whats wrong with materialism

1 Timothy 3:3 not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money.

1 Timothy 6:8-9 If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.

1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

1 Timothy 6:17 Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.

James 1:9The brother in humble circumstances should exult in his high position. 10But the one who is rich should exult in his low position, because he will pass away like a flower of the field. 11For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its flower falls and its beauty is lost. So too, the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

James 2:6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court?

Rev 3:17 Because thou say, I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing; and know not that thou art the wretched one and miserable and poor and blind and naked:

Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold refined by fire, that thou mayest become rich; and white garments, that thou mayest clothe thyself, and that the shame of thy nakedness be not made manifest; and eye salve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see.

James 5:1 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.

I think God has a LOT to say about material possessions

noblenut said:

i am a christian but i am also materialist, i feel there is nothing wrong with indulging in the pleasures of life. i buy and play games, watch movie and enjoy a lot of things. Jesus said seek first his kingdom then u will have as well. there is nothing i cannot give up for the kingdom but there is nothing i need to either. i feel everything is a gift of God and is for our benefit

Click to expand...

I believe we find over the course of our growing up in the Lord Jesus Christ that things which at one point were pleasurable to us (and which may not be spiritually beneficial to us and/or the body of Christ) just fall away.

As God works within to will and to do of His good pleasure, some things which previously brought us satisfaction just don't hold us and our focus changes.


Colossians 3:17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Yeah....9100 square feet of cabins (10) in Mark Twain national forest on Indian creek in Missouri......

I'll take one, thank you very much. !!

Excessive dependence on material things, is the problem

Avoid all extremes (ecc 7:18)

You got it HAH........overlooking the sprind fed creek where I tractor out a hole and line with creek rock....I call it "La Beach"

what would eternity in heaven be like?

First of all, time flies when you're having fun

And we could relive that, for an unlimited amount of time

Or, time can fly faster and faster, and no matter how fast time flies, there's an unlimited amount of time to fly through,

therefore, unlimited time of fun, regardless of how relative it is to your own perspective

If we are no longer be bounded by time in heaven, what would eternity be like? Is there still a thing called eternity since there is no time anymore?

Wow, truly truly, ... no eye have seen, no eat have heard, and no hearts can fully know ( 1 Cor 2:9)

From the ... Is there even a beginning or end to begin with? Wow!

The closest thing is "no reference to time" but we still have the concept of time, unimaginable!

I know. For sure, it will blow our mortal minds if we knew. It is better that we don't know for now.

Let's put it this way, no materialism can possibly compare!

the truth is if u are reading this on your expensive computer while sitting on your office chair, while using your costly internet connection, then u too are a materialist.

Good humor..
LOL
---
I do not have 'expensive' computer.
- Also I need new chair.. worn out.
- 'Costly internet connection'.. not easy to find inexpensive one.

I believe time to be only relevant on a material level, while time does not limit the spirit from transcending.

When the earth is being created, I believe all the sons of God in Job, includes sons who are physically alive now.

Job 38:7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

The use of resources does not define ones loyalties. All that we have can be regarded as our own
or under stewardship for the Lord.

The pharisees failed because their hearts were full of greed and self indulgence rather than love
for God and love for their neighbour. And it is this where we can easily fail, when financial security
becomes our first priority over life and love.

One way of finding out how dependent we are on these treasures is to leave them alone for
a period and see how we feel or to give them up for others to use.

When you have kids, it is amazing how ones own things become the ownership of the family, which
is fine and good, because it helps everyone, and people need to learn responsibility and we need to
learn trust and giving things up. Letting them drive the car is one such issue. Another was letting
them join the army training core, where accidents do happen, but are we to face the chance of failure
of the adventure of discovery. Letting them drive motobikes in Vietnam, now that was truly something,
because serious harm and costs can easily take place.

So this question is not so simple, and not so easy to answer either. I think part of the answer is how
we live.

You could be also be reading this in a library using free internet connection.

Do I own all the books in the library no. Do I share them with others yes. And look after them. Sure we may have thousands of them and its wonderul to have so many. But only one Bible matters really and even if that was gone it would still be written on peoples hearts. Because we read it and memorise it.

So...not true about people being materialists where your heart is there is your treasure also. Whats in your heart, the word of God, or is it how many games and movies you own.

On this note I find it interesting rich people having a garage full of sports cars, more than they would
ever drive, sitting there. It is like because it is in their garage that matters, rather than somewhere else,
or if someone else owns them. But unless you actually drive the cars, the real physical experience is
the same, it is just ones attitude.

I thought about this also when driving a car down the road. You cannot see how it looks, so one is
enjoying ones own imagination of one driving the car. If on the other hand you love how the car
handles and feels, then there is a real interaction with the experience.

This is why materialism fails, because it measures value on ideas and perception and not actual use.
If one spends ones life trying to earn wealth, living in an office and not using it, it is all an illusion, a
slavery to an idea, rather than a reality one enjoys.

Jesus is showing us what really matters to us, our hearts and those we share with. When that is right
and clear, material things have their proper place. God bless you.