A European observer summed up with a certain amazement the insatiable drive for consumption he witnessed during a visit to the United States: "Americans cleave to the things of this world as if assured that they will never die, and yet [they] are in such a rush to snatch anything that comes within their reach, as if expecting to stop living before they have relished them. They clutch everything but hold nothing fast, and so lose grip as they hurry after some new delight."
Did he make his trip during the dot-com boom of the late 1990's in Silicon Valley, or during the Wall Street run of the mid 1980's? Alexis de Tocqueville, the famous Frenchman who penned these words, visited America in the 1830's before Ivory Soap floated or Tony the Tiger growled his first "GR-R-R-eat!", before McDonalds had "served" even one of those billions and billions of burgers, let alone cranked out a Happy Meal, and before any of the many Pepsi Generations had seen the light of day. The timing illustrates that the phenomenon of rampant American consumerism has deep-seated roots. As de Tocqueville acknowledges, its beginnings preceded his day as well. The spectacle is as old as the world. Restlessness amid abundance, after all, isn't a bad way to characterize the attitude that brought down Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
"There's nothing new under the sun," the saying goes, which also reminds us of the signature phrase in Ecclesiastes. That book, along with the life of Solomon itself, certainly proves that ancients didn't hesitate to test the rewards of materialism to find happiness "under the sun." The prophets spent at least as much time chastising Israel for their desire to acquire "stuff" as for idolatry. Stuff-love, in fact, seems rooted in the brand of idolatry Paul describes in Romans 1:25-worship of created things rather than the Creator. Regardless of how the good things come to us, there is still only one original Source, and we miss the boat when we place our trust anywhere else.
Our love of stuff is not merely a modern affliction, but an enduring addiction. Keeping the economy expanding is, of course the mechanism that has enabled so many Americans to attain a higher standard of living than their parents. And what other reason lies behind our Government's action in implementing a "Stimulus Package" than to lift the economy by "giving" us "consumers" money to consume more stuff?
In the beginning verses of our Gospel reading today Jesus is instructing His disciples not to "lay up treasures for yourself on earth where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven...for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Generally we are inclined to think just the reverse of this. We suppose individuals will first fix their hearts on something and then one's money naturally follows. But our Lord says that our heart follows our pocketbook. Our heart is drawn to that in which we invest most heavily.
To the ancient mind, the eye was like a window that let light into the body and becomes reflective a person's inner character. In the Old Testament, the one whose heart is set on worldly riches has an evil eye. In looking out for one's self the needs of others is neglected. The one who is generous with others, on the other hand, has a healthy eye. The vision of the needs around him or her is not distorted. The material wealth belongs to God and is quickly and willingly employed to help those in need.
Our Lord then begins to explain the far-reaching effect this ailment of stuff, (materialism, consumerism) has upon us. He begins by saying we cannot serve two masters. Money is either your slave or your master. Perhaps an analogy which might help us grasp our Lord's truth is to see the similarity of materialism to drug addition. When one becomes dependent upon using drugs, one soon discovers that it is drugs that use them. Their body builds up a tolerance to a certain quantity and there is a need to have more and more. Finally the drug becomes the master and the addict is the slave. The same with materialism or stuff-the more money one gets, the more one desires. The more one is dominated by a desire for money, the more one is mastered by it and becomes its slave. This is what Jesus is saying. We can be consumed by being consuming consumers because we are in that endless pursuit of chasing that "earthly stuff" which we treasure.
I want you to be clear and understand our Lord's teaching here: materialism has nothing to do with how much money you or I have in the bank. It has little to do with whether you drive a Rolls Royce or a Rambler. Materialism is primarily an attitude toward money and its importance. Materialism is an attitude which attaches to money and material goods more importance than they deserve. To go one step further, materialism is primarily a matter of reversed priorities. You cannot identify a materialist by an audit, but only by exposing one's attitudes.
It is also easy for us to suppose that materialism is an undue desire for luxuries-you know, you have a house, but want a bigger house; you've got several televisions, but you now need a giant flat-wide screen-but our Lord comes upon on our blind side in this passage and identifies materialism with undue concern over necessities, such as food and clothing. Not steak and ale, maybe not even meat and potatoes. Perhaps even a meager bowl of soup, or second-hand clothes for work. Jesus is identifying worry as one major strain of that common virus, "affluenza," or materialism and teaches us the futility of worry in the Christian life
There's a delightful story of a man named Joe who was a worrier. It showed in his face which was drawn and downcast. He seemed to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. However, one day this man changed. Joe was the picture of optimism. He was radiant and had a bounce to his step. It was if he did not have a care in the world. Everyone noticed the change. Finally, a friend asked Joe what had happened to him. "Well," he confided, "as you know I have always been one to worry. I have decided that this is both unwise and unhealthy, so I have hired someone to do my worrying for me."
"But how much does this cost you?" the friend asked. "Oh, about $1,000 a week," Joe replied. "But how can you afford to pay him?" was the astonished response. Joe answered calmly, "That's his worry!"
We can all smile at a story like this, and wish that it would be that easy to get rid of our worries. And today, one does not need to look far to see many opportunities for worry. How many of us have given thought to the implications of possible fuel shortages? Perhaps you have thought replacing that ‘gas guzzler' with a Smart car that has a smaller appetite for gas? Those are potential areas for worry all about us. And yet, it is here that we find materialism raising its ugly head. Undue concern about material things. Distracting and devastating worry which undermines our faith and diverts our spiritual energy. This is what our Lord identified as materialism. This is what He called sin.
Our Lord is not saying it is wrong to have money, but with riches comes responsibility-to whom much is given, much is required. Paul cautions that those who have riches are inclined to find in them a false sense of security (1 Tim.6:17). There is no particular virtue in being poor either. In such a condition we are sometimes tempted to distrust God or to be dishonest. The right balance is probably best stated by Agur in Proverbs: "Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food that is my portion, lest I be full and deny You and say, ‘Who is the Lord?' Or lest I be in want and steal, and profane the name of the Lord" (Proverbs 30:8b-9).
Nor is our Lord discouraging the use of our minds here. Faith is not contrary to sound thinking; rather it is to be rooted in thought. In fact, our Lord is urging us to use our heads and not to panic. We are to consider the birds of the air (verse 26) and the flowers of the field (verse 28). We are shown that worry is both illogical and unprofitable.
Worry is not to be confused with thinking and planning to meet future needs. Worry is not to be confused with genuine concern. Rather, worry is the preoccupation and dissipation of our mental and physical powers with things that are future, hypothetical, and beyond our control. Worry is the antithesis of faith. Faith perceives potential problems with a view to the infinite power and fatherly concern of the God Who has saved us. Worry is negative meditation and sees only the obstacles-actual or imaginary-and broods on all the possible disastrous possibilities, while neglecting the fact of God's divine care and control in our lives. Our Lord outlined the reasons why worry is both foolish and faithless.
(1) Worry is a distortion of values and a reversal of priorities: "Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing?" (Matthew 6:25b). Jesus is focusing upon the issue of priorities. Materialism, at its base, is a reversal of priorities. It places the temporal above eternal things. It is short-sighted, and misses the long view of matters. It is "this world" centered. Worry is preoccupation with matters of lowest priority (as is materialism).
(2) Worry is a failure to see things as they really are: "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?"
Worry flies in the face of everyday life. Simply look about you. Look up in the skies and look at the birds. Have you ever seen a skinny sparrow? Do they spend hours in worry and anxiety? No, even by instinct they live their lives in thoughtless dependence upon God. Has God failed to care for insignificant birds? If He cares for birds, which are creatures of much less value than man, will He not care for you? Worry allows our vision of our Heavenly Father to be obscured. It overlooks the providential care of God for even insignificant creatures, such as the birds.
(3) Worry is a waste of energy: Worry is the most unproductive use of one's time possible. It accomplishes nothing but unbelief, doubt and fear. It distracts our attention from matters of higher priority and paralyzes us from doing what is needful at the moment. It fears what "could be" rather than follow what should be done at the moment.
We cannot, by worry, add even a minute to our life's span. In fact, all the evidence would indicate that all we can do by worry is to shorten life and undermine our health.
(4) Worry is an act of unbelief: Anxiety over what we will wear is equally unfounded. Look around, consider the wild flowers of the field. Do they fret and fume? And yet look at their beauty. Even Solomon's clothing was no match.
The issue, then, is lack of faith: "... will He not much more clothe you, you of little faith?" (Matthew 6:30). Worry is a serious sin because it doubts the goodness and the integrity of God. In effect, we disregard the Word of God and call Him a liar when we worry. We question His tender love and care for His own and thus completely forget that God is our Heavenly Father.
(5) Furthermore, preoccupation with food and clothing makes us act like Gentile: These are the things which dominate the thinking and the striving of the pagans. And if you don't believe this just look at the media and its advertising. They try to sell us deodorant to cover our body odor, after shave lotion to make us irresistible, tooth paste which gives our mouth sex appeal, and clothing which makes us look suave and sophisticated. If we seek self-confidence with these things, it's because we really want to purchase our self-image like a commodity. Food, drink and clothing. That's what the world is into. And when we become preoccupied with these things we are just like unbelievers. We have departed from our distinctiveness when we allow ourselves to worry and fret over these things.
The prescription Jesus gives for dealing with worry is to first rearrange our priorities, "seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things will be added to you."
Heavenly things must come first in our priorities. We must see our spiritual lives as of primary importance and our material well-being as secondary. Once we have our priorities in order we shall not be so concerned (i.e. worried) about material things.
It is helpful if we understand that worry is not based so much on an outer circumstance as on an inner condition. Do you understand that? Worry comes not so much from what is happening to us on the outside as much as it comes from how we process it on the inside. Worry thus reflects the condition of our souls more than it does our circumstances. For some people, a bad hair day is a real crisis, a cause of deep personal anquish. For others of us, a diagnosis of cancer can be dealt with confidently with faith in the love of God. It depends what you have on the inside more than what is confronting you on the outside.
Some of you know the name Tug McGraw. Today Tug is better known as the father of country star Tim McGraw. But old-timers remember when Tug McGraw was a relief pitcher for the New York Mets. He is remembered for the motto, "Ya Gotta Believe!" during the Met's run for the 1973 World Series. He is also renowned as the star reliever who pitched the final strike for the 1980 World Champion Philadelphia Phillies.
One reason Tug McGraw was successful was his "frozen snowball" theory of pitching. He explained it like this, "If I come to pitch with the bases loaded, and heavy hitter Willie Stargell is at bat, there's no reason I want to throw the ball. But eventually I have to pitch. So I remind myself that in a few billion years the earth will become a frozen snowball hurling through space, and nobody's going to care what Willie Stargell did with the bases loaded!"
Some people in such situations would freeze up. They would put pressure on themselves. They would ad the burden of worry to the task at hand-pitching to an all-star hitter. The outward circumstance is the same, but inwardly there is a very real difference in how some people face their situation. Worry is not based so much on an outer circumstance as much as on an inner condition. We may not be able to solve the outward circumstance, but the way we respond to it, is ours to decide.
One way to do that is to determine to live in the present. Jesus encourages us not to borrow on tomorrow's troubles by teaching us to live "one day at a time." Focus on today, Jesus says. Live righteously. Christians who live godly lives will have trials and testing. That is a normal part of our Christian experience. There will be trials and trouble tomorrow, but these things are beyond our control. We are not God. We don't know the future. But God gives us grace and comfort in the time of need. Let us not seek an advance on adversity, especially worrying about something that may never happen. We have sufficient troubles today. Let us see to it that we deal with them in such a way that God is glorified.
So this is the message that Jesus has for us this day: Consuming can consume you. There is a high goal and a greater priority than material things. Don't worry, be happy! Rejoice that you are a child of God. Live in the present. Always try to do the right thing. God loves you. God will provide for you. And as Tug McGraw said, "Ya gotta believe!"
AMEN!
