Soul Care Issues: Part 2

Visiting our son’s home one evening, I played with Braydon, our grandson, while Lou Ann helped prepare dinner in the kitchen. Our grandson has a lot of Matchbox cars and they were scattered all over the floor. I said to him, “You really have a lot of cars.” Without hesitation he said, “I need more.” At the young age of three Braydon had also become infected by the spirit of materialism and idolatry. 

I suffer from the same. I have what I don’t need. This can be a significant soul care issue because it contributes to a materialistic spirit. What are some signs for people like me who struggle with materialism? According to Tim Kasser in The High Price of Materialism, 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. 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: “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.” (Proverbs 11:24-26)

          Am I generous with my time, talents and treasures? Sometimes. A generous spirit, however, is the solution to materialism and this soul care issue needs my constant attention.