Topic : Materialism

In 1986 angry Filipinos took to the streets of Manila and drove Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos from power. In her haste to escape into exile, Imelda left behind more than 1,200 pairs of shoes, 427 designer dresses, and 71 pairs of sunglasses.

In a country where two out of every three households lacked adequate food, this was extravagant to say the least! During their twenty years in power, the couple plundered nearly $12 billion from their poverty-stricken country.

Today in the Word, August, 1997, p. 34

God gives His mercies to be spent;
Your hoard will do your soul no good;
Gold is a blessing only lent,
Repaid by giving others food.

The world's esteem is but a bribe,
To buy their peace you sell your own;
The slave of a vainglorious tribe,
Who hate you while they make you known.

The joy that vain amusements give,
Oh! sad conclusion that it brings!
The honey of a crowded hive,
Defended by a thousand stings.

"Tis thus the world rewards the fools
That live upon her treacherous smiles:
She leads them blindfold by her rules,
And ruins all whom she beguiles.

God knows the thousands who go down
From pleasure into endless woe;
And with a long despairing groan
Blaspheme their Maker as they go.

Oh fearful thought! be timely wise;
Delight but in a Saviour's charms,
And God shall take you to the skies,
Embraced in everlasting arms.

Olney Hymns, William Cowper, from Cowper's Poems, Sheldon & Company, New York

Dan Crawford (1870-1926) spent most of his adult life serving as a missionary in Africa. When it was time to return home to Britain, Crawford described to an old Bantu the kind of world he was about to return to. He told him about ships that ran under the water, on the water, and even those that flew above the water. He described English houses with all of their conveniences, such as running water and electric lights. Then Crawford waited for the old African to register his amazement. "Is that all, Mr. Crawford"? the aged man asked. "Yes, I think it is,? Crawford replied. Very slowly and very gravely, the old Bantu said, "Well, Mr. Crawford, you know, that to be better off is not to be better.?

The Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching & Preachers, W. Wiersbe, p. 188

Out of the life, I shall never take
Things of silver and gold I make
All that I cherish and hoard away
When I leave these things on earth must stay.

Though I failed for a painting rare
To hang on my wall, I must leave it there
Though I call it mine and boast its worth
I must give it up when I quit this earth
All that I gather and all that I keep
I must leave behind when I fall asleep

And I wonder often, what will I own
In that other life when I pass along.
What shall He find and what shall He see
In the soul that answers the call for me'

Will the Great Judge find when my task is through
That my soul has gathered some riches, too'
Or at the last it will be mine to find
That all I had worked for was left behind.

Author Unknown

It's great to have two cars and a swimming pool. But there are disappointments. After you-ve made some money and acquired some things, and after the initial excitement has passed, life goes on, just as bewildering as it always was, and the great problems of life and death once again come to the fore.

We know that consumption isn't the answer, and we ask ourselves what is.

Robert Heilbroner, Psychology Today, quoted in Bits & Pieces, November 10, 1994, p. 13

One night a thief broke into the single-room apartment of French novelist Honore de Balzac. Trying to avoid waking Balzac, the intruder quietly picked the lock on the writer's desk. Suddenly the silence was broken by a sardonic laugh from the bed, where Balzac lay watching the thief.

"Why do you laugh"? asked the thief.

"I am laughing to think what risks you take to try to find money in a desk by night where the legal owner can never find any by day.?

Today in the Word, November 6, 1993

Leo Tolstoy once wrote a story about a successful peasant farmer who was not satisfied with his lot. He wanted more of everything. One day he received a novel offer. For 1000 rubles, he could buy all the land he could walk around in a day. The only catch in the deal was that he had to be back at his starting point by sundown.

Early the next morning he started out walking at a fast pace. By midday he was very tired, but he kept going, covering more and more ground. Well into the afternoon he realized that his greed had taken him far from the starting point. He quickened his pace and as the sun began to sink low in the sky, he began to run, knowing that if he did not make it back by sundown the opportunity to become an even bigger landholder would be lost.

As the sun began to sink below the horizon he came within sight of the finish line. Gasping for breath, his heart pounding, he called upon every bit of strength left in his body and staggered across the line just before the sun disappeared. He immediately collapsed, blood streaming from his mouth. In a few minutes he was dead.

Afterwards, his servants dug a grave. It was not much over six feet long and three feet wide. The title of Tolstoy's story was: How Much Land Does a Man Need?

Bits and Pieces, November, 1991

I am not a connoisseur of great art, but from time to time a painting or picture will really speak a clear, strong message to me. Some time ago I saw a picture of an old burned-out mountain shack. All that remained was the chimney...the charred debris of what had been that family's sole possession. In front of this destroyed home stood an old grandfather-looking man dressed only in his underclothes with a small boy clutching a pair of patched overalls. It was evident that the child was crying. Beneath the picture were the words which the artist felt the old man was speaking to the boy. They were simple words, yet they presented a profound theology and philosophy of life. Those words were, "Hush child, God ain't dead!"

That vivid picture of that burned-out mountain shack, that old man, the weeping child, and those words "God ain't dead? keep returning to my mind. Instead of it being a reminder of the despair of life, it has come to be a reminder of hope! I need reminders that there is hope in this world.

In the midst of all of life's troubles and failures, I need mental pictures to remind me that all is not lost as long as God is alive and in control of His world.

James DeLoach, associate pastor of the Second Baptist Church of Houston, quoted in When God Was Taken Captive, W. Aldrich, Multnomah, 1989, p. 24.

When a person loves earthly things so much that he can't get along without them, he opens himself to much suffering, both physical and mental. Some people, for example, have taken foolish risks to keep their riches intact. They have died rushing into burning houses or were killed because they stubbornly resisted armed robbers. Apparently they felt that without their material possessions life would not be worthwhile.

Others, when forced to part with their wealth, have been thrown into agonizing despair, even to the point of suicide. In 1975, six armed gunmen broke into the deposit boxes in a London bank and stole valuables worth more than $7 million. One lady, whose jewelry was appraised at $500,000, wailed, "Everything I had was in there. My whole life was in that box.? What a sad commentary on her values!

Our Daily Bread

Eli Black was a brilliant businessman best known for two events in his life: He masterminded the multimillion dollar takeover of the United Fruit conglomerate, and he jumped to his death from the 42nd floor of the Pan Am building in New York City.

In the book An American Company, an executive described a business lunch he had with Eli Black. When the waitress brought a plate of cheese and crackers as an appetizer, Black reached out and took them, placed them on the table, blocked them with his arms, and continued talking. The executive hadn't eaten for hours and hinted that he would like a cracker. But Black acted as though he hadn't heard him and went on with the business meeting.

After a while, Black placed a cracker and cheese on the tips of his fingers and continued to talk. Several moments later, Black placed the cracker on the executive's plate and then blocked the rest as before. It was clear that Black was in charge, manipulating others as he pleased.

When you play "follow the leader,? check to see who is at the head of the line. Eli Black, for all his power, ended up in suicide. Jesus Christ, in all His humility, ended up the Savior of the world.

Our Daily Bread, February 6, 1994

During World War II, "Eddie? Rickenbacker, American's most famous army aviator in W.W. I, was appointed special consultant to Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson. It was Rickenbacker's task to inspect the various theaters of war.

During one tour in 1942, Rickenbacker and seven companions made a forced landing in the Pacific Ocean. There they experienced 24 terrifying days drifting in a lifeboat until they were rescued by a navy plane. After his recovery from the ordeal, Rickenbacker said: 'let the moment come when nothing is left but life, and you will find that you do not hesitate over the fate of material possessions.?

Rickenbacker understood that at such a time one is concerned about the fate of something more precious than material goods'life itself.

Morning Glory, January 18, 1994

In the fifth century, a man named Arsenius determined to live a holy life. So he abandoned the conforms of Egyptian society to follow an austere lifestyle in the desert. Yet whenever he visited the great city of Alexandria, he spent time wandering through its bazaars. Asked why, he explained that his heart rejoiced at the sight of all the things he didn't need.

Those of us who live in a society flooded with goods and gadgets need to ponder the example of that desert dweller. A typical supermarket in the United States in 1976 stocked 9,000 articles; today it carries 30,000. How many of them are absolutely essential? How many superfluous'

Our Daily Bread, May 26, 1994

Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray my Cuisinart to keep
I pray my stocks are on the rise
And that my analyst is wise.

That all the wine I sip is white
And that my hot tub's watertight
That racquetball won't get too tough
That all my sushi's fresh enough.

I pray my cordless phone still works
That my career won't lose its perks
My microwave won't radiate
My condo won't depreciate.

I pray my health club doesn't close
And that my money market grows
If I go broke before I wake
I pray my Volvo they won't take.

Family Survival in the American Jungle, Steve Farrar, 1991, Multnomah Press, p. 63

• One is to accumulate more and more
• The other is to desire less.

G.K. Chesterton, quoted in Family Survival in the American Jungle, Steve Farrar, 1991, Multnomah Press, p. 75

Christopher Winans, in his book, Malcolm Forbes: The Man Who Had Everything, tells of a motorcycle tour that Forbes took through Egypt in 1984 with his Capitalist Tool motorcycle team.

After viewing the staggering burial tomb of King Tut, Forbes seemed to be in a reflective mood. As they were returning to the hotel in a shuttle bus, Forbes turned to one of his associates and asked with all sincerity: 'do you think I'll be remembered after I die"?

Forbes is remembered. He is remembered as the man who coined the phrase, "He who dies with the most toys wins.? That was the wisdom of Malcolm Forbes. In fact, that was his ambition. That's why he collected scores of motorcycles. That's why he would pay over a million dollars for a Faberge egg. That's why he owned castles, hot air balloons and countless other toys that he can no longer access.

The Lord Jesus Christ gave us words of superior wisdom when he said, "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul"? (Matthew 16:26). It is a fatally deficient wisdom that declares "He who dies with the most toys wins.?

Family Survival in the American Jungle, Steve Farrar, 1991, Multnomah Press, pp. 47-48

George W. Truett, a well-known pastor, was invited to dinner in the home of a very wealthy man in Texas. After the meal, the host led him to a place where they could get a good view of the surrounding area.

Pointing to the oil wells punctuating the landscape, he boasted, 'twenty-five years ago I had nothing. Now, as far as you can see, it's all mine.? Looking in the opposite direction at his sprawling fields of grain, he said, 'that's all mine.? Turning east toward huge herds of cattle, he bragged, 'they're all mine.?

Then pointing to the west and a beautiful forest, he exclaimed, 'that too is all mine.'

He paused, expecting Dr. Truett to compliment him on his great success. Truett, however, placing one hand on the man's shoulder and pointing heavenward with the other, simply said, "How much do you have in that direction"? The man hung his head and confessed, "I never thought of that.?

Our Daily Bread, October 24, 1992

Dream On. Postwar Americans always cherished the expectation that their standard of living would improve with each generation. In polls at the onset of the Reagan era, 2 of every 3 respondents said they expected to be better off than their parents. Now, that figure is being reversed. Almost three fourth of the 1,000 people who answered a Roper poll for Shearson Lehman Brothers say the American Dream is "harder to attain? than a generation ago. And 60 percent say achieving the dream requires more financial risk than it did for their parents.

The poll also finds that some of the values held most dear during the 1980s'like wealth, power and fame-are those that Americans are now most likely to deem "unimportant.? The most important elements of today's American Dream center on family and friends. But money remains something to dream about.

For Americans with household incomes under $25,000, it would take $54,000 a year to fulfill the American dream. Those who make $100,000 plus crave an average of $192,000. In other words, the American Dream usually lies nearly twice the distance away.

Amy Bernstein, U.S. News & World Report, July 27, 1992, p. 11

Anonymous writer, about an American tourist's visit to the 19th century Polish rabbi, Hofetz Chaim:

Astonished to see that the rabbi's home was only a simple room filled with books, plus a table and a bench, the tourist asked, 'rabbi, where is your furniture"'

"Where is yours"? replied the rabbi.

"Mine"? asked the puzzled American. "But I'm a visitor here. I'm only passing through.'

"So am I,? said Hofetz Chaim.

Christopher News Notes

Critics of advertising maintain that advertising has created a national avarice which, in turn, has produced a "materialist society.? They proceed from there to insist that this impulse toward affluence has resulted in a kind of general unhappiness.

This proposition concludes that the more 'things? we have, the unhappier we become.

It represents a return to the "happy savage? thesis.

The critics are right about the essential role advertising has played in contributing to America's high standard of living, but they are wrong in concluding that it produces unhappiness.

It might be helpful to start with some notion of what does, in fact, make people happy.

The Gallup International Research Institute recently conducted a survey of 60 countries representing two-thirds of the world's population, the purpose of which was to measure human satisfactions, need and concerns. They wanted to find out what makes people happy.

The inescapable conclusion of the study is that the more people have, the happier they are.

Louise F. DeMarco, Advertising Age

The boxer Muhammad Ali was known as 'the champ,? arguably the most famous athlete of his generation. He was on top, and his entourage of trainers and various helpers shared the adulation with him. But the party ended, leaving many of Ali's loyal followers disillusioned-and in some cases, destitute. Ali himself, now halting in speech and uncertain in movement, says, "I had the world, and it wasn't nothin?.?

Today in the Word, October, 1990, p. 11

I'll never forget a conversation I had with the late Corrie ten Boom. she said to me, in her broken English, "Chuck, I've learned that we must hold everything loosely, because when I grip it tightly, it hurts when the Father pries my fingers loose and takes it from me!

Charles Swindoll, Living Above the Level of Mediocrity, p.114

I have a friend who, in mid-career, was called into the ministry. In fact, God ultimately led him overseas. At that point he found it necessary to move all his family and as many of their possessions as possible beyond these shores, all the way to the island of Okinawa. He told me, "We packed everything we could in barrels and shipped them on ahead. And then we put all of our possessions that were a part of our trip into our station wagon. We packed that car all the way to the top of the windows.? While driving to the place where they would meet the ship that would take them to the Orient, they stopped for a rest and a bite to eat. While they were inside the restaurant, a thief broke into their station wagon and took everything except the car. Nice of him to leave the car, wasn't it?

"The only thing we had,? he said, "were the articles of clothing on our backs. Our hearts sank to the bottom!" When asked about it later, he said, "Well, I had to face the fact that I was holding real tight to the things in that car. And the Lord simply turned my hands over and gave them a slap...and out came everything that was in that car. And it all became a part of the Father's possession.?

Charles Swindoll, Living Above the Level of Mediocrity, p. 114

The sort of clothes I wear, the kind of house I live in, or the quality of my furniture should not be the result of other people doing so or because it is customary among those with whom I associate. But whatever is done in these things in the way of self-denial or deadness to the world should result from the joy we have in God, and from the knowledge of our being His children, and from entering into our precious future inheritance. Not that I mean in the least by this to imply that we should continue to live in luxury, self-indulgence, and the like while others are in great need; but we should begin the thing in a right way. Aim after the right state of heart; begin inwardly instead of outwardly. Oh, how different if joy in God leads us to any little act of self-denial! How gladly we do it then! How much does the heart then long to be able to do more for Him who has done so much for us!

- George Mueller

Source uninown

• I have held many things in my hands and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess. - Martin Luther
• I place no value on anything I have or may possess, except in relation to the kingdom of God. If anything will advance the interests of the kingdom, it shall be given away or kept, only as by giving or keeping it I shall most promote the glory of Him to whom I owe all my hopes in time or eternity. - David Livingstone
• "I have now disposed of all my property to my family. There is one thing more I wish I could give them and that is faith in Jesus Christ. If they had that and I had not given them a single shilling, they would have been rich; and if they had not that, and I had given them all the world, they would be poor indeed.?
  - Patrick Henry
• You can't have everything. Where would you put it? - Steven Wright in Omni

Sources unknown

From the standpoint of material wealth, Americans have difficulty realizing how rich we are. Going through a little mental exercise suggested by Robert Heilbroner can help us to count our blessings, however. Imagine doing the following, and you will see how daily life is for as many as a billion people in the world:

1. Take out all the furniture in your home except for one table and a couple of chairs. Use blanket and pads for beds.

2. Take away all of your clothing except for your oldest dress or suit, shirt or blouse. Leave only one pair of shoes.

3. Empty the pantry and the refrigerator except for a small bag of flour, some sugar and salt, a few potatoes, some onions, and a dish of dried beans.

4. Dismantle the bathroom, shut off the running water, and remove all the electrical wiring in your house.

5 Take away the house itself and move the family into the tool shed.

6. Place your "house? in a shantytown.

7. Cancel all subscriptions to newspapers, magazines, and book clubs. This is no great loss because now none of you can read anyway.

8. Leave only one radio for the whole shantytown.

9. Move the nearest hospital or clinic ten miles away and put a midwife in charge instead of a doctor.

10. Throw away your bankbooks, stock certificates, pension plans, and insurance policies. Leave the family a cash hoard of ten dollars.

11. Give the head of the family a few acres to cultivate on which he can raise a few hundred dollars of cash crops, of which one third will go to the landlord and one tenth to the money lenders.

12. Lop off twenty-five or more years in life expectancy.

By comparison how rich we are! And with our wealth comes responsibility to use it wisely, not to be wasteful, and to help others. Think on these things.

Steve Williams

A number of years ago there was a popular program called The Goldbergs. In one episode, Jake Goldberg came home for supper and excitedly told his wife, Molly, about a great idea he had. He wanted to go into business. Molly had some money put away, anticipating just such a thing, and she gave it to him. As they sat at the dinner table, enthusiastically discussing the future, Jake said, "Molly, some day we'll be eating off of golden plates!" Molly looked at him and replied, "Jake, darling, will it taste any better"'

Source unknown

In The Wounded Healer, Henri Nouwen retells a tale from ancient India: Four royal brothers decided each to master a special ability.

Time went by, and the brothers met to reveal what they had learned.

"I have mastered a science,? said the first, "by which I can take but a bone of some creature and create the flesh that goes with it.?

"I,? said the second, "know how to grow that creature's skin and hair if there is flesh on its bones.?

The third said, "I am able to create its limbs if I have flesh, the skin, and the hair.?

"And I,? concluded the fourth, "know how to give life to that creature if its form is complete.?

Thereupon the brothers went into the jungle to find a bone so they could demonstrate their specialities. As fate would have it, the bone they found was a lion's. One added flesh to the bone, the second grew hide and hair, the third completed it with matching limbs, and the fourth gave the lion life.

Shaking its mane, the ferocious beast arose and jumped on his creators. He killed them all and vanished contentedly into the jungle.

We too have the capacity to create what can devour us. Goals and dreams can consume us. Possessions and property can turn and destroy us-unless we first seek God's kingdom and righteousness, and allow Him to breathe into what we make of life.

- Nathan Castens

Source unknown

In her book, Discipline, the Glad Surrender, Elisabeth Elliot reveals four meaningful lessons to be learned from the discipline of our possessions: 'the first lesson is that all things are given by God...Because God gives us things indirectly by enabling us to make them with our own hands (out of things He has made, of course) or to earn the money to buy them...we are prone to forget that He gave them to us. We should be thankful. Thanksgiving requires the recognition of the Source. It implies contentment with what is given, not complaint...it excludes covetousness. The third lesson is that things can be material for sacrifice. The Father pours out His blessings on us; we, His creatures, receive them with open hands, give thanks, and lift them up as an offering back to Him...This lesson leads naturally to the fourth which is that things are given to us to enjoy for awhile...What is not at all fitting or proper is that we should set our hearts on them. Temporal things must be treated as temporal things'received, given thanks for, offered back but enjoyed.

In Touch, May, 1989

All he ever really wanted in life was more. He wanted more money, so he parlayed inherited wealth into a billion-dollar pile of assets. He wanted more fame, so he broke into the Hollywood scene and soon became a filmmaker and star. He wanted more sensual pleasures, so he paid handsome sums to indulge his every sexual urge. He wanted more thrills, so he designed, built, and piloted the fastest aircraft in the world. He wanted more power, so he secretly dealt political favors so skillfully that two U.S. presidents became his pawns. All he ever wanted was more. He was absolutely convinced that more would bring him true satisfaction. Unfortunately, history shows otherwise. He concluded his life emaciated; colorless; sunken chest; fingernails in grotesque, inches-long corkscrews; rotting, black teeth; tumors; innumerable needle marks from his drug addiction. Howard Hughes died believing the myth of more. He died a billionaire junkie, insane by all reasonable standards.

Bill Hybels in Leadership, Vol. X, #3 (Summer, 1989), p. 38

Americans owe over $400 billion on their credit cards. Consumer debt is at a six year high. The average household gets about 25 credit card promotional offers a year. Experts worry that the "irresponsible and rabid marketing of credit cards? could result in a crisis for the economy.

MSC Health Action News, July, 1996

• The only reason a great many American families don't own an elephant is that they have never been offered an elephant for a dollar down and easy weekly payments.
• The world is full of people who are making a good living but living poor lives.
• Life is tragic for the person who has plenty to live on but nothing to live for.
• It is reported that Howard Hughes, when worth approximately 4 billion dollars, said, "I'd give it all for one good friend.?
• Any problem that can be solved with money isn't a problem. It's an expense. - Anonymous
• The essence of life today is not having-it is having to have. - David Hansen
• Most of us would be willing to pay as we go if we could just finish paying for where we-ve been. - Ann Landers
• I was part of that strange race of people aptly described as spending their lives doing things they detest, to make money they don't want, to buy things they don't need, to impress people they dislike. - Emile Henry Gauvreau
• The main emotion of the adult American who has had all the advantages of wealth, education, and culture is disappointment. - John Cheever

Preaching Resources, Spring 1996, p. 71.