Materialism
James 4:1-10
When it comes to materialism, has any nation ever surpassed what we are seeing in the United States right now? We define our lives by how much stuff we have, social status by how much money we make, what we own and wear and where we live. Even most of the important dates on our calendar are all about materialism. Just think about it. We throw outrageous birthday parties for our kids and we shower them with gifts and the biggest holiday of all, Christmas, is an absolute orgy of materialism. We make lists of the wealthiest Americans and we glorify their wealth and possessions in shows like MTV’s cribs, “Million Dollar Homes” and “The Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.” According to the book “Affluenza,” we spend more annually on shoes, jewelry, and watches than we do on higher education. Even the phrase "the American Dream" speaks more about owning a house, a car, vacations, retirement rather than freedom and pursuing your dream and potential. Shopping malls are our churches, celebrities our gods, and “People” and “Vogue” our bibles. Like Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian, you can be famous simply by being rich. President Jimmy Carter said, "Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns."
But no matter what we have, it never seems to be enough. According to the book, “The Overspent American,” 27% of all households making more than $100,000 a year say they cannot afford to buy everything they really need which include SUV’s, laptop computers, digital cameras, electronic personal organizers, and cellular telephones because they’ve all became necessities." (Wuthnow, 192) We have a higher standard of living than 99 percent of the humans that have ever lived on this planet. The US has the highest average salary and average disposable income in the world. In comparison, a doctor in Iraq makes around $1,800 a year. In Ethiopia, the average annual salary is $108. In Niger Africa, the average person makes less than $1 a day. At the same time, the U.S. Department of Labor figures show that the average household spends $2,235 a year on eating out. But even though we have an incredibly high standard of living compared to most of the rest of the world, we still want more.
We have become a materialistic nation and we know it. According to American Mythos, a national survey showed that 82% of Americans thought they were materialistic and 77% said they are self- indulgent. What exactly is materialism? It is "a preoccupation with possessions and believing that products bring happiness and success."
Why have we become so materislistic? First is unhappiness. Americans as a whole are unhappy. In fact, Americans take more anti-depressants than anyone else on the planet. When people are unhappy, they turn to material things to feel better. Second is loneliness. We are an incredibly lonely nation. Today, the United States has the highest percentage of one person households on the entire globe. We don’t even know the people who live next door to us. Faith Popcorn noted two decades ago that we go from work to home and stay there without connecting to friends or neighbors as in times past. She called this cocooning. And though we have more technology than ever before to keep us connected, those interactions are superficial at best, leaving us longing for true emotional intimacy with others. Third is advertising. Susannah Opree writes, "It's really about the way that advertising tries to sell products. The message is: ‘Buy this product because it will make you happy or make you more popular.’" Fourth is peer pressure. Your friends and family buy a new product and tell you how great it is and sooner or later you begin think you need it too. Add to that peer pressure and the “Keeping up with the Joneses” syndrome and others play a large role in our lives when it comes to materialism.
What does the Bible say about materialism? We are blessed to be a blessing. Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Jesus is saying that if we treasure things here on earth and do nothing good with them in this life then we will have no treasure in heaven. This doesn’t mean that you have spend every dime you make to feed the poor and needy, but it does mean we must not hoard for ourselves what God gives to us. We are to share it with others. In that way, we’ll lay up treasures in heaven.
There’s only one God. Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” When you look to things to fulfill your needs and to make you happy, you’re making that your god. And when you do, you break the very first commandment “You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3
It causes trouble and problems in a person’s life. Paul writes in I Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” Materislism not only impacts the lives we lead but also what type of people we become. Materialistic people tend to be narcissistic and concerned with impressing people. They have a tendency to be anxious, depressed, and have low self-esteem. They are less liked by their peers. They have relatively poor relationship skills and lower quality relationships which are less satisfying and become less satisfied with their lives in general over time. As a result, they incur many mental health costs and more prone to depression.
Sadly, no matter how big our homes are or how many shiny new toys we accumulate, we never seem to be happy. We always want more, and we always seem to be willing to go into more debt to get it. In fact, we have accumulated the biggest mountain of debt in the history of the world. More things does not equal happiness. Unfortunately, most Americans have totally bought into this lie believing that more equals a better and happier life. We have more "stuff" than any other society in the history of the world, but it has not made us happy. Ed Diener, a University of Illinois psychology professor and happiness expert says that materialism becomes "a more difficult goal than many because it is open-ended and goes on forever - we can always want more, which is usually not true of other goals such as friendship.
Children who were less satisfied with their lives become more materialistic over time when they are frequently exposed to advertising which teaches them that possessions are a way to increase happiness. The average American child is exposed to 40,000 commercials annually, all with the same message: buy this and you’ll be happy! Materialism only grows when they become teens. Teens not only want the latest games and clothes, but also think owning these things will bring them happiness, friends and popularity. Teens spend $28 billion a year on themselves, not including the more than $200 billion their parents spend on them.
Materialism impacts marriages too. Researchers found that couples in which one or both partners placed a high priority on getting or spending money were much less likely to have satisfying and stable marriages. Jason Carroll, a BYU professor of family life in Provo, Utah says, “Materialism was also linked to less effective communication, higher levels of negative conflict, lower relationship satisfaction, and less marriage stability.”
And men, it’s not the woman’s fault! Men will argue that women are more materialistic, citing the commonly held notion that women tend to look for partners that have significant wealth, as well as women’s shopping habits and concern for clothing, shoes, purses, jewelry, make-up, polished nails, cell phones, perfume, hair. But men are just as guilty and some of the research shows that men are just as materialistic if not more than their female counterparts. Just look at men’s preoccuption with designer clothing, cars, motorcycles and boats, shoes, hats, video games, computers, music, head phones, cologne, excessive male grooming. There’s a lot of blogging on the internet of he said/she said about who’s more materialistic: men or women. Regardless of sex, both are just as susceptible to a materialistic life.
Materialism is not confined to the wealth a person has either. When we think about materislistic people, we often think of the wealthy and the stereotypical “rich kids” and you will find mostly spoiled brats like the “Rich Kids of Instagram, a Tumblr blog of photos from Instagram of young Americans showing off how they are enjoying the vast wealth of their parents and their possessions and experiences. They’re materialistic no doubt but research suggests that it is those who grew up in an environment of economic hardship who end up being more materialistic. The explanation is quite simple: those who grew up with whatever they wanted never really develop a passion for what they would want to, but cannot, have.
So how can we avoid the trap of society and avoid becoming materialistic? First, find your joy in life through God. Stop just making him a part of your life and dare to make Him your life. Then you will not only find happiness but true joy in life. Having a spiritual life is a sure way of having a fulfilled life. Second, choose to be content with what you have. Happiness is a choice. Paul writes, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:10-12 Too often, we look to the material and external for our happiness. Paul says we can turn to God and be content in our lives right now, no matter how much we have. But it’s a choice we have to make and a role we have to let Jesus play in our lives. Make a grateful list. Make a list of things about which you’re grateful in your life. Give thanks for them daily.
Third, invest in relationships. Having quality social relationships is one of the best predictors of happiness, health and well-being. If you invest in and deepen your relationships, you will be happier and less likely to look to the purchase of things to fill that void in your life. Fourth, focus on accumulating experiences and not things. Research has shown that experiences bring people more happiness than material possessions. That's because we become accustomed to objects - after a few weeks or months, that shiny new car is just a means of getting around - but remembering activities can give us pleasure indefinitely. " Fifth, limit television or at least DVR shows and skip the ads. Watching TV for hours has not real redeeming value. Think about which shows you really love, and only watch them but through your DVR. If you don’t have a DVR or TIVO, when the commercials come on, go do something else. Sixth, give up magazines and catalogues for books. Magazines are designed with advertising in mind. They’re selling a lifestyle an want you to purchase the things to attain it. And they rarely give you much redeeming value. If you like to read, try reading a book instead. It’s a much better use of your time. Seventh, don’t go to the mall or shopping for entertainment. The only purpose of these places is for you to spend money. If you just want a place to spend your Saturday afternoon, find a place where you don’t need to spend money to have fun — a park, the library or a beach, for example. If you need to buy something, go to a single store (not the mall) and go in, get what you need and get out. Don’t browse and walk around looking at stuff.
Eighth, monitor your urges. When you’re online, or watching TV, or at a store, keep track of the number of times you want to buy something. Keep a little notebook or index card, and just put tally marks. Once you become more aware of your urges to buy things, you can start to control them. Ninth, use a 30-day rule. If you still really want to buy something, put it on a list, and write down the date you added the item to the list. Now tell yourself you cannot buy that item for 30 days. It might be difficult, but you can do it. When the 30 days have passed, if you still want it, then consider whether you really need it. If you do, you can buy it. What yu will find is that many times, our urges to buy something will pass during this waiting period. Tenth, declutter. When you do, you will find it pretty amazing to see all the rubbish you buy over a period of years and all of the stuff you don’t use or want any more. It’s a gratifying process, and at the same time, it makes you realize how useless all our consumer shopping is. When you do this, you may be less likely to buy more stuff, especially if you enjoy the decluttered look of your house - most people do! Here’s another thing: don’t just add it to the landfill, give some of your useful stuff tom someone who really needs it.
God wants you to value, desire and worship one and one thing: Him
