familiar with them. Back then, I watched the short clips of humorous moments that had happened at the ceremony that were still family friendly and did not alienate half of the country because of different values and beliefs. Things are very different now, and the polls that show most Americans did not watch the Oscars or the nominated films may be a sign that the culture of celebrity worship is dying as the average American is more concerned with keeping their job during the pandemic and spending time with their family.

So, why is the tuning out of Hollywood significant for us as Christians?

Because it’s an indicator that many more conservative, centrist, and/or Christian Americans are waking up to what truly matters in our life: the physical, mental, and yes, spiritual wellbeing of ourselves and our families.

One writer on Facebook wrote about how refreshing it is that Hollywood is becoming completely irrelevant to Americans. Many no longer look to the Oscars for entertainment or obsess over films and celebrities that took home several awards.

Instead, they go to work, take their kids to the park, attend church on Sunday, and completely forget that the Oscars were even coming up or happened at all.

This is a sign that our lives truly do not and should not revolve around materialism, consumerism, and temporal things, such as Hollywood, in order for our lives to be fulfilling and purposeful.

Indeed, it is true that the more we spend time in God’s presence and reading His Word, the more we feel fulfilled in Him. The more we focus on living a life that is pleasing to God, the more we invest in our eternity with Him, and the more we tune out the distractions of this world, the more our purpose will come into focus and the more our lives will become balanced and our minds at peace.

“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”
Matthew 24:35 (KJV)

The decline of Hollywood and celebrity worship culture should inspire us to keep our minds and affection set on things above. Nothing in this world will remain, which means that nothing in this world is worth sacrificing eternity in Heaven with our King Jesus. When we tune into the Spirit, then we can understand the importance of investing in things eternal over things temporal.

Robert Frost wrote a famous poem in 1923 called “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” essentially about the fleeting and fading nature of life. Part of the poem reads, “Then leaf subsides to leaf/so Eden sank to grief/So dawn goes down to day/Nothing gold can stay.” Frost was referring to the golden buds or flowers on trees that turn to leaves before withering away and to the idea that nothing beautiful or seemingly innocent will last. Our lives are but a vapor, after all.

The gold in Frost’s poem takes on a new meaning when thinking of the Oscars. The awards celebrities give themselves take the form of literal golden statues, but each award becomes irrelevant by the time the next awards season rolls around, and they gather again in hopes of receiving yet another award. You see, when you tune into materialism and gorge yourself with a worldly appetite, the accolades and praise from society’s echo chamber become shallow, unsatisfying, and meaningless. When you fail to invest in the Kingdom, life becomes hollow. You lose out on what truly matters, and your spiritual wellbeing falls into decay just like the grass that withers and the flower that fades.

“When you tune into materialism and gorge yourself with a worldly appetite, the accolades and praise from society’s echo chamber become shallow, unsatisfying, and meaningless.”

Hollywood is fleeting. The films they make are not forever. Their fame, fortune, and success will not last.

But the things of God will stand forever while the things of this world will pass away.

So, to those investing more in temporal things and to those in Hollywood obsessed with acquiring their collection of awards, I say: remember—nothing gold can stay.

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.”
Matthew 6:19-20 (KJV)

“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”
Colossians 3:2 (KJV)

Our True Value

30% off sales galore
On toys and clothes from every store!
Hurry to get them before they’re all gone
When the Black Friday shoppers battle at dawn!

Shopping carts clash and fights become petty;
You buy all the things but run out of money.

~a poem by yours truly. Quite Shakespearean, don’t you think?

•••••

Black Friday has commenced once again, and I may have bought fuzzy socks on sale, but even I have to remind myself every year that “things” are not why we’re here. If we’re not careful, we can become obsessed with buying and acquiring all the things we think we want–shoes, appliances, boats, new hunting gear, or whatever we’ve set our sights on. Before we know it, materialism has consumed our pocketbook and corrupted our sense of value. Many consumers wind up finding their happiness in the things they acquire as though they’ve won trophies and have elevated their own social status.

But we do tend to equate a person’s value with the things they own or the amount of money they have. If a person has a bigger house, better car, or money for elaborate vacations every year, we think they’re more important or special than us. They mean more because they’re “worth” more. However, our value is not found in things but in our salvation and in Christ. This material, physical, tangible world will not remain forever, and sometimes we must remind ourselves not to make idols of the things we may possess.

(19) “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
(20) But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:”

~Matthew 6:19-20, KJV

Although shopping in itself is not an evil thing and neither is money, it is the love of money that is the root of all evil. Instead of finding our value in the things we can’t take with us to Heaven, we must remember that to God we are all worth saving in spite of what we may or may not have. The poor man is as special and valuable to God as the rich man. Our home is in Heaven and our worth is in Christ. So, while all the things we may have are okay and are often gifts from God, they are not what determines our value in life.

I love clothes and shoes and hats like many girls, but I know that whether I’m wearing that expensive, pretty, new dress that is all the rave or not, my worth does not change to God. I know that we should all instead strive to remind ourselves this time of year to remember what’s truly important and why we’re celebrating this season. We celebrate Christmas not for the things we can buy but to commemorate the birth of the One who thought we were worth saving. Jesus came to save the poor, the lost, the broken, the lonely, the hurting. He is our treasure, and Heaven is our goal.

“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”

~Colossians 3:2 (KJV)