Money, Materialism, and the Glory of God

2005 has been a tumultuous year for my family.

Since February, we’ve seen extended unemployment, the inability to so much as pay rent on our little two-bedroom apartment in Tennessee, moving to Ohio, and living with Amy’s mom. We’ve also seen new employment, a small inheritance, and subsequently, buying our own home and a new car . . . with cash. We were blindsided by tough times and saw unexpected (and undeserved) blessing, all in a matter of months. We saw generosity from people we hardly knew when we were in dire straits and saw (equally undeserved) criticism and slander from some of those same folks when things turned around. It’s been crazy.

Opinions of deluded people aside, my thoughts recently turned to how the use of our money reflects on us as people who are straining against our flesh to follow Christ. Should we have foregone the house and simply moved into another little apartment or a modest condo? Should we have left the car at the dealership and continued driving my somehow-still-kicking-at-one-hundred-ninety-thousand-miles 1993 Altima? Did we cheat the poor around us by not using the bulk of our little windfall to feed and clothe them? Jesus calls his people to give of themselves and their resources . . . how does that work itself out in the real world? These questions nagged at me throughout the past few weeks.

Some of Jesus and the Apostles’ strongest words of rebuke and warning are toward those who place their hope in money and possessions. 1 Timothy 6 says this . . .

[They are] people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Can this mean that Christ’s followers should forego all earthly comforts if their need for food and clothing is met? There are those who feel that they are called by God to live in complete simplicity, but I’m not quite convinced that such a lifestyle is the normative mandate for a Christian. The thing being spoken against here is the selfish desire to gain wealth, not money itself. The same sentiment was summarized by Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 6 . . .

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The real question of the matter is this: “What do you treasure?” Is it Christ, or is it something else . . . money, possessions, prestige, etc? The man that treasures Christ takes his poverty and leans upon God to supply all of his need. That same man takes his riches, recognizes that those riches are from Christ alone, and uses them for Christ’s glory . . . one day, that can take the form of feeding the poor, and another, it could take the form of gratefully enjoying a vacation at his beach house with his family. It’s important to remember that the God who calls us to self-sacrifice has also “richly provided us with everything to enjoy“. He really wants us to enjoy the gifts . . . even the material gifts . . . that he’s given us. It’s just that there’s a difference between enjoyment and worship, and often it’s easy to worship the gifts instead of the one who gave them. That will send us to Hell.

May the Lord be glorified in the way we use that which he’s given us.