What the Bible Says about Christians and Materialism

Why are we talking about money? Are we angling at you to give your money to the church? Tithing is important, and the Bible tells us that God will bless us for tithing, but that is not the focus of this unit. We are focusing on lifestyle. Does God care how we deal with our money? Does money have anything to do with things spiritual?

The Bible addresses money and our use of it. Money in itself is not evil, but how we use it can be put to good and bad purposes. We are told that, “In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.” (Proverbs 21:20) We are supposed to save for a rainy day. Rainy days come, and we should expect them. As Christians, we should think ahead and be prepared to care for our families, not just spend every penny and hope for the best. That means we won’t always have the best of everything. We won’t be able to be immediately gratified when we want something if that means that we will be left with nothing at the end of the day. Seventy percent of all consumers are using up every penny from their paycheck each month and have nothing left over. (Ramsey) Jesus warned us: “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it.” (Luke 14:28) Planning ahead just makes sense!

Debt is also mentioned in the Bible. “The rich rule over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender.” (Proverbs 22:7) The banks certainly do rule over us, but we don’t have to be “servant to the lender.” The fact of the matter is, when you owe money, you will never be able to forget about it. Neither will the lender! You no longer have a choice, you have to pay it back, and if you are in financial straits, then you are at their mercy. God said, “I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with your head held high.” (Lev. 26:13) God will help us to get out of debt, but it is our responsibility to not return to our slavery.

Money is a fact of life. We cannot live without it, but if we lack wisdom in the use of it, our lives will get incredibly complicated and stressful. Jesus told us: “You cannot serve both God and money”. (Matt. 6:24) Serving money is all too easy to do. We serve money when we are in debt and are forced into a “servant” position to the lender. We serve money when we make our priorities appearances and define our self-worth through the things we buy. We discover that we are a servant of money when we haven’t planned ahead for those inevitable rainy days. It is when we discover that we are the servant of the Almighty Dollar that we long for a simpler life.

God knows that we worry. We live in a sinful world and it is only natural that life would make us a little apprehensive. But God encourages us to simplify. Jesus told us: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” (Matt. 6:25) God gave us life and a magnificent body, not brand names and gadgets. When we get our priorities straight, life becomes much simpler.

Our existence is not about accumulating wealth. Jesus told a parable about a man who accumulated wealth his whole life, and then decided to sit back and enjoy it all himself. “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’” (Luke 12:20) While it is important to think ahead, hording wealth is not God’s will for us. Not only should we take care of our own affairs, but we should be willing to help care for others as well. Solomon advised: “Give portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.” (Eccl. 11:2) We were not created to live alone. We were meant to live together in community, and that means helping others when they need it. You never know what God has in store for you, and it may be that one day you will need the return favor. The true wealth to acquire is that of friends and people to love.

But how do we stop from worrying? Jesus pointed it out for us: “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? … So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” (Matt. 6:26, 31-32) It all comes down to faith. If we believe in a loving God, then we must believe that He will take care of us! Jesus promised that He would. Putting aside our worries and giving them to God isn’t easy, but it does simplify our lives a great deal.

David knew what trust in God was all about. The life of a shepherd isn’t an easy one. It’s a life of hard weather, long days and nights, constant attention to the sheep and guarding against predators. It certainly isn’t the romantic vision we have of “the pastoral.” However, in the midst of the reality of being a shepherd, David wrote Psalm 23. “The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” David was able to find peace in God’s care. He knew that God would provide for him and he knew that there was more to life than the rat race. Jesus said, “But seek His kingdom and these things will be given to you as well.” (Matt. 6:31) God knows what we need before we do. While we need to be responsible for our actions, God is responsible for our lives. It’s all in our perspective.