Materialism and aiming for heaven

oge okonkwo

January 30, 2015 11:49 AM

Focusing on many material things has its consequences on our individual relationship with our friends, family and finally with God who gives greatest inner joy and peace

Bible verse for today:Colossians 3:2 – “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (NIV).

Word for Today devotional by United Christian Broadcasters (UCB) explains this verse and how it affects our daily living as Christians.

It says “ Today we’re big on the concept of instant gratification and acquiring more stuff. But ‘earthly things’ lose their appeal once the bill arrives and the interest on your credit cards starts piling up. When that happens, blessings can turn into curses and rob you of the joy of living.

Focusing on many material things has its consequences on our individual relationship with our friends, family and finally with God who gives greatest inner joy and peace. The devotional continues:

One pastor says: ‘Materialism doesn't’t satisfy because it’s tyrannical, and human beings were born to be free…We find we don’t own the house the house owns us. We’re married to a mortgage. We become slaves to gadgets and garments. After they’re purchased, delivered and installed, we enjoy a fleeting sense of pleasure, but they still dominate, dictate and demand, ‘‘Press me, polish me, patch me, paint me, prune me, plaster me!’’ We spend our best years and the bulk of our money working for ‘‘things” until…we’ve no time left to pursue life’s really enjoyable vocations: visiting friends, having fun, and going to church…no time to do good deeds, see places, or visit the people who give us the greatest inner joy.'

The devotional also explains how contentment is related to Godliness by being grateful to our creator everyday, while aiming for heaven after we leave the earth.

Paul says, ‘‘Godliness with contentment is great gain’' (1 6:6 NIV). And to experience that contentment you need to count your blessings every day and thank the One who made them all possible.’ Jon Walker writes: ‘Assume there’s an imaginary line dividing what you can see from what you can’t see the temporal from the eternal.

Our objective in Jesus is to look upon the things ‘‘above”, so we can understand that what we see and feel is not a full and accurate measurement of God’s reality…people are eternal beings, and decisions that seem insignificant now, when seen in the fullness of reality, are of eternal significance.’

Additional bible verses: Exodus 14:15, Matthew 17

oge okonkwo