WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE MATERIALIST?

Habakkuk 2:18-20

^18 “Of what value is an idol, since a man has carved it?

Or an image that teaches lies?

For he who makes it trusts in his own creation;

he makes idols that cannot speak.

^19 Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’

Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’

Can it give guidance?

It is covered with gold and silver;

there is no breath in it.

^20 But the Lord is in his holy temple;

let all the earth be silent before him.”

INTRODUCTION:

During 1814, Francis Scott Key had an eventful September.  Traveling under a white flag, Key met with both an enemy general and admiral, recovered a war prisoner, became a war prisoner, watched a historical bombardment, lost a night’s sleep, and wrote The Star Spangled Banner, which eventually became our National Anthem.

The final stanza of the Star Spangled Banner includes these words:

"And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust.'
And the Star Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave."

In 1863, Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury, asked the Director of the Mint, James Pollock to prepare suitable wording for a motto to be inscribed on Union coins used during the Civil War.  Pollock suggested "Our Trust Is In God," "Our God And Our Country," "God And Our Country," and "God Our Trust."  Chase picked "In God We Trust" to be used on the government's currency. 

Congress passed enabling legislation on April 22, 1866.  Now this motto appears on the face of our coins and the back of our bills.  Some have suggested that since it appears on our money, we should rewrite our motto to read, “In THIS God we trust.”

And does it not seem a bit hypocritical to have such a clear and concise statement of faith in God to be emblazoned on that in which we have really placed our trust?

In Psalm 20:7, David observed,

Some  trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

Today we  might say,

Some trust in diplomacy, some in technology; some trust in ecology and some in the economy.  But we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

But surely, of all the myriad demigods in which people may place their trust, material wealth must be the most popular.

In Habakkuk’s day, the material idols were carved images made to look like people, animals or hybrids of both.  Today, the material idols are cash,  stocks, real estate, precious metals, gems, artwork and numerous other things that we foolishly call ‘securities’.

God spoke to Habakkuk about the futility of the materialism of his age.  And, I believe, God speaks to us about the futility of the materialism of our own age as well.

I.                    The Definition of Materialism

Materialism can be defined as, “the doctrine that physical well-being and material possessions constitute the greatest good and highest value in life.” 

Without having thought it through, many of us may have bought into that philosophy and may have become trapped in the web of the material.  And why not?  We are bombarded with persuasive messages about the ways our lives will be enriched if only we will purchase this car, that appliance, a different mattress, another television, an additional computer.  We are told we need more channels, we deserve more pay, we earned more house.

In Luke 12:13-15, Jesus put possessions in perspective in this context:

^13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

^14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” ^15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

What follows is called “The Parable of the Rich Fool”.  I want to come back to that later this morning but for now, suffice it to say that Jesus put possessions in their proper perspective when he said that a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.  The perception of the materialist is that a man’s life DOES consist in the abundance of his possessions and that we can determine the worth of a person by determining the sum of his assets.

The British philosopher, logician and mathematician Bertrand Russell said, “It is preoccupation with possession, more than anything else, that prevents men from living freely and nobly.” 

II.                    The Deception of Materialism

Many of us may have bought into the concept that the price of the toys measures the worth of the man.

I want to return to the passage from Luke 12 to which I made earlier reference.  This is the full text of the parable:

^13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

^14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” ^15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

^16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. ^17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

^18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ^19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

^20 “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?’

^21 “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

This rich farmer committed the mistakes typical of the materialist. 

§         Note that he mistook material gain for personal success.  While he spoke of ‘my crops” and “my barns” and “my grain” and “my goods” when, in fact, none of these were his.  Who had provided the grain that he harvested?  Who provided the resources so he could build barns?  Who caused the crops to grow?  Who supplied him with the goods?  Simply acquiring material gain does not make a person a success. Note the ascription that has been applied to this man down through the centuries: The Rich Fool.  He was rich but ultimately he was not a success. 

§         He mistook his body for his soul.  In the older King James translation of this text, verses 18 & 19 read: “And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.’”  In fact, that is more true to the Greek text than the more recent New International Version.  The Greek word for “soul” is pseukae and that is the word Jesus used here.  The man was a fool because he mused, “I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have plenty of good things laid up for many years.’”  In point of fact, he appears to have made no provision for his pseukae – his soul.  He had simply provided for his body.

§         He mistook a bountiful season for a prosperous future.  He said, “I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’”  He believed that because he had plenty of good things stored up, he would be able to enjoy them for many years.  He would not because that very night he would die and that begs the haunting question, “Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?”

§         Ultimately, he mistook himself for God. Earlier I pointed out that he spoke of ‘my crops” and “my barns” and “my grain” and “my goods”.  But note especially that he said, “my soul”.  The crops were not his, the barns were not his, the grain and the goods were not his – not his to keep anyway.  They all belonged to God and he was a mere steward or caretaker of that which rightfully belonged to God.  But especially notice that he called it “my soul”.  His soul was not his own, either.  He was but a steward of that, too.  And that very night, the rightful Owner was going to take possession of that which was His.  The loan of the soul would be called in and then the man would know for sure that he had mistaken himself for Almighty God.

III.                    The Danger of Materialism

Our rich farmer in Luke 12 illustrates some dangers of materialism. 

The rich fool intended to eat, drink and be merry.  He had planned to indulge himself on the fruits of his labors.  One of the dangers of materialism is that it can lead us to believe that because we have securities, we have security.  As this man was to find out, having enough wealth to last for years does not insure that we will have the years to enjoy the wealth.  Material prosperity can give a false sense of security.

Material wealth can give a distorted perception of values.  I have already addressed the fact that a person can believe that money matters most and that the one with the most money matters the most. 

Material riches can turn the heart.  On another occasion Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”  If our treasure is on earth, our heart cannot be on heaven.  Some people have no interest in the things of the Lord or  that which is eternal and it is because their hearts are anchored to the things of earth and that which is material…because that is where their treasure is laid up.

IV.                    The Defeat of Materialism

While materialism is ubiquitous and pervasive, it is not invincible.  We can conquer temptation of the temporal and the magnet of the material.  But ya’ gotta’ wanna’.  Here’s how:

§         Cultivate contentment.  In I Timothy 6:6-10, Paul told the young man, Timothy,

^6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. ^7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. ^8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. ^9 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. ^10 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.

Godliness with contentment is of great benefit.  The Greek term for contentment was a technical term from the world of philosophy that was used to denote a wise person’s sense of fulfillment independent of circumstances.

I love the story of the little boy who was asked to pray before supper.  During his prayer, he thanked God for the beautiful day He had provided.  When he finished his prayer, the lad’s dad tore into him for praying without thinking about what he was saying because it had been a very stormy day.  Without missing a beat, the youngster said, “I don’t judge a day by its weather.”  That illustrates what it means to have contentment.  It is a sense of satisfaction independent of the circumstances in which one finds himself.

How do we cultivate that kind of contentment?

§         Value the valuable.  Treasure that which is truly important.  The problem with the rich fool of Luke 12 was not that he was rich in material things; it was that he was impoverished in his spirit.  He had not placed a high value on providing for his soul.  His trust was in his treasure and not in his God.

§         Manage the material.  Do you remember that Jesus said it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to get into the Kingdom of Heaven?  The disciples, hearing that figure of speech, asked, “Well then who can be saved?”  Jesus said that with man it was impossible but that with God all things are possible.  Surely he was saying that rich people can be saved but that it would not be easy.  They, like the rest of us, would have to learn to rely on God and not on their own resources.  And when you have a lot of material resources, it is difficult not to place your trust in them.

Paul had told Timothy “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.”  But if we make wealth our servant, rather than becoming its slave, we can learn to manage our money for the glory of God. 

CONCLUSION:

I believe it began as a bumper sticker.  Regardless of the origin of the phrase, you have, no doubt, heard it: “He who dies with the most toys wins.”  Surely you don’t buy that line of thought.  But do you live as if you did?

Do you recognize the name of Jennifer Strange?  Let me refresh your memory.

Jennifer Lea Strange was a 28-year-old mother of three who died under “strange” circumstances on January 12, 2007.  She died of water intoxication after participating in a contest sponsored by a Sacramento, CA radio station.  First prize was a recently released and difficult to obtain Nintendo videogame console. 

Jennifer Lea Strange left behind a husband, two sons and a daughter.  And a $250 Nintendo game.

Do you get it?  The one who dies with the most toys…dies.  The one who dies with treasures in heaven lives for eternity.  Which do you choose?

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