The Materialism Problem

I believe Martin Luther said something to the effect that people are like the drunk man who climbs onto a horse, falls off the left, and climbs back on only to fall off the right. The more I observe the unbalanced ping-ponging way I live and watch others struggle with the same, the more I think he is right. With that in mind, I think I’ve brushed into two opposite symptoms of the same materialism or mammon problem, which I’d like to discuss.

One side says having material things is good; let us collect them. This is where the prosperity theology lives. I will point something out to those inclined to believe this. The rich young ruler confidently swaggered up to the Lord and informed Him that he had kept all the laws from childhood until today. Jesus said, “Sell all your stuff and be my disciple.” He went away sad because his stuff was more valuable than discipleship. The cost was too high. This was a tragic ending for the rich young ruler. Then Christ informed the disciples that it is complicated for a rich man to enter God’s Kingdom. (Matthew 19:16-28)

The other side of the debate says having material things is bad. Therefore we accumulate as little as possible. This is where the non-accumulation theology lives. I also have something to show those inclined to think that material things are always wrong and decadent. There was a man who had possessions but was unable to use them for his life was dominated by demons. Jesus delivered him. We pause here and note that he sent them into the pigs, but if we just keep reading, we see something interesting happen. This man wanted to leave all and follow Jesus. Jesus said, “No, go home and tell others….” Even though this man wanted to leave his home and be with Jesus always, he was denied that. For him, to obey was to stay with the things he had. The happy ending here is that he decided the cost was worth it. (Mark 5:1-14)

How do we reconcile the two stories? Both wanted to be disciples on their terms; one wanted to keep his home and everything else. One wanted to leave his home and everything else. One was told no, he must forsake all. The other was told no, he must go home. Materialism, or if you prefer the Biblical expression, mammon, is the focus on physical objects in this world. If you are distracted from God because you serve the love of worldly things, you are found guilty of keeping mammon in your life instead of the Lord. If you are distracted from God because you serve your hate of worldly things, you are guilty of maintaining mammon in your life instead of the Lord.

The answer is obedience to the Lord. This includes redesignating all material things for a spiritual Kingdom. These tools are used, given away, or exchanged as the Lord leads. One of the great writers I wish I could have met before he went to Jesus was Dallas Willard; he said something like this, “For some disciples, the cost is to be rich when they’d rather be poor. For others, the cost is to be poor when they’d rather be rich.”

Two spiritually themed financial books partially inspired this writing.

Money, Possessions, and Eternity by Randy Alcorn. This one focuses mainly on New Testament passages about money and puts forth the idea of sending investments into eternity instead of working on retirement.

The Legacy Journey by Dave Ramsey. This book mainly defends the idea of generational wealth building with the argument that a big retirement becomes a golden goose handed down through generations that gives golden eggs that can then be given to help others in need.

I recommend both books because they reflect the diversity of how disciples of God might be called to use material resources. The only way to avoid mammon is to focus on Jesus and His ultimate ownership. If we focus on things, we will end up in one of mammon’s two greasy ditches.

-Loren Yoder

Church

Why put so much effort into writing about the church? Because it's something that's on my heart and because several things about modern church life bother me. I will outline a few points here. The links at the end will take you to articles with more details on specific topics.

1. We put too much emphasis on building the church. Jesus said in one place, "...seek ye first the Kingdom of God..." and in another, He said, "...I will build my church..." So, a Christian should actively be a disciple of Christ. A disciple will want to learn from Jesus how to live and how the Kingdom works. A disciple wants to let Jesus live His life through him. A disciple seeks to become the kind of person that automatically acts the way Jesus would if He were in her situation. Don't bother with the church if you are unwilling to be a disciple seeking the Kingdom. It's not worth the drama. On the flip side, if you are a disciple, you don't have to "make church" because as you fellowship with, learn from, and have communion with other disciples, you will find that you are in church. Our emphasis should be seeking the Kingdom, which is the same as being a disciple of Christ. We should stop trying to make church for Jesus.


2. Somehow, we hold the wrong definition of church. Intellectually, this is an easy problem to fix, but it seems more tricky in the heart. For example, let's say you have a friend who spends a lot of time dining with people, discussing things of God and His Kingdom, and regularly has communion with other believers. Yet, he decides that attending a Sunday meeting and hearing the preacher every Sunday isn't helpful, so he doesn't. What do you think of that? Is he part of the Church? The question is not whether you agree with his choices but whether you believe his church life is relevant. Let's take the other extreme; a person watches football every night and generally spends time building his personal kingdom. Yet, he does spend a few hours at church every Sunday to hear the preacher. What do you think of that? Is he part of the church? Ok, I set up 2 "strawmen" to make a point. My point is this, Biblically speaking, the word church was translated from ekklesia. In the Christian sense, ekklesia is a group of Christians gathered to worship God together. Or, in the worldwide sense, God's ekklesia is all His people worldwide. I am not saying that either situation is ideal. Instead, I'm arguing that Sundays sitting on a pew don't define whether you are part of the church or not. There are multiple ways that someone can be part of the church, as defined by the simple definition of ekklesia. If your definition of the church gets more specific than that, then you are beginning to speak where scripture has not. That's not a good idea. Keeping the definition simple and not adding to it specifics that line up only with our preferences and culture allows us to move with the Holy Spirit in how we meet. It also keeps us from feeling guilt or putting guilt on others if we or others aren't churching the way we prefer.


3. There is a clergy-laity divide that should not exist. In the New Testament, we see examples of deacons, elders, and bishops being appointed or ordained to go ahead with things. Yet, they were not given special privileges over the non-leaders. Many modern Christians view their clergy as "in ministry" and expect them to work themselves to death for their congregants. Many people seem to think the clergy has special rights or privileges. Like, "we can't have communion without the bishop"...where did that come from? Is that in the New Testament? I have yet to find it. What about teaching, are men ordained by other men the only people qualified to give a sermon? Who qualifies a person? God or man? Biblical leaders are those who are wiser and have been disciples longer. Not those on who we decide to bestow unique titles or privileges. Also, the laity should be in ministry as well. All who are obedient disciples in the Kingdom are in ministry for God.

-Loren Yoder

Kingdom Discipleship:

Church Defined:

Leadership & Administration:

What The Bible Really Says About Church Leadership