I Need More Stuff!
Do you know how many versions of iPhones there are? I just read that some users are anxiously awaiting the next release less than a year after the iPhone X came out. On the flip side, my husband is happy he got a smartphone last Christmas, because I had been insisting that our flip phones were perfectly suitable for our needs. Technology is constantly changing, and for some people it is really important to have the latest and greatest gadgets.
Perhaps you aren't a gadget person. Perhaps you are a stay-at-home mom who loves to dress their children in name brand clothing and obsesses over the latest kid fashions. If not clothing, maybe you insist your dog or cat only eat gluten/veggie/preservative free food and you're constantly researching the best options available. Whatever the case, there is no doubt that we live in a very materialistic society. How many of us run to the grocery store or Target and end up with things in our cart that we don't really need?
My son asked me the other day, "Mom, is it really bad to want nice things?" So, I gave him a biblical answer. What does the Bible teach? We can look to scripture for answers and find that having nice things and money is not a sin, but God doesn't look at our possessions; He examines our motives.
1 Timothy 6:6-10 "But godliness with contentment is great gain, 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."
Many people might argue that they don't really love money because they aren't hoarding it, just spending it. However, the truth is, they love what money can do for them and they covet what others have. I am not immune from this problem. I look at other people's new houses, well dressed kids, sparkling cars, etc. and sometimes feel as though I don't add up. When I'm walking through a store on a mission to collect what we actually need, I can be lured in by sales and end caps which try to convince me that I need more.
If we think we will be happy if we just get more stuff, we are extremely mistaken and guilty of entertaining sinful thoughts. Happiness does not come from stuff. Filling up my home with stuff actually makes more work for me and ironically I become more unhappy.
God cares about how we handle money. He tells us that we are to be content with what He has provided. Always looking to upgrade or buy is unbiblical. "Change, for the sake of change, is not a Christian virtue. Such an attitude comes from Madison Avenue, not the Scriptures. There is nothing good about being quick to grab at the newest thing that comes down the road. Contentment with God's gifts and provisions is indeed a rare possession of Christians today," (White, p. 8)
Do you have 17 pairs of shoes? Does it honor God to buy one more? Do your children have enough clothes to wear for more than a week? Must you seek out the latest fashions to update their wardrobe? Does your phone still work? Is it necessary to upgrade? Furthermore, are you addicted to the feeling you get when you buy things you do not need? Running after stuff in an effort to gain happiness will always backfire. It will never be enough and it never honors God. Instead, we should thank God for all He as already provided and ask Him how to spend the money He has given us in a way that honors Him.
White, J.R. (1995). The King James Only Controversy. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers.
My son asked me the other day, "Mom, is it really bad to want nice things?" So, I gave him a biblical answer. What does the Bible teach? We can look to scripture for answers and find that having nice things and money is not a sin, but God doesn't look at our possessions; He examines our motives.
1 Timothy 6:6-10 "But godliness with contentment is great gain, 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."
Many people might argue that they don't really love money because they aren't hoarding it, just spending it. However, the truth is, they love what money can do for them and they covet what others have. I am not immune from this problem. I look at other people's new houses, well dressed kids, sparkling cars, etc. and sometimes feel as though I don't add up. When I'm walking through a store on a mission to collect what we actually need, I can be lured in by sales and end caps which try to convince me that I need more.
If we think we will be happy if we just get more stuff, we are extremely mistaken and guilty of entertaining sinful thoughts. Happiness does not come from stuff. Filling up my home with stuff actually makes more work for me and ironically I become more unhappy.
God cares about how we handle money. He tells us that we are to be content with what He has provided. Always looking to upgrade or buy is unbiblical. "Change, for the sake of change, is not a Christian virtue. Such an attitude comes from Madison Avenue, not the Scriptures. There is nothing good about being quick to grab at the newest thing that comes down the road. Contentment with God's gifts and provisions is indeed a rare possession of Christians today," (White, p. 8)
Do you have 17 pairs of shoes? Does it honor God to buy one more? Do your children have enough clothes to wear for more than a week? Must you seek out the latest fashions to update their wardrobe? Does your phone still work? Is it necessary to upgrade? Furthermore, are you addicted to the feeling you get when you buy things you do not need? Running after stuff in an effort to gain happiness will always backfire. It will never be enough and it never honors God. Instead, we should thank God for all He as already provided and ask Him how to spend the money He has given us in a way that honors Him.
White, J.R. (1995). The King James Only Controversy. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers.
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