7 Anti-Materialist Quotes From Christ

From the Huffington Post:

Black Friday has now officially invaded Thanksgiving and pretty soon it will just be Black Thanksgiving -- a holiday when Americans will give thanks for bargin prices. 

Seeking wisdom to staunch the "shop till you drop" stampede, HuffPost Religion offers these quotes from Jesus and the New Testament in hopes that they might remind us of the importance of spiritual gifts and communal well being.

More here.

From the earliest days of this blog, going all the way back to 2002, I've pushed the idea that Jesus would not have approved of our capitalist, consumerist, materialist way of life.  I mean, you know, I never really felt like I had to prove such a notion.  Because it's true. Just read your Bible.  Strangely, many in the churches who actually worship Jesus, rather than simply looking to him for good philosophy as I do, don't seem to understand the contradiction between their careers, lifestyles, and politics, and the person they believe to be the son of God.  Actually, I guess, it's not that strange; mindless lip-service is something that goes back to the Nicene Creed, if not earlier.

It's just that it seems so very widespread in this era.

Anyway, the HuffPo link takes you to one of those clever slide show thingies with which I always lose patience.  So I copied and pasted it all together into a single list, which I'm posting below.  All the verses are from the New International Version, for anybody who cares about that sort of thing.

Luke 12 16-21

Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?”  Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’

1 Timothy 6:6-10

Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Luke 18:18-22

A certain ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother.’” He replied, “I have kept all these since my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

Matthew 6 19-21

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

James 5:1-4

Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

Acts 4:32-35.

Now the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles feet; and distribution was made to each as any had need.

Matthew 5:28-32

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

Just remember these verses when you're out shopping on Friday.  Or, better yet, don't shop at all.

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