“Our generation knows how to worship, but we don’t know who to worship.” We have become so materialistic that our focus of worship is on what we have, instead of the One who gave it to us. Idols in our society are no longer statues but cars, houses, jewelry and even other people. The American dream is for one to drive away from their six figure job in a luxurious car to a six bedroom four bathroom mansion to meet the spouse and two and half kids. Who can blame an individual for desiring this when school, TV, and society equates this with success, when rap artists brag about what they have and how their bling outshines yours. Unfortunately, many people spend countless years trying to reach this goal only to find themselves drawing from a dry well. What has happened to us? One day Jesus told a story about a rich man who had plenty of “stuff.” The man owned so much to where he had to build extra storage facilities. His lifestyle was lavish. In the moment of celebrating and enjoying what he had God said “your soul will be required of you; then whose things will those be which you have.” Jesus illustrated how one’s life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses. What good is it for one to gain the whole world and lose their soul? Now I’m not saying that having material wealth is bad, but to worship those things . All earthly wealth is temporary and ultimately worthless, but God is eternal and His word is priceless.
In His sovereignty, God can bless us with material possessions as well as take them away. Recently two major hurricanes have devastated areas of the gulf coast region. Numerous families lost everything they owned while others were able to salvage what they owned. My heart and prayers go out to all those affected by these events. America got a first hand glimpse of how quickly our material possessions can be taken from us. A man named Job experienced something like the victims of both hurricanes. He was considered one of the richest men of his time, yet he lost everything in one day including all 10 of his children. His response was “Naked have I come into the world and naked shall I return. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Everything that we own will eventually go back to the dirt. So why do we place our hope and trust in riches. The game of Monopoly demonstrates how material things fade away. You know the feeling of dominating a game. Buying houses and hotels, collecting money, and ultimately winning. Soon after the game is over the excitement tapers away and you realize that everything gained will have to go back inside the box. It is my hope that we understand this sooner than later.