MATERIALISM OR CONTENTMENT?

Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”  He replied,
“Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely – be content with your pay.”
Luke 3:14

Years ago, most of the clothes people owned were probably handmade.
It was the same with their furniture and most of the things they had.
Then came the golden age of manufacturing.
No longer did families have to make everything they owned.
If they had money, they could now buy the things available.
The increase in goods available made living easier,
but it also created an increased desire to have new things.

Then, just to make sure they could capitalize on the new human desires,
the stores created catlogs to show people what they could be missing.
People were made more aware of how much more there was to have.
The catalog aroused the desires for material goods.
That desire has grown in epic proportions
and dominates the lives of many in today’s world.

Manufacturing and marketing can entice people to want things,
but they are not the source of materialism.
The source is the sinful human heart.

What John the Baptist said to the soldiers who asked him, “And what should we do?”
He replied, “Don’t extort money…be content with your pay”.
John knew that some soldiers were using their position for personal gain.
He knew that the problem was located in their hearts.
He also knew the cure for their problem was contentment.

They, like many today, had a major struggle finding contentment.
We tend to take for granted all of the blessings the Lord has given us.
Rather than be happy and contented with what we have,
we allow Satan to convince us that we need (deserve) more.
Why do we have the desire for more?
It could be any number of reasons including,
– Feeding our ego and/or pride.
– Thinking they others will like us more.
– Belief that “things” will improve our self-esteem.
The problem with this desire is, we fail to be thankful
for what the Lord has already blessed us with.

We should be careful with how we feed our heart.
If we feed it with materialism, then we will become more discontented.
Paul gives us some good advice,
“Godliness with contentment is great gain”
1 Timothy 6:6
Paul tells us that if we want to find contentment,
then we need to feed our heart with godliness.
So we are presented with a ‘fork in the decision road’:
We can feed on materialism which causes us to be ungrateful
for what we have and cause us to be consumed with the desire for “things”
which creates a blockade for our real desire for contentment.
Or,
We can feed on godliness which takes us down the path to contentement.

The first choice is evident in the lives of many as they continually
get so many ‘things’ that they run out of room for storing them.
This means they have to buy storage buildings, have a garage sale,
or buy new house with more room to store their possessions.
They end up in a rut of discontentment of finding what they do not have,
striving to get enough money to buy them, running out of room and
looking for solutions for storing their ‘things’ or finding way to
sell them in order to have money to get more ‘things’.
Sounds like a vicious circle, doesn’t it?

In contrast, those who strive for godliness, find contentment in the Lord’s blessings,
and have much more time to spend on the important things that lead to a happy life
(like friendships with others (and family), fellowship with God, bible study, etc.).

Be honest and assess yourself and your own desires.
Are you in the materialism rut,
or do you find contentment without the need to acquire new things?
If you are chasing materialism,
then honestly admit that godliness is not a high priority for you.
What changes do you need to make in order to develop godliness and contentment?
Isn’t that what you (and others) really want?