While visiting our son’s home one evening, I played with Braydon, our grandson, while Lou Ann helped in the kitchen. Braydon has a lot of Matchbox cars and they were scattered all over the floor. I said to Braydon, “You really have a lot of cars.” Without hesitation he said, “I need more.” Even at the young age of three, Braydon has become infected by materialism and I suffer from the same.
Having what I don’t need is a soulcare issue, for what I treasure will be reflected in how I spend my time and my money. What are some signs that I may suffer from a materialistic mindset? According to Tim Kasser, in The High Price of Materialism, here are some possible signs. Kasser says you may be materialistic if your feelings of personal worth are based on how much money you have or on how much stuff you have. He also observed that merely aspiring to have greater wealth or more possessions is likely to be associated with personal unhappiness. And, people with materialistic values report more symptoms of anxiety, greater risk of depression, and are more irritable than those less materialistic
In contrast, the writer of Proverbs made the following observation. (Proverbs 11:24-26): “There is one who scatters, yet increases more; and there is one who withholds more than is right. But it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself. The people will curse him who withholds grain, but blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.”
A generous spirit is the solution to materialism. Am I generous with my time, talents and treasures? This soulcare issue needs my constant attention.
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