Materialism
In church yesterday we were reminded of how easy it is to become greedy. The preacher, Bruce Hall, mentioned Brian Houston's book You Need more Money, one of the more obvious examples of using religion as a cloak for grabbing material things for ourselves.
But then, like all good preachers should, he turned the spotlight back on himself and us. He told us that one of the things that would make it difficult for him to contemplate going on the overseas mission field now (at the age of 60) is the thought of leaving behind his comfortable house.
I must say the same is true of me. I am grateful daily for God's material provision, and accept it as a sign of his generosity in all things. But when I contemplate leaving it all behind for some very good reason, I find that the seeds of materialism lie within.
1 Timothy 6:6 is a good verse with which to face our materialism: “Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment ...”.