Don’t Worship the Gods of Consumption!

We live in a culture that’s devoted to material goods and physical pleasures—things that don’t last. What kind of treasures will last for eternity?

Last year I took a college class called “Cultural Geography.” It turned out to be different than what I expected (a class on the cultures of countries), covering a wide variety of material, ranging from politics and gender issues to superheroes and car racing! 

One of the classes covered the subject of human consumption. It was during this section that my professor remarked that it is almost like malls have become our “sacred places of society,” where people are worshipping the “gods of consumption.” I thought it was interesting that he used this wording. In the Bible God gives the commands, “You shall have no other gods before Me” and “You shall not covet” (Exodus 20:3, 17).

The futility of materialism

Many in our society clearly value physical pleasures and commodities over the spiritual. Their focus is all about the “here and now,” rather than the future. Rather than making the future Kingdom of God their priority (as we are told to do in Matthew 6:33), our society tends to encourage laying up “treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19). Today’s culture is increasingly focused on physical “stuff.” 

Advertisements continually bombard us with vivid images, telling us that if only we have this fancy car or dress like some celebrity, then we will be happy. But all these things are temporary and can be destroyed or taken away in an instant. Rust and the miles driven can and will age that car. Moths, fire and general wear and tear will destroy fine clothing. Both can be stolen. And, of course, the Bible shows we can’t take these things with us when we die (1 Timothy 6:7).

King Solomon lamented about this reality in Ecclesiastes 2. The wisest man on earth sought to understand if there were any pursuits in this physical life that could produce lasting happiness! After all his efforts, at the end of his life, he wrote “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13, King James Version).  

Seek the Kingdom

So where should our focus be? Seeking to become part of the Kingdom of God and living a life now that is pleasing to God should be the focus and priority of our lives (Matthew 6:21, 33). Part of seeking first the Kingdom of God is growing in righteousness, building godly character and doing acts of service for those around us. Qualities of character—humility, fear of God, wisdom and so on—are “the treasures” we can store up in heaven. 

By the time of the resurrection of the dead (1 Corinthians 15), our material possessions will be long gone, but we will still have our heavenly treasures—the character we have built. Throughout His ministry, Jesus Christ repeatedly told those who wished to follow Him to make sacrifices and to forsake material things (Matthew 4:19; 8:22). In Matthew 13:44 Jesus Christ likened the Kingdom of God to a treasure hidden in a field. A man finds the treasure and sells all that he has in order to buy the field that holds this valuable treasure. In the same way, we need to be prepared to give up all that we have in this life in order to receive the innumerable blessings God has in store for those who follow Him.

Let’s store up treasure in heaven by seeking first the Kingdom of God and all His righteousness and growing in the character of Jesus Christ!

Gabriella Kroska is currently a senior in high school taking dual-credit college courses at St. Cloud State University. She will graduate next year with her high school diploma and an Associate’s degree. She attends the Twin Cities, Minnesota congregation of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association.