Heavenly Father, we gather in Your name, seeking Your truth. Open our hearts to Your Word today. Quiet the noise of the world within us, that we might hear the gentle whisper of Your Spirit. Challenge us where we have grown comfortable, comfort us where we are afraid, and guide us into the light of Your eternal perspective. We ask this in the precious name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Amen.
What Do You Want?
Good morning brothers and sisters. If I were to ask you, “What do you want?” what would your mind immediately turn to? Perhaps a new motorcycle, a bigger house, a better job, a longed-for relationship, or simply a sense of peace and security. There is nothing inherently wrong with these things. God, our Creator, has given us a good world to enjoy.
The problem, dear friends, is not in the things, but in the thirst. It’s in the quiet, persistent belief that whispers to our souls: “If only I had that, then I would be happy. Then I would be fulfilled. Then my life would finally be complete.”
Material stuff, but how Much is Enough?
Today, we are going to confront a powerful, seductive lie: the lie that material possessions can satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart. We live in a world that is a master of allure. It shines, it sparkles, it promises everything. We can spend our lives chasing shadows, all the while missing the substance.
The allure of material possessions can lead us to lust after things we believe will bring us happiness and fulfilment. But this path, so brightly lit by the world’s advertising, often leads us into a deeper, more profound darkness – a darkness of discontent, anxiety, and a soul left strangely empty.
Let us turn to the words of our Lord Jesus, who spoke more about money and possessions than about heaven and hell combined. He knew the battleground of the human heart. In the Sermon on the Mount, He lays bare the root of the issue:
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)
Notice the progression. Jesus doesn’t start with a rule: “Thou shalt not want things.” He starts with a diagnosis. Your treasure – that which you value, that which you pour your energy, time, and affection into – directs your heart. It’s not that your heart follows your treasure; your heart is anchored to it. When our treasure is temporal – the new gadget, the perfect home, the financial portfolio – our hearts are tethered to a sinking ship.
We live in a state of perpetual anxiety: fear of loss, fear of it going out of fashion, fear of not having enough. The moth, the rust, the thief – they are not just ancient problems. They are the constant companions of earthly treasure: depreciation, decay, and the relentless threat of loss.
This lust for more, this belief that the next thing will be the thing that fixes everything, is what the Bible calls covetousness. And the Apostle Paul, writing to the Colossians, equates it with a form of idolatry (Colossians 3:5). Why? Because an idol is anything we look to for the provision, security, and satisfaction that only God can give.
When we believe a possession will make us happy, we are, in that moment, worshipping a created thing rather than the Creator. We are asking a motorbike to give us status, a house to give us security, a bank balance to give us peace. And these things, good as gifts, make cruel and silent gods.
Are we Truly Happy?
Consider the rich young ruler. He came to Jesus eager, sincere, asking about eternal life. He had followed the commandments from his youth. But Jesus, looking at him with love, pinpointed the idol in his heart: “One thing you lack,” He said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Mark 10:21)
The man’s face fell, and he went away sad, because he had great wealth. His possessions weren’t just things he owned; they owned him. They had a grip on his heart that even the promise of eternal life with Christ could not, in that moment, break. The allure was too strong. His treasure was on earth, and so his heart was bound there.
But please, hear this: Jesus’s call is not primarily about poverty. It is about freedom. He wasn’t making a universal rule to sell all we have. He was performing radical heart surgery on one man’s specific idol. For you, the idol may not be wealth. It might be the longing for a particular lifestyle, the lust for others’ approval that we think possessions will bring, or the comfort we seek in constant retail therapy. The question is not, “How much do you have?” but “How much does it have you?” “Where is your heart anchored?”
Comfort at Hand
This is where the comforting truth of the Gospel shines into our struggle. We are not called to a life of grim, joyless denial. We are called to a life of greater joy. We are invited to transfer our trust from the broken cisterns of this world to the fountain of living water. Listen to the beautiful invitation of Jesus, spoken in the very same context as His warnings about treasure:
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? … But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:25, 33)
The cure for the lust of materialism is not willpower; it is worship. It is a reorientation of our deepest seeking. “Seek first the kingdom.” Seek His rule, His way, His priorities. Seek to know God, to love Him, and to see His justice and beauty established in your life and in the world.
When our primary pursuit is the Giver, the gifts fall into their proper place. They become tokens of His kindness, tools for His service, not idols for our worship. The “all these things” may not be everything we want, but it will be everything we need, and we will find a contentment that defies circumstances.
Call to Action
So, what do we do today? How do we break free from the allure?
1 – Practise Gratitude. Begin a daily discipline of thanking God for what you already have. Name them – The roof, the meal, the clean water, the love of a friend. Gratitude is the antibiotic for the virus of discontent. It recalibrates our sight from what we lack to what we’ve been given.
2 – Give Generously and Secretly. This is spiritual warfare. When you feel the pull to acquire, choose instead to give. Sponsor a child. Buy groceries for a struggling family. Give to the work of a charity. Do it without fanfare, don’t tell anyone. In that act, you declare with your resources, “My trust is in God, not in this money. This thing does not own me.” You starve the idol and feed your faith.
3 – Conduct a Heart Audit. Get quiet before God and ask Him the searching question: “Lord, what possesses me? Where have I anchored my heart to a temporary treasure?” Be prepared for His gentle, loving answer. It might be a closet full of clothes, a motorbike, a retirement plan, or simply a dream of a future that excludes reliance on Him. Bring it to the cross. Confess it as the idolatry it is, and receive the forgiveness and freedom Christ offers.
Something to take home
The world’s promise is an empty one. It offers glittering shells and calls them pearls. It shouts, “More!” and whispers, “Enough is just one more purchase away.” But in the quiet of a soul anchored in Christ, we hear a different, kinder, truer voice. It is the voice of our Shepherd who says, “I am your provision. I am your security. In Me is joy unspeakable and peace that passes understanding.”
The rich young ruler walked away sad, clutching his treasures. But another man, Zacchaeus, climbed down from his tree of wealth and said, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” And Jesus declared, “Today salvation has come to this house.” (Luke 19:8-9). One man was enslaved by what he had. The other was set free by letting it go. The difference was an encounter with the overwhelming grace of Jesus Christ.
You do not have to walk away sad. You can climb down today. You can transfer your treasure, and in doing so, your heart will follow. You will find that the allure of the world grows dim in the light of His glory and grace. The pursuit of things leaves us weary. The pursuit of God leaves us fulfilled, for in Him alone our souls find their true and lasting home.
Lets pray together
Gracious and loving God, we confess that our hearts are often drawn to the shiny and the temporary. We have sought satisfaction in what cannot truly satisfy. Forgive us. Thank you that in Christ, we are fully known and fully loved, with no purchase necessary.
Now, by the power of Your Holy Spirit, help us to seek first Your kingdom. Loosen the grip of earthly treasures on our souls. Make us a grateful people, a generous people, a people whose hearts are securely anchored in the eternal treasure of knowing Jesus. May we finish this reading not with a list of denials, but with the light of a greater desire – a desire for You.
In the mighty and freeing name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Peace be with you – Muz.
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24)