I Choose PeaceSample

Choosing Peace in a Materialistic Culture

In the first century church, a false teaching was going around, saying that following Jesus would lead to prosperity. Sound familiar? That idea is still around. 

Greed is a ruthless enemy that disrupts our spiritual, physical, emotional, and relational lives, and can even affect our eternal destiny. In his first letter to Timothy, Paul warns him about wrong thinking that says godliness is a means to financial gain. Instead, “godliness with contentment is great gain.” 

“For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Timothy 6:6-10)

We can choose to break the grip of greed on our lives and restore our peace. Here are three steps to put into practice.  

• Develop personal compassion. Greed hardens your heart. The only way to reverse that is to intentionally soften your heart toward God and people. Put others’ needs ahead of your wants.
   
• Develop a generous spirit. A love of money makes us hold on tight to what we have. To counteract this, release the very thing that has the power to consume you. Giving generously is a way to freedom and peace.
   
• Develop an eternal perspective. Begin living for eternity rather than the here and now. One way to do this is to understand the inseparable relationship between your money and authentic worship. Every financial decision we make ends up being a worship of something—either of God or idols. Put simply, money goes to the people, places, and things that matter most to you. 

This is how we can overcome materialism: take the things of the world and turn them into something of eternal value. Then greed loses its power in our lives and our contentment is restored.