Exposing Materialism or
The Spirit of Christmas Present, Materialism
Luke 12:13-21
Introduction
Some Materialism Stats.
Materialism: A doctrine that the only or the highest value or objectives lie in material well-being and in the furtherance of material progress”
Money, Possessions and Eternity, Randy Alcorn, p. 54
Fundamental law of material
Like gravity – greater mass, greater hold.
The Text: Luke 12:13-21
Prop: Materialism is
insidious and dangerous. We must expose
it for what it is and run for deliverance to the messiah.
Materialism dirties us,
deceives us, destroys us.
The Messiah Delivers us.
Some biblical examples: Balaam, Delilah, Solomon, Gehazi –servant of Naaman and Elisha, Judas, Ananias and Sapphira, Simon
1.
Materialism
Dirties All of Us
Luke 12:13-21 (ESV)
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to
divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who
made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against
all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of
his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land
of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself,
‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he
said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and
there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to
my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink,
be merry.’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is
required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21
So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward
God.”
·
The average American planned to spend $800 on Christmas
gifts in 1997 - almost three times what the average Vietnamese citizen earns in
a year of labor.
·
96 percent of 8 to 12 year olds included a big screen
TV in their holiday wish list for 1997. Nearly three-fourths of parents say
they would like to reduce their children's TV watching.
·
It takes an average of six months for a credit-card
user to pay off holiday bills.
·
The total
·
Americans produce five million extra tons of trash each
year between Thanksgiving and New Years Day.
·
Compared to the 1950's, Americans are twice as rich,
but less happy. The average American's buying power has doubled since the 1950s
but in national surveys the number saying they were "very happy"
declined from 35 to 30 percent.
·
The
·
Eighty-four percent of Americans would prefer a less
materialistic holiday, but Christmas retail sales increased seven percent last
year.
·
Teenagers see 360,000 advertisements by the time they
graduate from high school. There are more shopping centers in the
·
Two-thirds of Americans say they would be happier if
they had more time to spend with family and friends. Only 15 percent say they'd
be happier if they had nicer possessions.
·
Nearly a third of Americans say they have voluntarily
traded income for improvements in quality of life.
·
Half of
Americans would rather have more free time, even if it means less money.
·
Americans now work about one month longer a year on
average than they did two decades ago.
·
Each day, the average American city-dweller consumes
150 gallons of water, 3.3 pounds of food and 15 pounds of fossil fuels and
produces 120 gallons of sewage, 3.4 pounds of garbage and 1.3 pounds of
pollutants.
·
82 percent of Americans agree that we buy and consume
more than we need.
·
93 percent of American teenage girls say shopping is their
favorite pastime.
·
Sources(via the
web):
Chicago Tribune, The Economist, E Magazine, Adbusters, Center for a New
American Dream, New Roadmap, Merck Family Fund, U.S. News and World Report,
Zero Population Growth, The Overworked American
There is within the human heart a tough, fibrous root of fallen life whose nature is to possess, always to possess. It covets things with a deep and fierce passion. The pronouns my and mine look innocent enough in print, but their constant and universal use is significant. They express the real nature of the old Adamic man better than a thousand volumes of theology could do. They are verbal symptoms of our deep disease. The roots of our hearts have grown down into things, and we dare not pull up one rootlet lest we die. Things have become necessary to us, a development never originally intended. God’s gifts now take the place of God, and the whole course of nature is upset by the monstrous substitution.
AW Tozer, The Pursuit of God, p. 21-22 as quoted from MPE, Alcorn, p. 53
What gets you most excited?
Let’s take your pulse while I say the following words:
, your morning devotional time, family prayer time, Sunday morning worship, Caregroup, Jesus returning, the new heaven and new earth, paying off your mortgage this year, a brand new sport utility vehicle, a winning lottery ticket,
2.
Materialism
Deceives Us
Luke 12:13-21 (ESV)
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to
divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made
me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take
care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not
consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a
parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and
he thought to himself, ‘What shall I
do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my
barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19
And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many
years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20 But God said to him,
‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have
prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure
for himself and is not rich toward God.”
1 Timothy 6:9-19 (ESV)
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a
snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and
destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of
evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith
and pierced themselves with many pangs.
17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.
2.1.
Promises Rest
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods
laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’
“RELAX!”
College buddy who was already living for retirement.
The
study found that households with incomes below $10,000 give away an average of
2.8% of their income, while households with incomes between $50,000 and
$100,000 give away only 1.5%. Nearly half of the total contributions to charity
in the
(From
Independent Sector, a
Reported in Feb, 1989, Confident Living, p. 20
.
Ecclesiastes 5:12 (NIV)
12 The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much,
but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep.
2.2.
Promises Security
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’
Proverbs 18:11 (ESV)
11 A rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in
his imagination.
When one of the wealthiest men in history, John D. Rockefeller, died, his accountant was asked, “How much did John D. leave?” The accountants reply was classic: “He left all of it.”
Money, Possessions and Eternity, Randy Alcorn, p. 57
2.3.
Promises Joy
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’
This is all I need – character in “The Jerk”.
The comic strip “Cathy” depicts an interesting dialogue between a young man and woman. Pointing to each item as they refer to it, first one, then the others says, “Safari clothes that will never be near a jungle. Aerobic footwear that will never set foot in an aerobics class. Deep-sea dive watch that will never get damp. Keys to a four wheel drive that will never experience a hill. Architectural magazines we don’t read filled with pictures of furniture we don’t like. Financial strategy software keyed to a checkbook that’s lost somewhere under a computer no one knows how to work. Art poster from an exhibit we never went to of an artist we never heard of.” Finally, with blank stares, one says. “Abstract materialism has arrived,” to which the other rejoins, “We’ve moved past things we want and need and are buying those things that hae nothing to do with our lives.”
Money, Possessions and Eternity, Randy Alcorn, p. 50
2.4.
Lies
15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’
Greed .. has become the besetting sin of a bourgeois culture. The culture is constantly tempted to regard physical comfort and security as life’s final good and to hope for its attainment to a degree that is beyond human possibilities.
R. Neibuhr, the Nature and Destiny of Man, p. 303 via
John D. Rockefeller, when asked how much money is enough, replied "just a little bit more."
Jeremiah 2:11-13 (ESV)
11 Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But
my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. 12 Be
appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, 13 for my people have
committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and
hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
Left playing in mud puddles.
Cannot serve God and money.
Lies that you can.
You can’t.
Only one master.
Materialism a cruel master.
He failed to come to grips with three fundamental facts – the mortality of the present life, the eternality of the future life, and the fact that the future life is being forged by the present life.
Money, Possessions and Eternity, Randy Alcorn, p. 56
Like
Lampwick and Pinochio in the
10 For the love
of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some
have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
3.
Materialism
Destroys Us
Luke 12:13-21 (ESV)
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to
divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who
made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them,
“Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does
not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told
them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and
he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’
18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build
larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And
I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years;
relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20
But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and
the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one
who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Revelation 18:2-7 (ESV)
2 And he called out with a mighty voice, “Fallen, fallen is
3.1.
Destroys Spiritual
Life
Some “Amway” Christians I met – trust abused, friendship abused.
Story of time with the “Amway” couple who were living for their “dreams”.
Compromise of their passion for Christ.
Notable public Christians – televangelists etc.
Quote on test of prosperity.
A leader of the persecuted church in
Money, Possessions and Eternity, Randy Alcorn, p67
Drs. Ed Diener of the University of Illinois and Martin Seligman at the University of Pennsylvania - 8-28 in GDP per capita, 7.2 happiness level all through…..we are no less content than our grandparents were 60 years ago!
"Imagine a society where everyone lived like upper income Americans," says Diener. "You'd still find the comparison effect." In other words, someone earning $500,000 a year would still not be content because they would look at the individual earning $5 million a year and want that instead of what they've got. The 4,000-square-foot house wouldn't suffice; you'd need the 8,000-square-foot house to really feel "happy."
Once our basic needs are met — food, shelter, safety — "materialism becomes a negative predictor of happiness," according to Diener. "Because goals become so unattainable, you never reach them. There always something- more stuff you can buy."
Still not convinced? Ask yourself this: On a scale of 1 (not at all) to 7 (completely) how satisfied are you with your life?
You might find it interesting that the Maasai, an African tribe that Diener and Seligman describe as "a traditional herding people who have no electricity or running water (...) living in huts made from dung," rate themselves about as content as the wealthiest Americans. Pennsylvania's Amish, who also live without electricity — or yachts or luxury SUVs — also rank at the top of the "Life Satisfaction" scale, as do the Inughuits, native people who live in northern Greenland.
Forbes magazine's
"richest Americans:" 5.8
Inughuit 5.8
African Maasai 5.7
So if material possessions aren't the key to happiness, what is?
Why 'More Stuff' Doesn't Mean Happiness Saturday, December 04, 2004 By Gail Buckner, CFP
3.2.
Unhappiness and
Anxiety
Mt. 13:7 – weeds and thorns.
Matthew 13:22 (ESV)
22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the
word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the
word, and it proves unfruitful.
John D. Rockefeller: “ I have made many millions, but they have
brought me no happiness:
W.H. Vanderbilt: “ The care
of $200,000,000 is enough to kill anyone.
There is no pleasure in it.”
John Jacob Astor: “ I am
the most miserable man on earth.”
Henry Ford: “I was happier
when doing a machanic’s job.”
Andrew Carnegie:
“Millionaires seldom smile.”
Worry
Stock market failure/suicide
Among both men and women the incidence of marital infidelity rises in conjunction with an increase in income. Of the married men earning $20,000 a year, only 31 percent conduct extracurricular love affairs; of the men earning more than $60,000, 70 percent.
David Neff, Drunk on Money
3.3.
Pride and Elitism
Confidence in self – forgetting God.
An offense to God!
Proverbs 30:7-9 (ESV)
7 Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: 8 Remove
far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me
with the food that is needful for me, 9 lest I be full and deny you
and say, “Who is the Lord?” or
lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.
Luke 18:24-25 (ESV)
24 Jesus, looking at him with sadness, said, “How difficult it is
for those who have wealth to enter the
3.4.
Injustice
John
Adams and Declaration of
Pornography,
4.
The Messiah
Rescues Us
15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
So where does life consist?
John 14:6 (ESV)
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No
one comes to the Father except through me.
1 John 1:1-3 (ESV)
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we
have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands,
concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we
have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was
with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have
seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship
with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus
Christ.
Luke 12:32 (ESV)
32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to
give you the kingdom.
“Nothing that is God’s is obtainable by money” (Tertullian, 200 A.D.)
John 11:47-48 (ESV)
47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Council and
said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48 If we
let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come
and take away both our place and our nation.”
5.
Conclusion Applications