Materialism is very much a prevalent issue in our society. We all live in a consumerist, commercialised, world that is always pushing us to build up the best "collection" of material possessions, power, and wealth we can. This topic relates to everyone — Christians as much as everyone else, as it is something we are all faced with on a daily basis. Every time we open up Facebook, browse eBay, or turn on the television we are flooded with advertisements to lead us to buy new products. The problem is that most people do not even understand what Materialism is itself, they just assume it is something perhaps rich people deal with. I hope the true nature of Materialism will become clear as we go further.

When we are looking at Materialism there are two main extremes people can be categorised under. These are: Fundamentalist and Liberal. These terms describe common extreme attitudes within Christianity.

A fundamentalist approach to our material society could be groups such as the Amish, who reject all modern things. A Liberal approach could perhaps be seen in the “mega-churches” of today lead by celebrity Pastors. Many of these Churches are doing good to serve the Christian community, yet unfortunately many have moved away from what it means to be Christian altogether. These ones wholeheartedly embrace culture not just in personal life, but also in the Church sphere. There is this sense that the church can be influenced by the social norms outside the church.

However, on a personal level, both Fundamentalist and Liberal approaches to a subject such as materialism is important to understand. No matter to which extreme you go you actually go to an unrealistic and problematic place. Either extreme includes heretical notions of God and the world we live in. The issue with being too Fundamentalist is that it can it can lead to a perspective that says the physical world is completely evil in essence. This was a troublesome early church heresy promoted by cultish groups such as the Gnostics and can be dangerous as it leads to a complete indifference for anything physical. Even those only slightly leaning on the Fundamentalist side can actually cause damage in their community as they have an overly negative input in regard to views such as perhaps popular culture.

On the other hand, being too Liberal can mean that you come to a place where there is no absolute truth which dilutes the power of the Gospel and removes our need for God. Perhaps you can witness this in the kind of people that show up on a Sunday (occasionally) and claim they believe in God, yet do not at all live out their Christian faith within the week. You might see this in a Pastor who seems to be only in it for the money and not giving to those in need.

A more grounded theological approach would be to look at the example set by someone such as St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis lived between 1181 to 1226 was at first a very materialistic man who came from a wealthy merchant family. After being involved in war, he came to the realisation I suppose of what was important in life. He was willing to give up all his worldly goods for God. Yet, despite giving up his possessions, he is known to be one of the most “wordly” Christian figures. He loved creation and could see the beauty of God reflected in His creation. I think there is a certain spiritual maturity we can draw from his life ourselves. Most people are not called to give up their possessions, but it is a matter of principle. What St Francis teaches us is that where our heart lies is of importance. We should value creation and the things of this world, as they are a gift from God. However, we should always be willing to give up our possessions if God requires it. Like St Francis, we must be prepared to surrender what we have. The things of the world are good, but if we in our heart could not give them up then our priorities are wrong. Then we belong to those possessions, we belong to the world and not God.

This is a different approach to the common extremes we often might hear of — a more balanced approach. Hebrews 13:5 says: “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’.” This supports the Franciscan mentality in that we should not be in constant desire for new possessions — an idea that certainly is at odds with our commercial system of today where there is a constant stream of new products coming out. We all fall into the trap of this system. It is wise to remember here that the Bible is not condemning the ownership of goods, we are just meant to be satisfied with what we own and willing to sacrifice them. We are to be content with the world we live in and see God’s beauty in the wonders of the planet. Efficacious use of the world (and what we create with the world) is using it for a spiritual and sacramental purpose. What do I mean by that? Well, everything must point back towards the creator and not be used simply for its own end. If we obtain and use what we have only for the end of our own pleasure then they become idols. This is what we need to be careful of in today’s world. We need to keep in mind the what we use should be directed to the ultimate end of God. That does not mean we cannot use our possessions for our enjoyment, only the final end must be God.

My final challenge is this: have a think about what you have. Are you content with it, do you really need more? And are you willing to give everything back to God like St Francis? Because if you aren’t, I’m afraid to say you have fallen into the trap of our commercialised and materialistic society.