Day 19 - The Antidote

Key #6 – Giving is the Antidote to Materialism


1 Timothy 6:9-10; 17-19
• Materialism and the desire for wealth and affluence are dangerous diseases
• If that is the disease is there a biblical cure?
• Paul says to:
• Put our hope in God, not in wealth
• Be rich in good deeds
• Be generous and willing to share
• Lay up treasures for the age to come rather than the present age

Matthew 19:21-22
• Giving is the antidote to materialism
• This is what the rich young man was unwilling to do and so he would find no cure for his materialism
• Giving is a vivid reminder and demonstration that it is all about God and not about us
• Giving reminds us that He is the point and that we exist for him rather than the other way around
• God’s money has a higher purpose than my personal affluence
• Giving is a joyful surrender to a greater being and a greater agenda
• Giving affirms Jesus’ lordship
• It dethrones me and exalts him
• It breaks the chains of materialism that would enslave me
• As long as I possess something, there is always a danger in me thinking I own it
• When I give it away, though, I relinquish power, control, and prestige
• When we give we start to recognize God as the true owner, ourselves as servants, and others as the intended beneficiaries of what God has entrusted to us
• Giving doesn’t strip us of vested interests but shifts our vested interests from the present age to the age to come; from self to God
• This truth of giving goes far beyond money and is true of time, wisdom, expertise, etc.
• Giving in any form breaks selfishness in our hearts

• What is your attitude when you give? Are you grateful to God for the opportunity? Do you give begrudgingly? Do you give without really thinking about what you’re doing?
• When you’re having trouble with selfishness have you ever thought of giving as an eventual cure to that?

2 Peter 3:10
• When Christ returns to restore all things (Matt. 19:28; Acts 3:21) the elements of the world (“elements” refers to the basic principles or rudiments of the world’s way of doing things, as in Gal. 4:3, 9; Col. 2:8, 20; Heb. 5:12) will be judged (“laid bare”) and destroyed (see 2 Pet. 3:6 where it is clear that “destroyed” means judged and purified rather than something like annihilated)
• Does that sound frightening or depressing?
• It would sound depressing if everything you had was invested in that age and the elements of this age
• The things of the Kingdom will be preserved and revealed as God restores his entire creation and begins the resurrection age to come
• It would be depressing if we couldn’t use our lives and resources to make a difference for eternity and begin to invest in that age now
• But we can
• So how can we do that specifically? We will begin to look at the answer to that in tomorrow’s study

• When God returns and judges and purifies the earth leaving only the things that are set apart for him will you be revealed as one who barely “made it through the flames” (1 Cor. 3:15) with nothing invested that will last in the age to come or will you be a “wealthy” individual by the standards of that age?



Convictions
• Have you truly embraced giving as a form of obedience and worship to God?
• Do you really see giving as an opportunity to escape selfishness and materialism rather than something that must be endured or done out of obligation?
• Do you treat your possessions and worldly wealth as something that will not last in the age to come or do you over blow their value and significance?