Materialism vs Spirituality

Materialism vs Spirituality

“But this ticket, there’s only five of them in the whole world, and that’s all there’s ever going to be. Only a dummy would give this up for something as common as money. Are you a dummy?”

The quote is from the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It’s my favorite quote from the film and one of my favorites from films in general. The full context?

Charlie is from a very low-income family, and they are struggling to eat. He dreams of meeting Wonka and going to the factory. However, when miraculously he finds a golden ticket as he rushes home, he realizes something. Being unselfish, he tells the family that he will sell the ticket to get them food. That’s when an elder in the family says that quote to him. He tells him that millions of units of money are printed each day. Read it again, please.

You may say that the ticket and going to the factory is great value, but still not spiritual. However, that’s wrong. As we continue to watch, we see Charlie end up transforming a rich but very lost man, Wonka himself. So, in the end, it is a spiritual transformation.

“Eyes blinded by the fog of things

cannot see truth.

Ears deafened by the din of things

cannot hear truth.

Brains bewildered by the whirl of things

cannot think truth.

Hearts deadened by the weight of things

cannot feel truth.

Throats choked by the dust of things

cannot speak truth.”

Harold Bell Wright

Let’s look at the subject a little bit deeper with our own daily example. We love going up into the mountains. Gorgeous blue mountains, with green trees and colorful flowers everywhere. We might say, “This is God’s creation; focus on this, care not for what is men made.” However, what did we use to come up into these mountains? Yes…a car. Aren’t we grateful for having it? It is a “materialistic” thing, but it helps and allows us with our journey towards something greater, don’t you agree?

The crux of the matter here is not putting the material things above God. Put spiritual things first, always, but be grateful for other things as well. It’s not wrong to want things. It is wrong to put them ahead of spirituality and become obsessive over them. It can be a beautiful balance without a huge struggle. There are times when people will point to two places in the Bible to tell you that having money, or wanting, is bad. Let’s examine.

Christ tells us that we cannot serve money and God. Absolutely. We must serve our Creator, and this does not mean that you should not work hard or not get things. There are MANY mentions of hard work and investments in the Bible. We are actually taught that apostles were told that those who are capable of working and refuse should also not eat.

Another passage has a rich young man approach Christ and Christ tells him he must give all his money away. Let’s look in a deeper context. Christ also says that it’s impossible for man alone to get through a narrow path, but with God, everything is POSSIBLE. In the following chapters, we see Chris meet a tax collector who repents and gives half of his money away. Christ tells him that he has been saved. So, you see the connection there. The main point is generosity, humility, and charity. It doesn’t mean you have to give everything; both examples are specific to each situation.

So, put spirituality first, but have no fear of wanting things, simply do not allow that to possess your mind. Put God and people first.

“Are the things you are living for worth Christ dying for?”- Leonard Ravenhill

What a powerful question! Let’s examine part of this topic by asking one of our own. If God were to ask you right now, what do you want the most in the world, what would be your answer? RIGHT NOW. Think about it. What would be your answer? The truthful answer to this question can tell you a lot about where your mindset is currently at, and in return, you can determine what work needs to be done. If you are spiritually satisfied with your answer, then you can think of the steps of how you can get closer to that goal. If you feel it’s spiritually weak, then you can think of what you can do to be the change.

I’ll end this with what I believe to be a perfect quote for this topic.

“Let temporal things be in the use, eternal things in the desire.”- Thomas à Kempis

Blessings

XXXXX

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