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Welcome


...to Overcoming Materialism

‘Many are discovering that there’s a definite downside to our
consumer culture’



What a weekend! On Saturday I really needed some retail therapy, so we
went to the new outlet mall. There was so much to see, we spent the
whole day there! Sunday morning, we went church shopping – we still
haven’t found a church we feel we can buy into. Later I met up with a
friend I’m investing time into. And just enough time to get the big shop
done! I’m exhausted…’
Retail therapy, investing time, even shopping for churches – consumerism
has seeped into every avenue of our lives. And it’s a very mixed blessing.
Sure, it’s great to be able to get what we want, when we want it. It’s nice to
know that your local supermarket will stock the perfect rice for the risotto
you watched Jamie Oliver make on TV. It’s fun spending the day choosing
exactly the right pair of shoes for your new outfit. And who would deny
there’s a certain thrill in finding a bargain in the January sales?
But more and more of us are discovering that there’s a definite downside
to our consumer culture. We’re finding that consumerism promises
satisfaction, but only delivers more desire. No sooner have we bought
the latest thing, we start looking for the next. Worse, consumerism makes
commodities out of everything – including people. We can find ourselves
feeling (or treating others) like ‘last year’s model’.
God wants to give us more than just more stuff. Jesus promises life. He
said, ‘I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance
(to the full, till it overflows)’ (John 10:10 AMP). Walking Jesus’ way means
more of what we truly thirst for – so much that it overflows.
The Overcoming Series is designed to help people like you find God’s
help in dealing with the challenges that face us all.
Contained in these little booklets are big truths from God’s Word, guidance
on how to pray, and practical suggestions for change. Turn over to begin
reading a selection of articles and testimonies written by people who
understand what you’re going through and long to help you overcome.
Then, starting on page 16, there are 28 readings from Bob Gass, author
of The Word For Today, to help you practice new thought patterns and
habits day by day for a month. As the Bible says, ‘He who is in you is
greater than he who is in the world’ (1 John 4:4). With the help of our great
God, you can overcome any challenge you face.

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Materialism -

Where dol start?

'All too easily, we look to stuff to meet deep emotional needs...but
things can't do that'

It's not hard to see that our culture is in thrall to shoppingand accumulating more and more stuff.
In a 2009-10 survey of free time, shopping was ranked thefourth most popular use of leisure time in the UK-aheadeven of sports and eating out. And because retailers' doorsnever close thanks to the internet, we're now shoppingmore often than ever.
And what are we doing with all this stuff? That brings usto another frightening indicator of the materialism rifein our society - our houses are no longer big enough tostore all the stuff we own. The 'self-storage' industry hasboomed over the past decade in the UK,following the leadof America, where one family in ten now uses self-storagefacilities to house goods they can no longer fit in their ownhomes and garages.
According to the Economist magazine, there is a clearreason for the storage firms' success: 'Demand keepsgrowing...[People] keep acquiring stuff that cannot beconsumed and never rots or rusts: plastic toys, metal gardenfurniture, porcelain knick-knacks. For some reason,theyseldom chuck any of this rubbish out.' Most of us know-onsome level at least - that something is wrong. In a recentUK survey, nine out of ten people said they believed thatsociety has become too materialistic.
It's also becoming increasingly apparent that consumerismcomes with a cost to others, too. The 2013 collapse of
Bangladeshi garment factory,exposed the shocking working conditions experienced by millions of people around the


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True freedom, true life comes only when we fix our identity on who 
we are in Christ’ 


...world in factories and farms supplying our western demand
for more goods, produced more cheaply. ‘Lifting the label’
sometimes exposes exploitation on a massive scale.
It’s not just Christians who are rising up to say ‘enough
is enough’. Movements describing themselves as ‘post-
consumer’ and even ‘anti-consumer’ are growing in strength
and number. New experimental communities where families
live simply together, sharing everything, are springing up
in cities all over the world. Advice websites abound with
ideas from saving water in the shower to making your own
clothes.
Yet despite all this – and a protracted worldwide recession
which has impacted on spending power – our passion
for shopping and stuff keeps growing. There must be
something bigger going on.
As Mark Powley astutely observes in his book Consumer
Detox, ‘If consumerism were as basic as pure greed or
even addiction, we’d be able to grasp what’s going on
pretty quickly. But the reason it’s so hard to quantify, and
so difficult to resist, is because it plays on the irrepressible
human desire to know who we are. This is about identity.’
All too easily, we look to stuff to meet deep emotional needs,
such as our need for belonging and meaning. But things
can’t do that. True freedom, true life comes only when we
fix our identity on who we are in Christ. The place to start
overcoming a materialistic mindset is inside ourselves.

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Step by step

Your guide to overcoming materialism with God’s help

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‘Our wealth in human terms is just a shadow of the riches
we have in Christ’

At its heart, our problem with consumerism is a problem of identity. As author and speaker
Alan Hirsch writes: ‘Consumerism is being defined by what we consume. It is the search
for meaning, identity, purpose and belonging tied to the consumption of products…’
Each of the following four steps is designed to remind you of your identity in God:
purchased by His blood, adopted into His family, the heir of an incalculable inheritance.


1. Realise you’re RICH


Therefore I tell you, do not worry about
your life, what you will eat or drink; or
about your body, what you will wear. Is
not life more than food, and the body
more than clothes? Look at the birds of
the air; they do not sow or reap or store
away in barns, and yet your heavenly
Father feeds them. Are you not much
more valuable than they?’ (Matthew
6:25-27 NIV)
The fact that you are reading this
booklet is a good sign that you are
among the wealthiest people in the
world. J John writes: ‘If you have food in
the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a
roof overhead and a place to sleep, you
are richer than 75% of this world. If you
have money in the bank and in your
wallet or purse and spare change in the
dish somewhere, you are among the
top 8 percent of the world’s wealthy.’
And yet, our wealth in human terms is
just a shadow of the riches we have in
Christ. In 2 Corinthians 8:9 Paul writes,
‘For you know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that though He was rich,
yet for your sake He became poor, so
that you by His poverty might become
rich’ (ESV).
The gift of salvation is not a one-time
transaction between two parties, us
and God. It is, the Bible says, more
like adoption, where we are brought
into a family. And this is no ordinary
family – we are sons and daughters of
the King, with infinite resources at His
disposal, resources that He loves to
share with His kids.
It’s no surprise then that Paul can
also write, ‘I have no lack for my God
supplies all of my need according to
His riches in glory by Christ Jesus’
(Philippians 4:19, paraphrased).


Try...
Read all of Romans 8 in your favourite translation, paying
attention to the promises of God which Paul illuminates.
Meditate especially on verse 32 and let the truth of God’s
provision for you really sink in.