You don’t have to be raised in a religious home to be taught the idea that materialism is bad. I would think sharing is one of the first social values that parents attempt teach their children. If you master that skill, Jesus teaches higher level classes of extremist generosity such as Matthew 5:38-42. In one portion Jesus says that if some jerk wants to steal your shirt, you should happily give him your coat too. Soon thereafter he commands us not to cling to these earthly possessions, but to store eternal treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21).
However, when I was in Israel, I learned that God has a very large exception to this rule. (Pause for hasty readers to wig out, calm down, and then be mentally stable for a thoughtful explanation.) It is your religious duty to actively pursue and procure and possess and protect an item IF it has been promised to you by God. The perfect example is the Jewish people living in Israel while the majority of the Middle East wants them dead. I could give you a bunch of Bible references on God promising that land to the Jews, but Genesis 13:15 pretty much covers it all.
So why is this persistence in possessing the promised land different? If a married couple is at a romantic dinner when some idiot strolls up and demands to be given the wife’s engagement ring, will she be happy if the husband pulls it off her finger and says “Jesus would want him to have it,” or would she rather he punch his lights out? If God specifically promises you something, will He be happy if you don’t fight for it? The key difference is that in worldly materialism the focus is on ownership of the stuff while in Godly materialism the focus is on God and his blessings.
Now here’s a cool part, and focus of today’s verses. For various portions of the Old Testament the Jewish people possessed the land God promised to them, but over time their sin led to their own banishment on several occasions. But God said to the Jewish people, even though you’ve made me look bad by not listening to what I told you to do, I’m still gonna show how awesome I am through you so much that people will see me when they look at you. The next verse explains that part of this display of the holiness of God is in the Jewish people returning to Israel.
So just to recap this concept that seems so foreign to me... When is materialism Godly? When the object you seek is a fulfillment of God’s promises. The fact that the Jewish people are living in Israel, just as He said, proves to the world that our God is an awesome God.
If you stick “Material Girl” into your hymnal:
No comments:
Post a Comment