As long as we are in this world, we will have to fight against materialism. It does not matter if you are rich, poor, or in-between, the devil will use the material things of this world to steal your heart away from God. Being attracted to the material things of this world comes naturally to man be-cause we are physical beings living in a physical world. We need physical sustenance to pre-serve life. Food, clothing, and shelter are not luxuries for man, they are necessities; thus, we work to obtain these things. What the devil knows is that there is a fine line between needing the necessities of life and craving the best of those things. It does not take much to get a man to go from being content with food and raiment to desiring to be rich.

One thing that can help us avoid materialism is to remember what Paul said about riches in 1 Timothy.

1 Timothy 6:17 (KJV)
¹⁷ Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain rich-es, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;

All earthly riches are uncertain. This is why, when it comes to building our life, riches make for good accessories, but a terrible foundation. The difference is that accessories are nice, but we should be able to take them or leave them. We know they are not essential. All earthly riches (any material possessions beyond the necessities of life), should be viewed as non-essentials, not necessities. Once they become essential to us, they become foundational and a great fall is al-most certain because we are building our house upon the sand (Matthew 7:26-27).

Paul calls riches uncertain because of how unstable they are. Jesus reminds us that moth and rust can destroy and thieves can steal any material possession that we have (Matthew 6:19). One’s earthly possessions can disappear overnight.

Proverbs 23:5 (NKJV)
⁵ Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.

Instead of trusting in something so uncertain, Paul says that we should trust in the living God. We cannot trust riches to make us happy, but we can trust God to do so. Writing about fellowship with God, John wrote,

1 John 1:4 (ESV)
⁴ And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

We cannot trust riches to sustain us, seeing that they are so unstable, but we can trust God to do so. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said,

Matthew 6:33 (ESV)
³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Let us put our trust in the right place. Yes, we need material things to sustain us, but we must trust God to provide them for us.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.