1. Title: I Want It Now! (Unbridled Consumerism, Materialism, Greed)
2. Text: I Timothy 6:3-10; Philippians 4:11-13; Hebrews 13:5; Ecclesiastes
3. Audience: Villa Heights Christian Church, AM crowd, March 5, 2006, 7th in the series ‘A Clear and Present Danger”
4. Objectives:
-for the people to understand the reasons that materialism is a threat and to understand the cure to being greedy is contentment in God
-for the people to feel free from the “necessity” of stuff and eager to live life free of the tug to have stuff
-for the people to get rid of material things that stand between themselves and God and to deliberately take up contentment in Jesus as a way to combat greed
5. When I finish my sermon I want my audience to understand that the threat of consumerism is very real and to make sure that they don’t live in it.
6. Type: topical
7. Dominant Thought: a worldview of contentment honors God and helps assure that He is first in our lives
8. Outline:
Ill - You don’t remember the day it happened to you, but I know that it did. It was the day that everything changed for you. Up until that day, life was pretty simple. You were a happy and content person. Your needs were met, you were comfortable, and fairly non-stressed. Then it happened – bright lights, cold air, a smack on the rear maybe. There was breathing to be done for the very first time, and what’s that strange feeling in my stomach? Result? Discontent. “I don’t like the way this feels.” From the moment we draw our first breath in this world, the noise that follows is an indicator that we aren’t exactly happy about how things are. You get hungry, you cry. You get tired, you cry. You get cold or wet, you cry. Basically, your life becomes a series of events, moving from being content to discontent, crying every time you want something changed.
Oh, you say, that’s when someone’s a baby! When you grow up, you stop being that way. True. At least, you’re supposed to. You’re supposed to grow up. You’re supposed to stop being childish about your wants.
The clear and present danger to our generation that I want to discuss this morning is that of materialism – or greed.
Is it present?
I don’t think I have to spend a lot of time on this point.
Over the past 5 decades, with all the advances of technology, we could now accomplish the same amount of productivity of a 40 hour work week in a work week that’s under 30 hours long. What did we do with the time? Did we spend more time on our marriages, more time with our families together, more time developing ourselves or taking up a hobby? No, we took the extra hours, and worked them. In fact, we chose to work even more hours than before, for the sake of having more stuff.
How did we become so discontent? We’re living in a society that is consumer-driven. Every billboard, every TV or radio commercial, every magazine ad, every brand label on clothing and shoes is painstakingly created to make you be discontent or to convince you that you won’t be content unless you have it. It’s what underwrites the sports industry, because endorsements and TV ads are all part of this amazing web of power woven to convince you that you’re not satisfied, you’re not complete unless some product is a part of your world. Have you ever had that experience? You seem happy and then there comes this commercial for a widget, which you don’t have. It will somehow make your life better. In fact, how have you managed to live without it until now?!
Think this through: the whole purpose of advertising is to create a perceived “need”; to impair our self-control just long enough to make the sale. Commercials aren’t supposed to make you feel better.
They’re supposed to make you feel incomplete. Every year, billions of dollars are spent on them; Every advertisement created with one goal in mind: to create discontent.
So, we‘ve launched into an age of unbridled consumerism that has never been seen before. We’re consuming and spending at a rate that has never been matched by a nation as a whole. I can get on the internet, go on Ebay, find some item that someone has up for bid in Singapore, bid on it, pay for it, and have it in the mail to me in a matter of minutes.
And have you noticed - the acquisition of stuff hasn’t quelled our appetite for it. It has increased it. “If only I had a faster computer, if only I had a better car, if only I had a prettier wife, if only I had a better job, if only I were healthier, if only I had a bigger house…” and the list never ends.
It has crept into the Church too. There’s a strong current of consumer mentality in the Church of today. Like any business, the church has to contend with the attitude of those who are coming to be served, rather than to serve. Either it will meet their expectations, or they can pack up and go to the one down the street to see if it will suit them. That’s what you do…when you’re a consumer.
Unbridled consumerism. It characterizes our American culture. Is it present? Yeah.
Is it a danger?
I think that the average person growing up in this age of affluence would basically say, “Yeah…So what? Who says there’s anything wrong with it? Who says it’s bad for you? What’s so bad about having stuff or wanting more stuff?” So let me present some reasons, from Scripture, that materialism as a way of life is a danger that threatens the well-being of our generation.
1. Wealth makes it hard to enter the kingdom of heaven
Jesus was asked by a rich, young ruler what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus said, “Obey the commandments.” Which ones? So Jesus listed a few of them. I’ve done all of these since I was young. Jesus said he was lacking one thing.
Matthew 19:21-24
Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
Wealth itself isn’t evil. But it makes it hard to enter the Kingdom. This guy’s problem wasn’t that he was wanting for anything. It’s that he valued stuff instead of the Creator.
Ill - You may be thinking to yourself, “Hey, not a problem. No one can accuse me of being rich.” But you have to remember that wealth is relative. Compared to some 80% of the world today, you are wealthy. Compared to people in our country 70 years ago, you are wealthy. And you have to admit that big screen TVs, RVs, DVDs, video games, and cars that have more features than your house often become a hindrance in our relationship to God, rather than a help.
I don’t know about you, but in my life there are enough things that try to get in between me and God, without me trying to add more. Wealth itself makes it hard to enter the Kingdom of heaven.
2. It’s the root of all sorts of evil
1 Timothy 6:7-10
People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 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.
The person Paul describes here is someone who wants to get rich; someone eager for money. Ask anyone who has lost a lot of money gambling and they’ll tell you about the many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.
• Achan stole and then tried to cover up the theft. Why? some silver, gold and a new robe from Babylonia
• Gehazi lied, snuck around, and lied again to cover it up. Why? a little silver and 2 sets of clothing
• Ahab pouted and his wife plotted the murder of man named Naboth. Why? a vineyard Ahab wanted.
• Ananias and Sapphira lied to the church and to the HS about how much money they gave. Why? They wanted recognition and money too.
• Early Christians struggled with each other:
James 4 tells the Christians they are fighting and quarreling and the reason is they coveted stuff the others had.
Then there’s Judas…
John 12:6b
…he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.
Is it much of a surprise when we later read about him:
Matthew 26:14-15
Then one of the Twelve--the one called Judas Iscariot--went to the chief priests and asked, "What are you willing to give me if I hand [Jesus] over to you?" So they counted out for him thirty silver coins.
At the root of all of these mess ups is the same thing: a love for money.
3. It will never satisfy
Ecclesiastes 5:10-11
Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?
Now, you might think it’s easy for a poor guy to say that. Yeah, sour grapes. Just try me! Increase my goods and see just how unsatisfied I’ll be! But the writer of this was Solomon, who amassed incredible wealth. Listen to him describe the experience:
Ecclesiastes 2:4-11
I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well--the delights of the heart of man. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me. I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: your deepest longings in this life are never going to be satisfied by anything in this world. When your main goal is to get more, you can never reach it. It will never satisfy.
4. It makes the lesser things in life the center of our attention
Luke 12:15
"Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
Everyone who’s greedy is also violating the 1st command – to have no other gods before God Almighty. Greed is way of saying “I’m #1. God is less.” It’s for this reason that Paul writes:
Colossians 3:5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
Ephesians 5:5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person--such a man is an idolater--has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Materialism is actually an act of idolatry. It’s saying, “God, You short-changed me. I deserve better than what You’ve given me.” And we end up worshiping our desires more than the God Who created us. We drive a wedge of resentment between us and God.
How frustrating it must be to God when we indicate to anyone that what God has given to us isn’t enough. How difficult it must be for us to face Him and speak with Him when He knows we’ve been saying with our actions that God hasn’t taken care of us. We drive a wedge between ourselves and God.
1 Corinthians 6:10
…nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
5. It can’t last
Proverbs 23:4-5
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.
Someone said money talks. Yes, it does, it says, “Goodbye!”
Wealth won’t last. Jesus said to not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but instead to lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven where those things don’t happen. Wealth in this world can’t last. Just about the time the car breaks down or something else around home breaks, I have to remind myself: it’s all gonna burn! It can’t last.
Now, when those are things all true of the material stuff of this world, and there are people who are living their lives all for that stuff, it means there’s a danger. It means there are people who are going to have a hard time entering the Kingdom of heaven, that they are likely to be led to all kinds of other evil, that they are spending their substance on something that will never satisfy, making the lesser things of life the center of their world, and that one day all of that is going to just be gone. “Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
I want to make sure that’s not you. It’s not evil to be tempted by materialism. In America, it’s nearly impossible not to be. But what you do with it is where people make a mistake. How can we overcome this danger? Let me suggest some biblical guidelines that will help:
How can we defeat it?
Rediscover Contentment
The opposite of greed is contentment. For some, that’s a negative image. Some people think of being “content as a cow,” and picture ol’ Bossie lying in the sun, chewing her cud. But that’s not what contentment is all about. In fact, the laziest people are also some of the most discontent people. Not being able to really understand it in a positive light is another indicator that we, as a society, have lost the secret of being content.
We need that lost jewel of contentment that Paul writes about while he’s a prisoner:
Philippians 4:11-13 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. 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.
The problem of greed is a heart problem. It should come as no surprise that the cure – contentment – is a heart change. We need to engage in some honest-to-goodness heart changing to get out from under the cloud of discontent. Let me suggest 4 actions to take that will help anyone to take up contentment more successfully:
1. Distinguish between the temporal and the eternal
2 Corinthians 4:18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Colossians 3:1-3 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
Ill - An American Jew went to visit the Holy Land and to visit a famous teacher Rabbi Chaim. When the American entered the Rabbi’s home, he was amazed at how little there was. All the rabbi had was a table, a bench, and a little pallet. “Rabbi, where is all of your furniture?” And the Rabbi said, “Where is all of your furniture?” “I don’t have any furniture with me, I’m just passing through.” “So am I.”
Quote – GK Chesterton, “There are 2 ways to get enough. One is to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less and less.”
We need to learn to be able to look at earth-bound things as just that – earth-bound things.
2. Distinguish between wants and needs
We need to remind ourselves, constantly, that there’s a difference between wants and needs.
1 Timothy 6:6-8
…godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.
What was Paul saying? He was challenging us to consider what really is necessary in life. He was saying that there’s a difference between wants and needs.
If we could boil our lives down to these 2 categories – what we need and what we want - we’d find that we desire less and less.
3. Ask God to change how you think
Ephesians 4:22-24
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
God doesn’t tell us to be lifeless lumps of zero enthusiasm about anything! In fact, Jesus said,
• “Happy are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…”
• “Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness…”
• “Ask and it shall be given to you. Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door will be opened to you.”
• Paul wrote to the Romans, “Be excellent at what is good…”
• The disciples cried out to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
• Proverbs 4:7-8 Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. Esteem her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you.
• Hebrews 11:6 says, “anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
We need to have a certain lust for things – for the right things – for the things that God desires for us. We might say that being content means aligning your desires with the things God desires you to have. So ask God to change how you think. Ask Him to help you be wrapped up with the right things.
4. Learn all about grace
Notice the subject here – this passage is about God’s grace…
Titus 2:11-13
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age
There were several occasions where the Lord taught discontented people about His grace.
• Jonah wasn’t content that the city of Nineveh wasn’t destroyed. Of course, Jonah had been given a 2nd chance after he ran from God’s command to go and preach to them. So, God gave Jonah a lesson in grace.
• In the parable of the Prodigal Son, the older brother of the prodigal wasn’t content that his brother would receive a party and special treatment. The father took him aside and reminded him about grace – that not only would the younger brother be welcomed back home, but that the older brother already had the same special place in their home all the time.
• Jesus told another parable about a man who hired vineyard workers at different times of the day, but at the end of the day he paid the agreed amount to the guys who worked the longest and then paid the same to those who worked only a few hours. Needless to say, the guys who had worked all day protested. They needed a lesson in God’s grace.
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking, “I deserve better,” especially when it’s because God blesses someone else. Thank God for His grace that let you and me get out of bed this morning and draw a breath. Thank God for His grace that allows a stained person, like me, to be cleaned and made new and fit for heaven by the blood of Jesus! No, I don’t get what I deserve, and I praise God for it!
Conclusion:
Now is a time we want to especially focus on that grace. We don’t deserve what God offers to us through Jesus. But He invites us to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. Not only will He take care of the stuff of life, but He’ll satisfy the person who hungers and thirsts for His righteousness.
Would you like to fill that craving in your life that nothing else will fill?
