Materialism and Idolatry

[copper25]

Habakkuk 2:9) Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!

Can covetousness and lustfulness after the temporal things really benefit a person? A person can have all the material things in the world, that the world can offer and yet (Proverbs 11:4) states that “Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.†One can have all the cars, the clothing, the remnant, and food to eat in huge quantities, but what will deliver?

Luke 12

18) And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

19) And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

20) But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

Everything that this man had was made into nothing the day God came to collect his soul and shall we be any different? Job 1:21) ..“Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.†Notice “the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken awayâ€Â. We are entitled right to claim possessions, or so we think, but it is all God’s, every single thing is God’s. Ezekiel 18:4) “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine†And David acknowledges all things were God’s when he said in 1 Chronicles 29:16) “O LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own.†And do we think that we stand in a different light of comparison than David? All on this earth is God’s and is a potential distraction when we do not keep this in mind. When our mind fancies after the temporal substance, the non-spiritual things, what will not rust, what will not degenerate and break over time?

Matthew 6:20) “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor stealâ€Â, why, Matthew 6:21) “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.†Notice this, one cannot have their heart on earth and in heaven, meaning the heart longing for both and being successful, because an overcharge of the earthly possessions and riches and pleasures act as idols, which will result in one’s heart being taken from God and its affections placed off eternal direction.

Proverbs 17:24) Wisdom is before him that hath understanding; but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth.

Luke 21:34) And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

1 John 5:21) Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

All things that get more affection and priority than God are idols and we know that idolaters will not inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 6:9) Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,

1 Corinthians 6:10) Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Revelation 21:27) And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

And who re they that “defileth†and show their nakedness and shame, but of course they that submit to idolatry.

 

[LanceEh]

Yes, scripture is very clear about not storing up riches, etc.

God bless.

 

[tim-from-pa]

Let me state what I replied on another forum:

America being very rich is no accident by what I believe. It's called the "birthright" in the Bible. However, the wealth should be viewed as a blessing from God because of His promises and a secondary pleasure to our primary focus. Instead, people got it reversed is where the problem lies, otherwise, it's not wrong to be rich if God promised it.

It's more how you use it. Don't equate riches with evil just like the medical establishment (erroneously) says that salt, cholesterol and fat is bad. It has its place and is needed and is there for a reason. The issue is when we prioritize wrongly.

 

[samuel]

First of all, I can find nowhere in scripture where God made any promises to any nation, except one. And those promises were conditional, upon Isreal's obedience to God.

Which are yet unfilled, so why would it be thought that any other nation has some form of precedence in these matters. The Gentiles were blessed by Gods grace, as far as personal salvation, not as a whole.

 

[LostSoul]

Honestly, I do not believe that riches or any form of wealth benefit anyone. We have some good biblical examples to look to such as Solomon. Who, had he followed after God as his father had before him, likely could have known some of the more heavenly riches. For even with all the splendor and wives he had, he was shorted on the most important thing, a real relationship with God.

No doubt to have stability is something a number of us would like, but all the money in the world cannot provide that. Nor can any riches or any one person in our lives save Christ alone in my opinion.

My apologies if any of this post was offensive. No offense was meant to be taken.

May God Bless You

Danielle

 

[samuel]

Good Biblical prospective LostLamb, should not be offensive to anyone.

 

[tim-from-pa]

First of all, I can find nowhere in scripture where God made any promises to any nation, except one. And those promises were conditional, upon Isreal's obedience to God.

Which are yet unfilled, so why would it be thought that any other nation has some form of precedence in these matters. The Gentiles were blessed by Gods grace, as far as personal salvation, not as a whole.

I.e. one nation that was prophesied to become many. And the Abrahamic Covenant had power and material wealth, as was Abraham who was extremely rich and powerful. It was by this promise that blessings to all nations would come about. This is basic Bible 101 and the whole crux of the Bible doctrine.

As for conditional, only the Mosaic Covenant, the rest of the covenants were unconditional that did not depend on obedience but was granted for the Fathers' faith sake.

 

[Free]

There is nothing wrong with wealth or being rich as long as wealth is seen as a means to other ends, not an end in and of itself. We are to be good stewards of what we have, whether it is little or plenty.

 

[Caroline H]

There is nothing wrong with wealth or being rich as long as wealth is seen as a means to other ends, not an end in and of itself. We are to be good stewards of what we have, whether it is little or plenty.

I agree. Idolatry is a matter of the heart, not necessarily the actions. A man can be rich and still have his heart in the right place, although I assume that is rare. Personally, I prefer not to be rich for that reason, that it is tempting to turn away from God when I have everything I could ever need. But I wouldn't equate richness with idolatry. They often go hand in hand, but not always.

 

[Carol Lowery]

Periodically throughout my lifetime I've been around very rich people in my travels, but they were so poor inside. Riches are in the eye of the beholder.....rich to me, would be having more of God's wisdom, and HIS gifts to use it wisely. Different strokes for different folks....

 

[Cornelius]

Rich is when God meets all your NEEDS.

When He provides food, whenever I am hungry, and clothing to prevent me from being naked, and a roof to keep the rain off my head. When I have to go somewhere and I have enough gas in the car to do so, I am rich. When I have leftover money, I must give to those brothers and sisters who do not have enough. Then still, I am rich, even though I have no more money, because God still provides the food, whenever I am hungry and clothing to prevent me from being naked and a roof to keep the rain off my head. When I have to go somewhere............... :yes

 

[Dunamite]

There is nothing wrong with wealth or being rich as long as wealth is seen as a means to other ends, not an end in and of itself. We are to be good stewards of what we have, whether it is little or plenty.

James 5: 1Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. 2Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3Your 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. 4Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. 6You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.

What is wrong with being rich? Everything comes from God. If you have more than your share then somebody else is doing without.

The Western world is rich. Most of the wealth is in the hands of 2% of the people. Even the poorest in our own country would be rich in many countries. That means that all those starving millions are getting by with less because we take more, either through greed, ignorance or uncaring attitude.

We try to assuage our guilt by saying that we deserve it and they do not. Not all of the world is poor because they are lazy and there is nothing that many of us have done, but be born into a privileged society. Many women and children have to carry heavy water buckets for miles or hack away at rock hard ground with blunt and crude tools to plant and harvest in order to survive.

They are poor because the system is corrupt and it makes them poor. We are the beneficiaries of this corrupt system that encourages child labour, sweat shops and props up corrupt military dictatorships for our own ends. We convince ourselves that we aren't doing it. But the corporations and countries that do it are supported by us and our tax dollars and products that we buy. We give them consent when we buy their products or when we elect leaders who engage in immoral practices. We can live in denial, but as James reminds us, it will convict us in the end.

We have fallen victim to John's warning: 15Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For everything in the worldâ€â€the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and doesâ€â€comes not from the Father but from the world. 17The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2)

We love the world and have been sucked into the machine of consumerism. We want cheap goods and resources and will do whatever is necessary to get them. We will invade countries to secure oil. We will kill people who oppose us and depose leaders who are unfriendly to our interests.

Don't believe me? Read your history books. The crimes are not restricted to our generation. What is alarming is that in our life time the gap between the rich and the poor is increasing. As the gap widens we care less, even though we see the stories on the news, hear crying children and see distended stomachs from chronic malnutrition.

Our country is an idol. It worships the dollar. our governments serve to channel money into the hands of the privileged few and away from the needy. Everything is rigged in their favour. They want you to think that they deserve it so they have created a vast machine that spreads lies through the media. They buy us off with tawdry things that they push through the media which they own, convincing us that we could be more beautiful, smell better, be sexier and happier.

You can believe that you are being a good steward, but the world is a testament to our greed and self interest. Things are getting worse. The news says so and so does your Bible. If that gets you through the night then so be it. In the end you answer to God. Tell him about all of the hungry people you helped out. Convince him that you could not do more.

All of us are guilty. There are no innocent people. Me, included.

Jesus told us to look after the poor and the unwell. He told us to go the extra step and to not withhold.

Matthew 5: 39But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

The poor of the world are not asking for help. They are begging, pleading and if we ignore them then we are not following Jesus.

John said, 16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. (1 John 3)

Love is not mere words, but action. He is plain. He says that if it is just words then you do not get the message. If you ignore it then you are not just deaf to their plight, but you are not a Christian because you lack God's love. See James 2. He says the same thing. Action must accompany your words or they are meaningless, like empty promises.

I write this not to single you or anyone out. I am no different, except I am not in denial. The world is separated into haves and have nots. The haves take from the havenots. We are part of the haves and if we allow the system to continue to exploit the weak and the poor, and we do not speak out then we are guilty by association. We are accomplices.