Sunday December 31
Money has become the god of this world, and materialism is its religion. Materialism is a sophisticated and insidious system that offers temporary security but no ultimate safety.
Materialism, as we define it here, is when the desire for wealth and possessions becomes more important and more valuable than spiritual realities. Possessions may have value, but their value shouldn’t possess us: “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income” (Eccles. 5:10, NIV). That’s the problem with desiring the things of this world: no matter how much we get, it’s never enough; we push harder and harder for more and more of what can never satisfy us. Talk about a trap!
Read 1 John 2:16, 17. What does this text tell us about what really matters?
Read Luke 14:26-33. What is Jesus telling us here, too, about what is of supreme importance for the Christian?
Maybe it could be said like this: those for whom money, or the desire for money, becomes an all-consuming reality should, indeed, count the cost. “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” (Mark 8:36, NLT).
“When Christ came to the earth, humanity seemed to be fast reaching its lowest point. The very foundations of society were undermined. Life had become false and artificial. . . . Throughout the world all systems of religion were losing their hold on mind and soul. Disgusted with fable and falsehood, seeking to drown thought, men turned to infidelity and materialism. Leaving eternity out of their reckoning, they lived for the present.” - Ellen G. White, Education, pp. 74, 75.
People drawn to infidelity and materialism and living only for the present? Sound familiar?
Who doesn’t like to own things? The question is: How can we know if the things we own, even if not many, own us, as well? Who alone should own us, and how can we be sure that He does?
