Is your consumerism your idol?

English: Jeroboam's idolatry, 1 Kings 12:25-33, illustration from a Bible card published 1904 by the Providence Lithograph Company (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We live in an age of consumerism. We are certainly blessed by our prosperity. But in an age of plenty, why are we so morally and spiritually bankrupt? According to the Bible, there are very real spiritual dangers in the lust for possessions, in the consumer mindset that looks to material objects for satisfaction rather than to God.

Squeezing Through the Eye of the Needle
“Give me neither poverty nor riches,” prays Agur in the Book of Proverbs, but “feed me with the food allotted to me; lest I be full and deny You, and say, “Who is the LORD?” Or lest I be poor and steal, and profane the name of my God” (Prov. 30:8–9). Having too little is a problem most people can relate to, but the Bible says that having too much can also be a problem. Poverty might drive someone to steal, but “having too much” can make a person think God is not necessary.
While the Bible often describes prosperity as a blessing from God, a continually reiterated theme is the spiritual danger that comes from having many possessions. “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle,” says our Lord, “than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Matt. 19:24). The disciples’ reaction to such a radical metaphor is utterly appropriate: “When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, ‘Who then can be saved?’ ” Christ’s answer underscores how salvation of every kind of sinner is, strictly speaking, impossible, requiring a gracious miracle from an omnipotent God: “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:25–26). All of us are petulant, ungainly camels being dragged through the needle’s eye that is the gate of Heaven.
But if the passage finally affirms that rich people can be saved, the point remains that the Christian life is described as being particularly hard for the wealthy, stressing that those with many possessions come carrying heavy baggage. Those who have everything they need may fail to recognize their need for God. In their comfort and security, basking in luxury and pleasure, they are content with themselves and with their sins. God would get in the way, upsetting their complacency and self-centeredness. Those who struggle and suffer, on the other hand, who lack security and are painfully aware of their own limits, can come to recognize their utter dependence on the sovereign God.
The proverb-writer Agur exemplifies this dependence when he prays, as we do in the Lord’s prayer, that God give him his “daily bread,” just as much as he needs for his day-to-day life. He prays against falling into poverty, not so that he can enjoy life more, but so that he does not sin. He also prays against getting rich. He prays, in effect, that he will not win the lottery. He fears that at he gains riches, he might push God out of his mind.


The Complacency of Consumption
Paul warns Timothy that “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Tim. 6:9–10 NIV). The hunger for possessions is dangerous for some very practical reasons. It provokes “harmful desires” that bring “destruction” and “many griefs.”
Many work so hard to make money that they have little time for their wives, husbands and children. Instead of working to support their families, they end up expecting their families to support their work. God is not pleased when the drive to accumulate possessions takes priority over family, human relationships, and the commandments of God. Almost invariably, twisting these priorities results in “many griefs” in the form of family discord and personal unhappiness.
As with all unbridled appetites, the appetite for possessions can be enslaving. Drug addicts are not free when at the mercy of their cravings, nor are “the slaves of fashion” when manipulated by advertisers and status-mongers. “Foolish and harmful desires” can lead the unwary consumer into a wide range of “traps.” Consider, for example, the trap of getting in debt. From the maxed-out single mom’s credit card to the highly leveraged corporation, debt enslaves.

The Idolatry of Consumption
In one of his astonishingly revealing asides, Paul warns the Colossians to put aside, among other things, “covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col. 3:5). Spiritually, excessive craving for material possessions amounts to having a false god.
Building our lives around the quest for material things, having our values determined by the market-place, putting our trust in our wealth—these do constitute a religion. God wants us to build our lives around Him, to have our values determined by His Word, and to put our trust in Jesus Christ. Nothing less—whether an idol carved in stone or the transient possessions that perish—will ever satisfy.
Today’s consumerism leads to an even more heinous form of idolatry. Because we are so used to being catered to, the temptation is to expect God Himself to cater to our desires for comfort, entertainment, and customer-satisfaction. Instead of searching for a church that clearly teaches God’s revealed Word, we “church shop,” looking for a congregation that offers the most entertainment-value and consumer service. When told by marketing experts that people do not want to hear about sin or doctrine anymore, many churches jettison their message, replacing the Gospel with consumer-friendly pop-psychology and slick marketing techniques.
The consumer mind-set is conducive to idolatry, not Christianity. Man-made products, whether appliances or religions, simply do not last. The treasures we lay up for ourselves on earth will all corrode; only the treasures in Heaven are eternal. And where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also (Matt. 6:19–21).