Perspective

As I wrote previously, I believe that a major part of our problem with materialism has to do with perspective. It seems as if we base our own view of materialism on our situation. "I don't have this," or "I haven't spent as much on that," seems to be our line of thinking. I know this is the case in my own life.

As Christians I believe we ought to be more objective. We must first start with our worldview. How do we see the world around us? How do we define materialism in our own head? How do we define 'poor'? Needs are subjective in our own life, but I'm not sure they need be when it comes to materialism. I don't mean this in an absolute kind of way (as much as that seems contradictory). For example, a car may be a luxury in certain parts of the world, but for most Americans a vehicle is a necessity. However, when it comes to how much we spend on a vehicle, I believe we can be more objective. What does a vehicle provide? Transportation. Does it need to have leather interior, or a 6-speaker sound system? That is where the lines begin to blur. Instead of picking on one issue however, let us look more at the idea of how we make decisions.

The way we decide on a car or clothing or a house seems to have more to do with making a statement or making our lives more comfortable. We don't think through the basic thought of transportating, clothing or shelter. We justify amenities based on our wants and give little thought to what we actually need.

It is simply a matter of the heart. Yet, more profoundly, there are infinite nuances of our hearts' desires that we never run through the factory of our brains. A lack of contentment will often drive us to make decisions that are materialistic. If we need to justify something, we do this with ease. Lust can make us justify almost anything. And quite possibly, it is the lust factory of the heart that is the greatest enemy.

Lust is the antithesis of contentment. As Christians, we should be the most content of all people. When we create an idol of the heart (such as a materialistic want) we have lusted for something and ignored the kingship of Christ. A car, or clothing, or a house gives us our identity rather than Christ. Or, we seek our identity from these things rather than find it in Christ. In reality our identity is in Christ, but lust leads us away from this. Our own hearts lie to us and say, "You're not as worthwhile if you don't have this," rather than, "As a steward of Christ's kingdom and His resources, what do I need?" I think this is true, not matter what I try to justify in my own life. I look among my own possessions and my own checkbook and see how this is true. Rather than thinking through each and every purchase as an opportunity to glorify God, I see purchases that are made on a daily basis, often in haste, as simply living the American way.

I'll admit that this is hard. It's hard because we are surrounded by stuff. And stuff on sale. And stuff with low financing. It's readily available and then less than a year later there is a new, much-improved version of what we have, demanding that we upgrade and update. One of the greatest places of struggle is at church each week. People dress to the hilt, they drive fantastic cars, and there is always someone with something new and shiny. Keeping up with the Christian Joneses is as much a challenge as keeping up with the Secular Joneses.

We must start within our own lives, our own homes, our own hearts. I must begin to think through the ideas behind my own desires and needs. It is a battle of thoughts before it is a battle of our checkbooks. And yet, as I have said, little thought is given to these ideas.

And so the struggle continues. Yet if we are ever going to make a difference for Christ's sake, we must through our thought-life, shut down the idol factory of our hearts, by the power of the Spirit, so that we find our contentment in Christ, and in Christ alone. We must take captive the thoughts that would justify our materialism based on our perspective, and seek to gain the perspective that honors God. This perspective takes into account His wants, not ours, and maintains the reality that our identity is in Him, not in what we have.