Contending Against Idols: Round 2 Anthony Uvenio VS. Materialism

Defining Idolatry and Materialism

So, my name is Anthony Uvinio, and I'm one of the elders here at Hope Reform Baptist Church. I'm glad to be part of this Contending for the Faith conference. Pastor Phil was the one who brought it to my attention.

We did one at his church last week, and he came up with the great idea of doing one here. So, you can thank Phil, first of all, for his talk and for this idea. So, this morning, I'm going to be speaking on the idol of materialism.

So, before we talk about idols and idolatry, we need to define what idolatry is. So, listen how the AI version of dictionary .com defines idolatry. Dictionary .com, not a prominent source of rich theological truth, okay?

Yet, it defines idolatry like this. The worship of false or the excessive devotion to something that is not God. In religious context, it refers to the act of giving divine honor or worship to a created being, such as an image, statue, or object, rather than the one true God.

Idolatry can also be applied to secular contexts where individuals become overly attached to material possessions, wealth, or power, elevating them above their proper place in life. It goes on to say the concept of idolatry is often associated with the Ten Commandments, where it is explicitly forbidden in the biblical account.

The Bible makes it clear that idols are nothing more than pieces of wood or stone carved by human hands, and that they have no power of their own. That's not such a bad definition from AI, right? So that was the AI definition.

Now for the AUV definition. That's me. Idolatry is taking that which is good and making it that which is ultimate. It's basically exchanging God, who's ultimate, with something common, placing it above God, before God, or alongside God in thought, deed, or devotion.

Idolatry is marked by finding satisfaction in things, ideas, or practices that can only be found in God and come from God. Idolatry is seeking satisfaction or hope in things that only God can provide and satisfy.

So, if you believe that it's money or possessions that will satisfy you, that they will fulfill and meet your deepest needs, then you're practicing idolatry. In other words, you're finding satisfaction, pleasure, hope, and comfort in something that only God can supply.

But the idol that we're addressing here today, materialism, money, is a counterfeit. It cannot replicate God, no matter how much you want it to or think it will. As you do this, it actually becomes self-deception.

So now listen to the Lexham Theological Dictionary definition of idolatry. Idolatry technically refers to the worship of an image or figure considered a representation or copy of a deity. Due to Yahweh's prohibition of images, the worship of any image was worship of a god other than Yahweh, an act that amounts to the rejection of and rebellion against the only true God.

Boil it down real quick. An idol is just a cheap, inadequate imitation of God. So, now that we have an understanding of what an idol is, how do we define materialism? Again, this is what AI had to say.

Just for your information, I wasn't using AI. I wasn't intentionally seeking this out. It just came up in the searches that I did. So here's what it said. Materialism refers to a philosophical or economic perspective that emphasizes the importance of material possessions, wealth, and physical objects in achieving happiness or fulfillment.

Materialists often prioritize tangible assets, such as money, goods, and services, over intangible values like relationships, experiences, and personal growth. Materialism can also describe cultural norms and values that prioritize consumerism and material acquisition.

The concept of materialism has been debated by scholars and philosophers, with some arguing that it can lead to dissatisfaction and imbalance, while others see it as a natural part of human nature. Again, not such a bad definition.

The definition is right in that it does lead to dissatisfaction and imbalance, because it's the natural result of the fallen human condition disconnected from God. Now, I like Randy Alcorn's definition.

He says, Materialism begins with our beliefs, not merely what we say we believe, not our doctrinal statement or confession, but the philosophy of life by which we actually live. So even though true Christians would deny belief in the philosophical underpinnings of materialism, they may be nonetheless preoccupied with material things.

Materialism, first and foremost, is a matter of the heart. It becomes a way of life. So, in the fallen human condition of mankind, who used to be in perfect fellowship and perfect harmony with God, in whom there is nothing higher or more perfect, mankind tries to find, imitate, and replicate that perfect fellowship and that perfect harmony with deficient, impersonal, and imperfect things.

Things that are marred by sin. Things that cannot be God, but try to imitate Him and replace Him. And that's a fool's errand. And everyone in here has experienced this in some way, shape, or form. We were all created to be in fellowship with God, and nothing else besides Him will adequately fulfill that relational position.

He is what you need, and only He is what will satisfy you. So, does anyone here think we live in a materialistic world aside from Madonna?

Good, okay.

America’s Consumer Culture and the World of Vanity Fair

Are Americans really materialistic? Is that true? Does anyone doubt this? Just in case you do, here are some statistics from worldmetrics .org. 70 of Americans believe society is too materialistic. Internally, we agree.

The United States consumer market is the largest in the world, representing over $12 trillion in 2020. 33 of Americans feel pressure to spend more than they can afford during the holiday season.

You relate?

The storage industry, you know, like those big storage units in the U .S., is worth over $38 billion, showing high demand for extra storage space. You know, the stuff that you bought that you don't use, that you transferred from the garage to now you're paying for it in a storage spot?

62 of Americans believe that having more would make them happier. Get this one. American children make up 3 .1 of the world's children's population, but own 40 of the toys. Americans' total credit card balance is $1 .15 trillion in the first quarter of 2024.

That's just the first quarter.

And that's according to the latest consumer debt data from the Federal Reserve. That's $188 billion higher than the record set in 2019. Ironically enough, three out of the top four states that have the highest credit card debt are New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Worse than that, our country's national debt is $35 trillion. Have you ever seen the debt clock? That thing spins faster than a jet engine. It's like a fan. The Truth in Accounting website says America's real debt is $156 trillion.

That's a lot of money. Now, the National Library of Medicine, which is funded by the government, actually does studies on materialism. Probably a $30 million study, right? And their latest study in 2022 was titled The Problematic Role of Materialistic Values in the Pursuit of Sustainable Well-Being, in which they say, this is what they conclude, Strong materialistic values help to maintain consumer capitalism, but they can have negative consequences for individual well-being.

The paper highlights the negative association with engagement in attitudes and actions that support the achievement of sustainable well-being. That's a very neat, compact, $30 million way of saying,.

You should have read your Bible.

The Bible addresses this. You don't need to do a $30 million study to realize that. Materialism is prevalent throughout the entire world, and certainly in the U .S. But this isn't just a 20th century problem.

We went through Pilgrim's Progress in our weekly study, and here's what John Bunyan in 1678 wrote. This is how he described the land known as Vanity Fair. He said, Beelzebub, Apollyon, and Legion, with their laborers, set up this fair to provide every kind of entertainment for travelers and to sell all types of merchandise all year long.

At this fair is sold such merchandise as fine houses, lands, stocks and bonds, false security, gay clothing, jewelry, expensive cosmetics, gold and silver, antiques, pearls, precious stones, fame, fortunes, reputations, virtue, honor, popularity, positions, phony titles, counterfeit degrees, contest chances, games, votes, elections, governmental offices, personal influences, padded reports, propaganda, falsehoods, fictitious news.

He used that word before Trump did. Fake news comes from John Bunyan. Deceptions, artificial personalities, schemes, tricks, comics, beauty queens, sex appeal, prostitutes, human lives, and the souls of men.

Pretty perceptive and pretty all-encompassing. Moreover, at this fair at all times are gambling, juggling, cheating, defrauding, embezzling, lying, stealing, swindling, rogues, not Congress. This is what he's talking about at Vanity Fair.

Knaves, libertines, carnivals, festivities, drinking, revelries, connivings, fools, thugs, lewd women, murderers, adulterers, and all kinds of immoralities. The broad road that leads to destruction, which brings the fair much trade, lies through this town.

Nothing has changed. It's gotten worse. Bunyan observed these things taking place in the 1600s. And what was Vanity Fair to represent? Vanity Fair symbolizes the world as a whole, especially its attraction to material goods in opposition to Christianity and self-denial.

From the very beginning, the demons established the fair on purpose to try to divert heavenly-minded pilgrims. Is that any different than today? Even today, the world is catechizing us. The movies we watch, the books we read.

You ever see the movie Wall Street? What does Gordon Gekko say? Greed is good. Somebody saw it. Jerry Maguire, show me the... Yeah, you saw that one too. Al Pacino is Tony Montana. When you get the money, you get the power.

It's all about money. There are countless songs, movies, books, advertisements about money. It's all around us. It permeates this culture. It's not too hard to see that the world has nosedived headlong into the idol of materialism with America leading the charge.

Why? It's the result of the self-centered, sinful heart of mankind seeking to find fellowship and harmony in created things to soothe the discomfort that sin has created. The fallen heart seeks to pacify itself with material goods and self-importance.

Why?

Because mankind is seeking what was lost in the fall and was previously provided by God alone. Relational security and a proper value. The image of God. In mankind's pursuit of materialism, the soul screams, Look at me.

I'm someone. Look at what I have. I'm secure. I'm free. I have no needs. And in the exaltation of self, they debase God and reject His reconciliation through Jesus. Because security and value is found in God alone.

Even Jesus himself would tell them in Revelation 3, For you say, I'm rich, I've prospered, and I have need of nothing. Not realizing that you're wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by the fire so that you may be actually rich.

With white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen. And a salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. That's a stinging rebuke to anybody steeped in materialism.

Acquiring material things to find comfort and relational value. What they don't realize is what Proverbs 11 .14 teaches. Riches do not profit on the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.

Right? We have bumper stickers. He who dies with the most toys wins.

How about he who dies, dies.

And you will face God someday on Judgment Day. And you can't bring everything you've accumulated to His throne. He doesn't need it anyway. They don't realize that their sin debt outweighs our national debt by trillions.

They don't know what Solomon knew in Ecclesiastes chapter 2. Solomon says, whatever my eyes desired, I didn't keep it from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil.

Then I considered all my ways and all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended doing it, and behold, it was all vanity, striving after the wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

Vanity, vanity. Translated, that means meaningless. Meaningless. Materialism is the way the unsatisfied and needy heart of man tries to soothe itself, to appear significant, better than their neighbor.

It's how sinners keep score. Look at what I have, and look at who I am. And worse, the sinful heart lies to us by saying that who we are is based on what we have. Friends, our net worth does not equal our self-worth.

If you think that, you are trading the glory of God for a lie. As an image-bearer of God, you have infinite worth and value already because you were created by a God who is of infinite worth and value.

You are a reflection of Him. Money and toys are no substitute for God. That is where your value is derived regardless of man's idolatrous materialistic standard and man's desperation to redefine what God's already defined.

Now, as an unregenerate image-bearer of God, the more you reject and try to escape God's image and your relationship to your creator, the worse your condition actually becomes. You cannot escape God's world regardless of how hard you try.

And trying harder through materialism and the acquisition of wealth leads to more difficult and harsher consequences. You will not match the glory of God with items created by human hands. They are but useless trinkets.

They are no substitute for Him. Your desperation for significance, which is really the word glory, it's kabod, heaviness, like, hey, that's heavy, man, significant. Your desperation for significance comes from God alone.

What's even more serious than thinking your worth is tied to your possessions and your value is in what you have is that so-called Christian churches have climbed on board with this mentality and promote the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel, where God and His glory is not the goal.

He's just the means by which you achieve your goal. Your goal of personal glory by means of wealth, money, and possessions, and how that's somehow a sign of your friendship and favor with God who rewards your incredible faithfulness.

It's both wicked and tragic at the same time. Now, I just want to warn you. I almost hate bringing this up because before you take aim at that particular group and flex your theological muscles in that direction, seeking to obliterate that theology, and in doing so making yourself feel better, I urge you not to.

We all know that the prosperity gospel is a gross perversion and damnable, and I'm not telling you not to reject it and call it out. However, today, I want you to take aim at your own heart because it's easy to condemn and anathematize those who are in obvious error while overlooking the subtlety of this idol in our own heart and in our own sinful blindness.

Oh, yeah, the health, wealth, prosperity gospel? Them? Me. Them? Me. Right? And in doing that, we lull ourselves into a false sense of security because we've compared ourselves with the worst of the worst, and somehow that makes our position right.

Anyone who evangelizes knows what I mean. You talk to people about being a good person, and you get to the thou shall not murder. Well, I've never murdered anybody. I'm not as bad as Hitler. Oh, good.

That's your story? That's the best you got? Imagine his tombstone. Here lies Joe Schmoe. At least he wasn't Hitler. And you realize on Hitler's tombstone, it's going to say, at least I wasn't Stalin. So I don't want us to make the same mistake today because the Bible has a lot to say about money and materialism, and if you assess yourself in light of the worst of the worst, you'll take aim at them and neglect your own heart issue.

We're not going to be held responsible for what Benny Hinn, Ken Copeland, or Joel Osteen have done with their money. We're going to be held responsible for how we have handled our own money and our own possessions and our own heart attitude toward them.

So when you take aim today, take aim inward. We can all do better. We all have room for growth. But growth doesn't happen by looking at others and comparing yourself to the worst. If you're going to look outward, if you're going to look outside yourself, look at Jesus.

See how you compare to him. Spurgeon said, discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong, it's knowing the difference between right and almost right. Let's make an effort to peer into our own hearts today in light of the scriptures in an effort to grow, to die to self, to crucify the flesh, and to cast down idols.

In doing so, this will be how we make America great again. Not measuring ourselves by who we are and what we have, but by measuring ourselves by who has us and what he's done. As the church, we need to become grateful again to the God who rescued us from our own sin debt and not seek to incur more sin debt by finding satisfaction in material things.

Greatness is not measured by what you have, but who has you. Greatness is found only in who has us. God is good, merciful, gracious. We can glory in what he's accomplishing here on earth and what he graciously shares with us.

He owns it all. He doesn't boast. He doesn't hoard it for himself either. He willingly and lovingly shares it with us. For God so loved the world, he hoarded it all for himself. He repossessed it. He sells it to you.

No! For God so loved the world, he gave. He gave his only begotten son. He gave what was of ultimate value, Jesus, to rescue that which is ruined and distorted in the fall. To restore our value. If we, the church, become so satisfied in God, apart from material items, the world might actually take notice.

Would you give away your greatest possession or forsake your greatest relationship for the sake of someone who hates you? Probably not, but that's what God did. We were insolent, arrogant, boastful haters of God, inventing ways to do evil.

And he put his son on a cross in our place. So I'm a simple guy and I need pithy statements to help me understand things. I need an easy way to remember and inform my conscience about this topic and put it in perspective.

So here it is. Real easy. We are to love the giver and appreciate the gifts, not the other way around. Love the giver, appreciate the gifts, not the other way around. There's a significant difference between love and appreciation.

The idolatry of materialism loves the gifts and appreciates the giver. Maybe. And let me fill you on a Christian principle. When you know God, when you know God for real and are in union with him biblically, you know that God is not just the giver.

He is the gift. When you get God, you get him. You get Jesus. You get the greatest gift of all. Knowing God through Jesus, anything he gives you after that is a blessed benefit. You have all you need with him.

All right. So now that we've identified the problem and who not to compare ourselves to and come up with a pithy statement to explain it, now let's turn to God and his word and see what the creator of all things has to say about materialism and idolizing money.

So does anybody know how often the Bible speaks about money and possessions? How many verses there are concerning money, possessions, greed, generosity? Any guesses?

Yeah.

Nobody.

Twelve.

No. No.

Okay.

There's about 2 ,400 verses that concern money in the Bible. That's twice as many as faith. That's twice as many as prayer. And it's twice as many as faith and prayer combined. That in and of itself should concern us.

It should cause us to pause since the Bible would not address such a topic at this length and so frequently if it wasn't a serious issue. Here's how important Jesus thinks it is. He would tell us no servant can serve two masters.

Either he will hate one and love the other or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Mammon. Jesus here speaks of Mammon as a potential master. A potential Lord.

Another Lord that we can serve. And don't kid yourself. Mammon is looking for you to serve it. Mammon is looking for your devotion. Here Jesus is saying that Mammon is going to compete for your attention.

Mammon is going to compete for your heart. Mammon is going to compete for your devotion. Mammon is going to compete for you servicing it. It's almost as if Mammon has a voice that can speak to you. A personality all its own that whispers, serve me.

I'll get you anything you want. As a Christian, your allegiance to God will be tested. And your love for one, God or Mammon, should result in hate for the other. You will despise the other. We need to be careful in what we love and serve.

Because Jesus explains this is not a both-and situation.

It's either-or.

It's God or the almighty dollar. Imagine being married and tell your wife, you know, I love you, but I do like other women. Only a little bit. Not nearly as much as I love you. She's not even close to you in any way.

I would only take her out once. Six, eight months. Not a big deal.

I love you.

How do you think that would go over?

You'd immediately incur more credit card debt as she purchased your own casket.

Right?

This isn't going to work. You can't love both. You would be right in saying that's not love. Love is exclusive devotion to your spouse and no one else. The pithy statement. Love your spouse. Appreciate other women.

Love the giver.

Appreciate the gifts. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Your heart is tied to and will follow your treasure. If you treasure God and use money, your heart will be in proper alignment with him and his kingdom.

But if you treasure money and use God, your heart and actions will reflect that as well. Your devotion, no matter how strong or slight, will result in hate for the other. Despising the other. Look at all the currency and coin we print here in the U .S.

All U .S. currency has a person on it. Mostly presidents. As if the money were made somehow, some way, to be personal. Those dead presidents are trying to speak to you. Remember, idols are nothing more than pieces of wood or stone or paper created by human hands and they have no power of their own.

The only power money has is the power that you give it. But money tells you, you need me to get power, fame. Without me, you can't go on vacation. Without me, you don't get your new car. Without me, you don't have a new phone.

It's talking to you. Ironically, just a casual observation, none of the people on the currency of money that we have are smiling. They're all, they don't smile.

So why should we?

Remember, idols are nothing more than pieces of wood or stone, paper made by human hands, and they have no power of their own. Listen to what Jesus says, again, Luke 12, 15. Take care and be on guard against all covetedness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.

The verb here for take care is horao, and it means be vigilant, alert, watchful. And the word guard is falaso, which means to restrain oneself, like lasso. So be vigilant, guarding, watching carefully to restrain yourself against covetedness, so that your life isn't characterized or defined by what you have.

But who has you? Once again, our lives need to be a witness of who has us, who owns us, not what we have. Now, you may have heard the term usually about politicians, oh, that guy's bought and paid for.

You guys know what that means, right? He's being paid, he's either being bribed or paid through PAC money to fight for something that someone else wants. They're being given money to fight for a cause they wouldn't normally fight for.

So can I suggest to you that you can identify someone by what they're fighting for? Ask yourself, if someone were to look at your life, what would they say you're fighting for? Would it be obvious to them what you're fighting for?

The refrain now is follow the money. See where the money goes. That's going to tell you who's behind it. Church, you were not bought with money, but you were bought with a price. The life and the blood of the Savior.

You need to know who you're fighting for and what you're fighting for. You're fighting for the king and his kingdom. We are not on a cruise ship. We are on a battleship. Stop pretending like it's a cruise ship.

Please also consider my early warning and not think about someone you know who may be struggling with this idol. Consider your own heart today. Look inward, because this idol is insidious. It's sneaky.

Have you ever quoted 1 Corinthians 6 -9 to somebody when you're evangelizing them or talking with them? Someone suffering from same-sex attraction? Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?

Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral nor the idolaters nor adulterers nor men who practice homosexuality will inherit the kingdom of God.

See?

What you're doing is sinful. But somehow we leave off the part of the verse that says the greedy will not inherit the kingdom of God.

That's part of it. Check your heart.

This might be why Paul starts the verse by saying, do not be deceived. You know why he says that? Because you can be deceived. Greed is not good, no matter what Gordon tells you. Out of all the idols that we can fall prey to, I think money and materialism is the most dangerous.

Here's why.

I think it's because it's the most public and socially acceptable idol there is.

Right?

It's broadcast all over the place. And the world is trying to make the other idols more socially acceptable. The enemy's goal is to make all the idols socially acceptable. To make sin look normal and righteousness to look weird.

But materialism is already there. Tops the list. And money helps people engage in and access all the other idols more easily. Listen to how Paul puts it in 1 Timothy 6, 9, and 10. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Many senseless desires. A root of all kinds of evil. And it puts them into many pangs. Paul is teaching us that pursuing money, mammon, leads to many senseless and harmful desires.

Why?

Because it's a root of all kinds of evil. The word root here means source. So the root, the source, supports and supplies access to all of the other evil desires and pangs. The root of idolizing mammon bears fruit of all kinds.

If your source, your root, is rich in mammon, it will grant you access to more sin. Into many senseless and harmful desires. I see mammon and money materialism as the gateway drug for all the other idols.

Why?

Because you can access them more easily when you have money. Do you desire security? Money offers you that. Do you seek approval? Money offers you that. Are you seeking a relationship or love? Money offers you that.

Are you seeking prestige? Money offers you that. Are you seeking comfort of some type? Money offers you that too. Money offers you, tells you that it can acquire all these things for you, which are really just other idols, but it can't deliver on them.

That's because mammon is lying to us in that it makes promises to us that only God can fulfill. True security, true love, approval, success, true wealth, health, comfort can only be found in Christ, in God.

Anything or anyone else that promises you these things is an imposter, a liar, a phony. And we can see this play out in real life examples today. I'd like to give you a case study in what pursuing money can get you.

Contentment, Generosity, and the Rich Young Ruler

In 1923, a very important meeting was held at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. Eight of the world's most successful financiers were present. Included were the president of the largest independent steel company, the president of the largest utility company, the president of the largest gas company, the president of the New York Stock Exchange, a member of the president's cabinet, the greatest bear on Wall Street, the head of the world's greatest monopoly, and the president of a bank for international settlements.

All these men had found the secret of success and the secret of making money and pursued it. They were all at the top of their financial world in their day. But 25 years later, in a magazine entitled The Journal of Living, an article penned by Lewis Lurie, he commented on their status.

This is only 25 years after the fact. The president of the largest independent steel company, Charles Schwab, you may have heard of him, he was dead. He died bankrupt and lived on borrowed money for five years before his death.

The president of the largest utility company, Samuel Insull, died a fugitive from justice and penniless in a foreign land. The president of the largest gas company, Howard Hobson, dead. The president of the New York Stock Exchange, Richard Whitney, had just been released from Sing Sing prison.

At least he wasn't Hitler, right? A member of the president's cabinet, Albert Fall, pardoned from prison so he could die at home. The greatest bear in Wall Street, Jesse Livermore, dead. Cause of death?

Suicide. The head of the world's greatest monopoly, Ivan Kruger, dead. Cause of death? Suicide. The president of the bank for international settlements, Leon Fraser, dead. Cause of death? Suicide. All of the fruit and all of the success that Miaman offers you comes with a price.

Your life. Jesus says, what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit your soul? Your eternal life. Make no mistake, when you succumb to the desire to be rich, you're trading your soul for that desire.

You are believing the lie that Miaman is not just whispering to you, it's screaming to you.

A lie that you will forever regret.

You are loving the gift, but not the giver. What are we to do when we're immersed in such a materialistic culture that fuels and breathes this kind of behavior? First, we need to read what comes before the desire to be rich in 1 Timothy 6, 9 -10.

I'm sorry, we have to read, not 9 -10, we have to read verses 6 -8. It says this, godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of the world.

But if we have food and clothing, with these things we'll be content. Imagine telling a health, wealth, prosperity guy, if we had food and clothing, we're content? It's a stab in the heart. But let me ask you something, is that a stab in the heart for you?

Would you be content with just food and clothing? So how do we deal with this idol? How do we contend for the faith once and for all delivered to the saints? The first thing we need to do is recognize the idol.

The first dealing with this idol or any other idol is getting into a proper relationship with God, the creator. The source of satisfaction. The author and source of joy. If you haven't repented of your sin and turned to Jesus Christ for forgiveness, you need to do so immediately.

You and I have a sin debt that needs to be addressed first. The promise of the gospel is this. If you acknowledge your sin, turn from it and trust in Jesus, he will become your substitute. His life becomes your life.

His death becomes your death and his resurrection becomes yours a resurrection. He bears your sin and your debt at the cross and pays for it so that you can go free. If you don't repent and trust Christ, you will pay the sin debt yourself.

And in this life, you will continue to seek the counterfeit benefits that these idols promise you but never deliver you. Like Augustine said, God has formed us for himself and our hearts are restless until they find rest in him.

You have to come to God through Jesus on his terms, not yours. And here are the terms. Unconditional surrender. You are not the offended party in this relationship. You're the offender. You've broken God's law, not the other way around.

So lay down your pride. Lay down your sinful desires and idols and come to the one who laid his life down for sinners. Jesus is the one and only true God. And this one and only true God is the only God willing to love you to death and pay your sin debt.

So be reconciled to God. Next, everyone, ask yourself this question. What do I fear most in life? What is it that I'm most afraid of? And why am I asking this? Because your fear will reveal what you hold most dear.

What is it you're afraid of? What you fear will reveal what you ultimately worship. If your solution to your fear is not God, then it's an imitation, a counterfeit, or an idol. The first step in overcoming idolatry is recognizing what it is and what the solution is.

If you're a Christian and you have a right relationship to God, repent of any covetedness or any greed or any satisfaction you found in the things of the world and remember who you have.

You have Jesus.

He's the gift.

And more importantly, he has you. I love the benediction in Jude. To him who is able to keep you from falling and present you before his throne without spot or blemish. That's the God I need. Your mind and your heart will always gravitate to what you hold most dear.

As a Christian, if that is anything else but Jesus and his teaching, you're in sin. You need to turn from it.

Love the giver.

Appreciate the gifts. Second, the antidote to materialism is generosity. Be generous. Give generously to your home church and the ministries that you want to support.

Right?

You tell your money what to do. Remember, money mammon is talking to you. So talk back to it. I'm sending you to such and such a ministry.

And you know what?