January 16, 2019
Mood Poisoning: Purging the False Promises of Materialism (Part 2)
 
Below you will find an audio of the devotion being read for you, followed by the written devotion. Listen on the go, listen as you read along, or enjoy reading it without the audio. God bless!
 
 
We are a nation consumed with consuming.
Time magazine says the average American spends $1300 for every $1000 they make! And the problem is, it’s catching up with us. We’ve overspent for a decade and the national debt is collapsing the economy.
What do you call it when output exceeds input? Body builders call it overwork. Electricians call it overload. Bankers call it an overdraft. Politicians call it, What problem?
 
Why do I always want more?
What motivates me to always keep spending myself into debt? What motivates me to never be satisfied with what I have? What motivates me to keep wanting more and more and more?

Three misconceptions that are found in our culture:
1. Having more things will make me more happy.
2. Having more things will make me more important.
3. Having more things will make me more secure.

None of those are true, but that doesn’t stop our society from telling these lies.
 
We will spend the remainder of our devotion today discussing these three lies:

1. Having more things will make me more happy.
The ads tell us that so it must be true! There’s not any doubt about it. Here’s an ad for a car that plainly says, “You can buy happiness.” If it’s in the paper, it’s got to be true, right? You can buy happiness right here in the center of Orange County. We believe in Life, Liberty, and the Purchase of happiness. It’s American.

Here’s one for Chevrolet. “Makes you feel good inside.” I want to feel good inside, don’t you? If I buy a Chevy, then I will feel good inside.

The fact is, things can bring happiness. The problem is, it’s temporary. It’s just for a while. Things do make you happy. If you get a gift, you’re happy about it. But it doesn’t last and after a while the thrill goes away and the excitement fades and boredom sets in because things never change and people change. We get bored with things that don’t change so we want to redecorate… It’s fun for a while but the happiness doesn’t last. How many of you are still thrilled over your gifts from last Christmas? If you remembered last Christmas’s gift, this year you want the bigger model, the better model, the nicer model and you want to redecorate. You’ve got to have more.

Ecclesiastes 5:10-11 “He who loves money shall never have enough. The foolishness of thinking that wealth brings happiness! The more you have, the more you spend.”
 
Andy Rooney said, “Having enough is no where near as much fun as I thought it was going to be when I didn’t have any.”
 
There is a Sign that reads: “When I first started working, I used to dream of the day I would earn the salary I am now starving on.”

There never seems to be enough. Sure it will make you happy but it’s temporary.

2. Having more things will make me more important.
This is the idea that’s promoted by shows like “Lifestyles of the Rich and Tackey” that if I’ve got money, then I must be important. The misconception is, I am what I own, that my valuables determine my value, that if I have little then I must be worth little. So since I want to be liked and respected and looked up to, I must continually keep on getting more and more and more. I’ve got to keep up with the Jones’. Don’t worry about keeping up with the Jones’ — they just refinanced.

If I have more things, I’ll be more happy. The fact is, we buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t even like! That does not make sense. Having more things will make me happy — for a while. But it doesn’t last.

Having more things does not make me more important. It’s amazing what people will pay for a status symbol. Some people will pay $50 more for a shirt because it’s got a little thing up in the corner. It’s still made out of cotton. You pay $50 more for that little horse.

Luke 12:15 “Be on your guard against greed in any shape or form. For a man’s real life in no way depends on the number of his possessions.”

Don’t confuse your net worth with your self-worth.

Bumper sticker: “The one who dies with the most toys wins.” I saw one the other day that said: “He who dies with the most toys, still dies.” That’s true! Big deal! It doesn’t matter whether you’ve got it or you don’t.

Notice it says, “Be on your guard” — continually evaluate yourself. Ask yourself the tough questions: Am I expecting more things to make me more happy? Am I expecting more things to make me more important? It says be on guard — continually evaluate yourself.

3. Having more things will make me more secure.
“If I could just achieve financial independence…” Have you heard that one? As if that’s the goal of life. The fact is, the more you have, the more insecure you can be because the more you have to worry about. The more you have, the more time and energy it takes to maintain it. The more you have, the more insurance you have to pay to insure it.

I never worry about the barnacles on my yacht — I don’t have a yacht. I never loose sleep over the stock market — I didn’t buy any stock. I’m not saying you shouldn’t buy stock, but for me personally, I don’t want to invest in anything that I have to get up in the morning and check the paper before I find out if it’s a good day or not. Many of you can handle that, but I can’t. I never worry about thieves robbing Kay’s mink. She would like to worry about it, I’m sure! But we don’t have any mink.

The less you have, the less you have to worry about. You don’t have to pay insurance on it and you don’t have to take care of the upkeep and maintenance. The Bible says it’s dumb to base your security on how much you’ve acquired because you can lose it all. Proverbs 18:11 “The rich man thinks of his wealth as an impregnable defense, a high wall of safety. What a dreamer!”

Proverbs 23:4 “Be wise enough to not wear yourself out trying to get rich. Your money can be gone in a flash.” How many ways can you lose everything overnight? An infinite number of ways.

The truth is, real security can only be found when you place your security in something that can’t be taken away from you. If you put it in something that can be taken away from you, you put your security in things, things can be ripped off from you a million different ways — legally or illegally. You must have security in something that cannot be taken away from you and the only thing that cannot be taken away from you is your relationship to God (because even your family can be taken away from you).

Job 31:24, 28 “If I put my trust in money, if my happiness depends on wealth it would mean that I have denied the God of heaven.” If I trust in money, if my happiness depends on wealth I’ve denied God. I might as well be an atheist. Why did he say that? Because whatever you trust in for your security is your god? If you’re trusting in your career, that paycheck for your security, that’s your god. If you’re trusting in your pension plan for your security, that becomes your god. If you’re trusting in God, He is your God.
Why do I always want more? Because I think having more things will make me happy, more important, or more secure. It’s just not true.

So how do I live in a consumer driven culture?

Four things:
1. Resist comparing what I have to what other people have. Don’t do it.
2. Rejoice in what I do have. Be grateful.
3. Return ten percent back to God. That’s the antidote to materialism.
4. Refocus on permanent values. On things that really matter, that really count.

We will talk about these four things tomorrow.
 
Prayer:
Lord, help us to change our attitude and approach to money. Help us use our money to serve you and serve others. Help us understand that more money will not mean that we will be more happy, more important, or more secure – at least not in the ways that are healthy and Biblical. Help us to understand that lasting contentment and joy, healthy self-worth, and safety and security come from you alone. In Jesus name we pray, amen.
 
Source:
https://sermons.faithlife.com/sermons/35208-rick-warren-escaping-materialism