The Bible warns us that when we allow the materialistic culture to creep into our lives, we will soon lose the right priorities. Our values are distorted and we will no longer have faith in God. The Bible says, ”No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). “Mammon” simply means anything other than God. It can be money, material possessions or friendships that usurp God’s rightful place in our lives.
Jesus relates an incident of a rich young ruler who came to Him, wanting to know how to have eternal life:
“…Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandment: ‘Do not commit adultery’, 'Do not murder', 'Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘ Honor your father and your mother.” And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth.” So when Jesus heard these things, He said to Him “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure I heaven; and come, follow Me.’ But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich” (Luke 18:18-23).
We are easily deceived without even realizing it! Like this young ruler, we can be bound be materialism and yet not know it. The Bible teaches, “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 or steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).
Jesus is not against having riches. This young ruler needed to put his treasure in the right place. God was certainly not his master. Although he was “sorrowful”, he did nothing to change the situation when he was made aware of it.
Danger of a materialistic Culture:
In a materialistic culture, we are not only obsessed by possessions. We are controlled by something even more destructive, namely the works of the flesh. When we succumb to the materialistic culture, the natural man or flesh controls us. We do not do the things that we wish. Instead we do the works of the flesh. Paul warns us that “…the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissentions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21)
We will become enslaved just like the rich young ruler when we allow the materialistic culture to dictate to us. This is Satan's deception. Let us not allow God’s grace and power be denied in our lives. Instead, we should seek God with repentance and bear the fruits of repentance.
Paul thus exhorts us to”…walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the flesh of lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” (Galatians 5:16-18).
Avoiding a Materialistic Culture:
There are four steps to help us avoid this materialistic culture. Paul said, ”I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).
Firstly, we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. We are to live for the glory of God daily. Secondly, do not be conformed to this world. Do not let the world mould you, but be conformed to Jesus. Thirdly, be transformed by the renewing of your minds. We are what we think. Thus we need to fill our minds with His thoughts. Fourthly, we need to put God first. Matthew 6:33 teaches us to “…seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
All these steps involve an act of the will. God never forces us to do anything. If we want to be blessed by God, we need to make up our minds as James said, “For let not the man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a doubt-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (James 1:7-8). Do not waver between two opinions like the people during Elijah’s time (1 Kings 18:21). As Joshua said, “I call heaven and earth as witness today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).
God gives us the choice as to what to do. May I encourage you to choose Jesus, serve Him and live for the glory of God. In so doing, the “good Samaritan” culture in you will be a formidable witness for Jesus.