Objective:
The middle school youth will examine their attitudes toward material goods and the consumption of goods.
Overview:
Our culture puts a great deal of emphasis on what you own. Commercials scream at us to buy products they claim as “necessities.” Advertisements tell us we need more stuff because it will make our lives easier and better. However, the owning of stuff is merely an illusion of security. Jesus says in the Gospel of Matthew: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal” (6:19).
Material goods have such a tremendous impact in our culture that some families are willing to sacrifice basic necessities in order to have shoes, clothes, computers, etc. All of our “stuff” will someday pass away. Computers break, shoes wear out, clothes and fashions change. You could spend your entire lifetime running after material goods, only to find a house full of worn out and rusted goods.
In the book of Matthew, Jesus says that we can love either God or Mammon, but not both (7:24). When our desire for goods becomes a preoccupation, our spiritual life begins to suffer. In pursuit of material goods, it becomes easy to neglect our Father in heaven who is the giver of all good gifts.