Folly of Material Things Revisited: Treasures of the Heart

It’s amazing how much the world changes in only a few decades. Just over twenty years ago, I remember seeing the first truly portable cell phones (not the Zach Morris abominations but the first flip models). I remember buying VHS tapes and messing with rabbit ears on top of a TV. I even remember now-defunct ideas like the Shirley method and the food pyramid.

It’s weird that I often feel ancient and out of touch when I’m only twenty-six. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not anti-technology. But I do think that the race to better our products highlights a key weakness in the human condition: we’re never satisfied.

It’s not enough to have fresh food available at any grocery store: now it must be delivered to us via Amazon. It’s not good enough to have access to a phone that allows us to call anyone anywhere: now it needs internet access, instant messaging, and video games. It’s never enough to have the latest in a long line of iterations: we’re always thinking of the next improvement, no matter who small.

Why is that? Why can’t we ever be contented? The answer is quite simple. Ancient. We must go back to the beginning.

“The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.” (Genesis 2:15-17)

We lived in paradise. We had eternal life. We had a personal relationship with the Creator.

And we threw it away. For what? Godly knowledge. We wanted to be Him. Many still do. But they no longer clothe their shame in fig leaves. No, now they wear uniforms, robes, and lab coats, preaching their sinister designs and desires from backrooms and in front of large crowds.

But even in their selfish ambitions, these men are still not gods. They owe their allegiance to a pantheon of modern deities: money, science, fame, power, and lust. In the end, their gods are but one: sin. Their lord is the devil and in his false promise of godly knowledge.

No one is immune to these temptations or their influence. We all fall short. We all want more. But when we look to Him, when we believe in and trust Him who made us, we come to embrace one idiom that is true more often than not.

Sometimes, less really is more.

“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:25)

Restraint, I think, is something we could all practice a little more. An abundance of material possessions and wealth is fun, but it means nothing in the sight of the Lord. Be careful where you place your heart and be discerning about such things in your life.

Next time you think you need to upgrade your phone, really ponder how necessary it would be for you to have. Can you not make do with your current model? Is the difference between 8 GB versus 10 GB so great that you cannot be satisfied?

In the same way, anything that you wish to store up here on Earth should be considered with extreme caution. Maybe 4K isn’t the next step for you? Maybe your house is small, but you’ve managed so far. Maybe you’re struggling with pining after success, not realizing that the things you have are sufficient?

Whatever it is, don’t think I’m making this post to be judgmental. Far from it. God knows I haven’t been the best with my free time and my money. There are a lot of wasted hours and ill-spent gain in my repertoire. But I have faith in Him who saved me that I can begin to lose my undue attachment to the things of this world.

“Don’t collect for yourselves treasures on Earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

Have a wonderful Monday, God bless, and see you next week-

-hopefully with an update on progress for my sequel novel…