It's so easy in our American society to get wrapped up in having the most expensive this and the most expensive that. Madison Avenue would have us believe that our self-worth is based upon the number and quality of toys that we have.
Jonathan Clements of
The Wall Street Journal wrote an excellent column on why "great wealth is overrated":
We all tend to sit up and take notice when we come across people with fancy titles, hefty incomes and immense riches. Yet these aren't signs of genius or virtue. Want proof? All it takes is two words: Paris Hilton.
As I get older, I'm getting less impressed with material goods. Clements also notes that all is not as it seems when it comes to wealth:
Displays of wealth can also be misleading. Folks can appear wealthy -- but the mansion may be fully mortgaged, the cars might be leased and the landscaper may still be awaiting payment.
Even if you come across somebody who can easily afford the trappings of wealth, the trappings themselves are not a sign of wealth, but of wealth that has been spent. The money lavished on the cars, homes and jewelry is now gone.
I know that my self-worth does not come from earthly possessions, but from the treasures of God and heaven, and that God loves me just the way that I am. I just need to continually focus on that in the face of all the advertising.
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I had been reading a book that Living Waters is giving away called The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn. It explores the Biblical view of earthly wealth, especially what Jesus had to say about it. Easy to book to read, but it's got some hard lessons about how to approach our resources.
ReplyDeleteThe metaphor I keep coming back to is this: imagine you're living in the South, just before the end of the civil war. You know that the war is going badly and the South will lose, but everyone else is convinced that the South will prevail. Almost all of your money and investments are in Confederate currency, just like your neighbors. Yet, you know that it's only a matter of time until your money is worthless. If you had an opportunity to trade it all for Union currency, and that you would also make a huge profit, why wouldn't you? It might mean some short-term meager living, but you would be much better off in the long term. Worldly weath works the same way. Anything that we commit to God's use now will come back to bless us 100-fold in eternity.
Like I said: it's easy to understand mentally, much more difficult to start to put into practice...