Materialism

Below is a little lesson I developed for my children a while back.  My friend just reminded me of it and I thought I would post it here.  The topic?  Materialism.  The goal:  De-cluttering!

Compared to the rest of the world, do you think our family is rich or poor? [Rich.] There are many children in the world who go to bed hungry, have not enough clothing, and little or no shelter. They are not wishing for toys and video games, but about worried about being alive tomorrow and where they will find food.

We are also rich spiritually...we each have our own Bibles, we go to a church that is about to build a $33 million sanctuary, and we have had good teaching about the Bible. We can pray for more than just our daily needs, because our daily needs are already met.

What are our daily needs? [Food, clothing, shelter.] Who supplies our daily needs? [God.]

Matthew 6:20-24 - we shouldn’t be burdened by an abundance of things; God will provide our needs.Today, in America, most people, including us, have an abundance. We not only have clothing, but more than enough. We not only have food, but so much that we end up throwing away leftovers. We not only have shelter, but it is completely paid for and we have comfy furniture and can contemplate buying more of it.

Proverbs 25:27 - too much of a good thing (even honey), can be a bad thing.Our country has a spiritual disease in their world view. It is called "materialism." Materialism says, okay, my needs are met, now I want more! I have more than enough, but I still want more! How many storage facility buildings have we seen built in our neighborhood over the last 5 years? Many. People have more stuff than will fit into their homes!

This is a spiritual battle. Satan wants us to have lots of THINGS. Why? [Things distract us from God’s Word, His Work and from trusting in him.] Jesus said it would be harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven than for a camel to enter the eye of a needle. Why? Because a rich man begins to trust in his things more than trusting in God.

Things distract us because:

1. Busyness - we always have something we could do other than pray/read the Bible/good to others. We have games, and books, and toys, and video games, and other entertainments.

2. Maintenance - we have to dust it, get batteries for it, oil it, store it, look for it, put it away, etc. This takes time, money, and energy. 

Ecclesiastes 1:8 - all things are full of labor (maintenance)

3. Clutter - a cluttered room = a cluttered mind. It is hard to concentrate, when things are "calling me." And when there isn’t a clean spot to sit and think. 4. Poor Health - when things can’t be kept clean, we can get sick. Dust = more asthma, sneezing, germs, etc.When we contemplate all our things, we have choices to make. We can:

Keep/Hoard*	Store (attic)	Throw Away	Sell	Give
If we do this, we will be burdened by clutter, health, maintenance, and storage problems. Nothing will change. We have not helped anyone.	If we do this, we can save "treasures" for our (grand)children; things worth saving. Perhaps they can be used or sold later, good investment of storage space. (Recycling)	We can get rid of things that are broken and unusable as they really have no value. If things have sentimental value, we can take pictures before we throw away. This helps with clutter, health, maintenance, and storage issues.	Acts 2:45, the early church sold off their excess to help the poor. They did not use the money to buy more stuff.	If we do this, we can help other people who have little, to have enough. We make room for God to bless us. This helps with clutter, health, maintenance and storage issues.

*Hoard means: to store up or keep large quantities of (something), often in secret

In reality, how many watches does a person need? [1] How many backpacks? [1] How many necklaces? [a couple] How many piggy banks? [1]

What happens to things?

1 John 2:15-17 - Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that does the will of God abides for ever.So, should we focus on things? [No.] Where should our focus be? [God, Bible, love others (2 great commands).]

John 10:37 - If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. Did Jesus do the work of the Father? [Yes] What was that? [Heal the sick, preach the gospel, servant to others; love.] What does God want us to do regarding those less fortunate (poor, sick, hungry)? [Help them, give to them, feed them, pray for them.] Think about the sheep and the goats. They had a choice to make. Each were faced with people who were poor, hungry, cold, etc. What was the difference in their response? [Sheep helped; goats didn’t.] What happened to the sheep/goats? [Heaven/Hell.] Which would we rather be?

Let’s talk about some other people who did and didn’t.

Matthew 19:22

Acts 2:44-48 - And all that believed were together, and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.  - the rich young ruler went away sad because he had so much stuff – he didn’t want to choose between Jesus and his stuff. Because, what did he love more? [stuff]Who pleased God? [early church] What did they do with their possessions? [sell, give away to those in need] What did the rich young ruler do with his possessions? [kept them, ignored Jesus]

Now, let’s talk about some principles about things and giving.

                    Luke 16:10 - he who is faithful with little, is faithful in much.

Faithfulness with our things means that we take good care of them, we keep them clean, and we don’t allow them to distract us from God and doing His work. I think we fail a bit in the clean and good care columns. We don’t often clean your rooms thoroughly, mostly because it takes so long because there are so many things to take care of. So, we just don’t.

1 Timothy 6:17 - Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.God gives us plenty and we can trust in Him to supply our needs and some of our wants. If we get rid of things, will He make it okay? Can we live without some things? What are we supposed to be rich in? [good works, not things.]

Matthew 6:19-20 - Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.What kind of treasures should we store up lots of? [heavenly, good works] What is wrong with earthly treasures [2^nd law of thermodynamics, they decay!]

Luke 12:15-34
But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?
And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knows that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that fails not, where no thief approaches, neither moth corrupts.

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. - And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesses. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. What happened to that man’s stuff? [descendants, rot] What happened to the man’s soul? [Heaven/Hell.]
What happens when we give?

Proverbs 13:7
There is that makes himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that makes himself poor, yet hath great riches.

Proverbs 22:9
He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.

Proverbs 14:21
He that despises his neighbor sins: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.

Proverbs 28:27
He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hides his eyes shall have many a curse.

Luke 6:38 - Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. - give to the poor - happy - blessed - spiritual richesWhat kinds of things should be first on our list to give (easiest)?

1 Corinthians 13:11 - When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.Things we have outgrown in age or size and can no longer use. Things that are broken should easily be thrown away.

If we want to save MEMORIES, the best way to do that is with pictures, not with tons of STUFF.
Questions/Comments?
What do you think we are going to do now? [Clean! Throw away! Give Away!]

Fountain of Youth?

The standards for youth and beauty have become impossibly high in our culture.  Last night I caught a glimpse of one of those insipid "TV news magazine" shows that pretend they have the inside scoop on all the stars.  The twenty-something reporters spent several minutes expressing their horror over some bad photos of Suzanne Somers -- probably the first bad pix she has ever taken. 

She really didn't look too bad according to normal standards, but her face was a little puffy.  A cosmetic surgeon speculated that she had received too many injections  of fat in her quest to look young.  Why would she do such a thing?  Well, she is touring the country hawking a book about how to maintain a youthful appearance...so, she is probably under a lot of the normal pressures of traveling, late nights schmoozing, and being an old lady.  What?  Old lady?  Yes!  The poor thing is 64 years old!  Old enough to be a great-grandma!  But Hollywood demands that she always look her best -- no, much better than that.  They demand that she look 20...forever!  I have news for them -- she can't do it.  Our bodies -- since the fall of man -- run down.  You can push it off a bit, with makeup and hair dye, but eventually there comes an end to how much you can fool people.

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.  Proverbs 31:30

Why can't we value age and wisdom?  I think I will be more comfortable following the beauty secrets of a Betty White...look like a grandma, act like a grandma, and laugh a lot.

Mike Mulligan

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel (by Virgina Lee Burton) is one of my treasured childhood books.  It tells the story of Mary Ann (the steam shovel) who is eventually outrun by industrialization -- the electric variety.  But, the best part of the story is how a little boy comes to watch, then a school, then the mayor, the firemen, the garden club, etc., until finally the whole town is standing around and watching Mary Ann "dig more in one day than a hundred men could dig in a week." 

Just this morning, my kids ditched their schoolwork at the first sound of a new machine outside.  Some kind of conveyor belt is moving tiles and workers up to the roof next door.  In the past, they've run to watch the garbage truck, the recycling truck, moving vans, motorcycles, mulchers, and street cleaners!  Of course, ditching schoolwork is always easy to do, but there is more to it than that.  Watching work can be a learning experience.  They may see efficiency at work, or they may find ways to improve things.  Perhaps they will invent something new by learning how things are done now. 

It is easy to see that there is a true fascination that we have with watching work -- especially when machines are involved.  And we'd all rather watch work than do work!  I am avoiding some work right now, just by blogging.  I'd better get back to it and see if I can drag my students along with me!

Making it Real

When my children were very little, my husband and I brainstormed, "How can we make God/Jesus real in our home?"  How does a toddler come to know that God and Jesus are real -- when they can't be seen? 

We first decided to let them be seen.  We read Bible stories (The Beginner's Bible) with colorful pictures.  Then, I found a greeting card that had a picture of Jesus and a little lamb.  I cut it out.  Every night before bed, as we said our goodnights, we hugged and kissed the kids and then we all told Jesus "Goodnight."  Holly would kiss His picture and say, "Night, night Jesus!  I love you!"  She knew about Jesus from the Bible stories that we read, but the picture solidified things.  As she got older, and she could understand the abstract concept of God being a spirit (as much as we humans can understand the concept), the picture was put away.

When both our kids were a little older, but still preschoolers, we read about the last trumpet sounding and Jesus' return.  We wanted to make that memorable and real as well.  We pulled out the mattress from the sleeper sofa and laid it on the floor in the family room.  We handed out noise-makers (party horns).  As Daddy read the story and reached the part about the trumpet, we all blew our horns!  Then, as we heard that Jesus was in the air and we were going to rise up to meet Him, we all jumped up and down on the mattress, trying to jump as high as we could to meet Him.  We did this several times over a few years and my kids still remember it -- almost 10 years later!

I had a friend long ago, who was very interested in making Santa real for her kids.  When her son reached the age of 12 and began to question that fact, she and her husband worked extra hard to keep him believing the fantasy.  They created a video of Santa coming on Christmas eve that probably bought them another 2 years of belief.  I thought she was going a long way to lie to her kids.  I would much rather go the extra mile to teach them the truth and have them believe that.  If you've done something special to "make it real" for your kids, please post a comment. THANKS!

Homework or Housework?

Many days, it is a toss up at our house.  What will get done -- our school work or the housework?  Usually schooling wins.  If I get too caught up in cleaning, I lose my pleasant attitude for kid interruptions.  Since I don't want to be Simon Legree (the mean slave driver from Uncle Tom's Cabin), I have lowered my cleaning standards a lot!

Homeschooling definitely adds extra challenges to housework, basically, because we are home a lot!  We use all the rooms of the house, all day long it seems.  And then there are projects over there and books everywhere. 

Now that the kids are older, their daily chore list really helps to take care of some of the most important bits of housework.  The toilets get cleaned every week because Holly, 14, takes one, Elijah, 12, takes one, and I, age unspecified thank you, take one.   Each kid is assigned a tub and counter space as well for scrubbing.  They have each become experts keeping their rooms tidy (although they could dust more).  Elijah has really "shaped up" this year as he gave himself the incentive of listening to his favorite story audios while he cleans.  He looks for excuses to go in and straighten and organize so that he can avoid schoolwork and listen to his CDs.

Unfortunately, I'm noticing that we've let some dusting slide lately.  Things that go unnoticed (like baseboards) are becoming noticeable due to all those dust bunnies perched on top.  I am itching for a spring clean.  But, my school plans are already laid for a busy (and messy) January!  So, I've penned in my February schedule:  spring clean one room each day.  As a kid, I never dreamed I would look forward to spring cleaning.  My mother would be so shocked - let's don't tell her! 

My Favorite Psalm - Chew on This Today

Psalm 127

 ¹Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
 ²It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
 ³Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
 ⁴As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
 ⁵Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

Color Creation

Science and the Bible.  Friends or foes?  I believe they are best friends, even when neither scientific nor religious worlds acknowledge that fact.  Science sprang from creation -- the ordered universe created by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Only because there is creative order, can it be studied and learned.

Sadly, I've heard otherwise devout Christians question the Bible where it states, in Genesis 1:3, "God said, 'Let there be light...'" just because thirteen verses and three days later, He created the sun, moon and stars. 

Yet, even self-professed evolutionist and secular humanist Isaac Asimov, a prolific writer of both science texts and science fiction, wrote "there is no puzzle in the fact that God created light on the first day and the Sun, Moon and stars on the fourth.  Light is the thing itself, the heavenly bodies merely the containers." 

Asimov goes on in that same essay (The Bridge of the Gods, 1975) to describe the studies that have been performed to uncover the mysteries of the rainbow.  He gave me an a-ha moment that I never learned in Sunday school, sad to say: 

"His [Isaac Newton's] final conclusion, then, was that sunlight (and white light generally) is not pure but is a mixture of colors, each of which is much more nearly pure than white light is.  No one color by itself can appear white, but all of them together, properly mixed, will do so."

Suddenly, it occurred to me, when God said, "Let there be light" He not only turned on the light, but He also created all color!  After darkness, suddenly red, orange, yellow, blue, green, indigo and violet!  And that is just the visible spectrum!  And when Noah's flood ended, He wrapped all those colors in a bow and set them in a cloud as a reminder of His promise.  And when we see Him at the Judgement seat, a rainbow of colors covers Him.