When I was in the fifth grade I saw an advertisement for the most amazing pair of athletic shoes. They were called Adidas Americana and were white with red and blue stripes. Everything about them was cool. In the commercial, the shoes seemed to sparkle as one of my favorite athletes wore them, jumping in slow motion across endless space.
Though I didn’t know why, I simply had to have those shoes. I felt a strong emotional need to have them. Unfortunately, they were out of the price range my parents would normally spend on sneakers, which I either wore out or grew out of in a few months. I offered to do extra chores, and they said if I showed interest down the road they would consider it. I never lost my zeal for the Adidases. After a few weeks my father took me to the sacred athletic shoe store, and I bought them. I took them home and adored them. Though I wore them outside to go shoot baskets, I was careful to keep them clean.
For several weeks I cleaned them every night and placed them back in their original box, nestled inside the tissue paper they came with. I treasured those shoes even though they weren’t very comfortable or light. I don’t think they made me any better or faster when I wore them. But I continued to love and care for them for several months. After a while they got dirty and began to show wear, so I no longer put them in their box at night. I tossed them into the closet along with my other, less sacred shoes.
Eventually, the holes in the shoes became so large that one of my toes began to stick out, so I threw them in the trash. I still remember the day I dumped them. How did something so valuable become worthless? I thought about all of the time I spent caring for them and how much I had emotionally invested in them. And now they sat next to a discarded milk carton in the garbage can. It seemed a little odd, this fall from grace, but I had no desire to retrieve them.
False Narrative: Things Bring Happiness
Why did I want those shoes so badly? What was driving me to possess them? I did not know at the time, but I have a pretty good idea now. It wasn’t the shoes I wanted so much as what they represented, what owning them would do for me. It is estimated that “roughly ninety percent of our consumer buying behavior is unconscious.” We purchase things not merely for their functionality but for what they say about us and what we think they will do for us.
The false narrative that drives our materialism goes something like this: ____________ [insert a dollar amount or a material possession] will make me feel secure, powerful, successful and happy.
Notice several things are promised here: security, power, successfulness and happiness. You may object, “C’mon, Jim, the toilet paper I bought last week had nothing to do with security or power or happiness.” Maybe not. When it comes to the staples of life (socks, milk, shampoo) we may not be affected much by this false narrative. On the other hand, which toilet paper did you buy? At what store? At what price? Did you get a good discount? And which shampoo did you choose? The one that has the ad that shows men flocking to see the shiny, bouncy beautiful hair of the woman who uses that brand? And did you buy the deodorant whose ad features a man being mauled by beautiful women because he uses that deodorant?
Most of us don’t buy things for sheer survival but because of the promise they bring to us. We buy home alarms and antibacterial soap because advertisers convince us we are at great risk without them. We buy designer clothing, sheets and certain automobiles because they communicate success. We believe that nearly everything we buy will make us happy and successful.
And in some ways, we are right. Those sneakers did make me happy. My face lit up when I opened the box each morning. Every time I thought about my new shoes my spirit lifted and a smile came over my face. But it wasn’t the leather and rubber and the dye that lifted my spirit. It was what the shoes stood for, what they supposedly did for me. The shoes, carried a mystique with them, a carefully crafted narrative that played on all of my unconscious desires.
They were made by Adidas, a company brand that communicated athletic greatness, quality and coolness. In the ads the shoes glowed, almost divine, as if from another world. My favorite athlete jumped higher than is humanly possible with them on. By owning these shoes I too would be great and certainly cool, and I would become just like my idol, able to jump higher and longer than ever before. I had no idea this was going on in my mind. I just wanted the shoes more than I wanted anything, and I worked and waited to get them. And when I got them, it felt really good.
For a while.
Deeply Impressed Narratives
Our minds are like wax imprinted with narratives. This imprinting begins very early and continues throughout our lives. Particularly strong experiences press narratives most deeply into our minds. Particularly strong experiences are accompanied by very high and pleasurable or very low and painful events. My sneakers experience was high and pleasurable. It reinforced the false narrative that material stuff can make us happy. I have wrestled with this narrative throughout my life. This narrative, which I adopted early, became a way to understand the world. Those shoes were not the last thing I have purchased based on the false narrative.
Identify some events in your life that established your narratives in the area of money and wealth.
The way we make purchases and handle our money and material possessions can be traced to our early (often childhood) experiences regarding material wealth. Suze Orman, the popular financial expert, says that when she was a little girl her father’s business caught fire, and she remembers vividly her father dashing inside the burning building, grabbing the hot metal cash register with his bare hands and running out. He fell to the ground, writhing in pain with scorched and seared hands.
That moment changed her forever, she said. She was too small to process it all, but a narrative emerged: money is very valuable, worth endangering your life by rushing into a building to save; therefore, you must never be careless about money. She credits that moment as making her into a “saver,” a diligent money manager: “From that point on, earning money, lots of money, not only became what drove me professionally, but also became my emotional priority.”
Suze Orman’s narrative became dominant through a painful event. My narrative became dominant through a positive event. When I got those shoes, a rush of dopamine (the pleasure chemical) entered my brain. It felt good. And for several weeks those shoes made me happy. The narrative became deeply ingrained: buying cool stuff is really fun! Even though the feeling wore off, the narrative remained. It was a part of my body and soul.
Most of our narratives develop unconsciously. Striking events or critical moments, like watching Dad sear his hands on a burning cash register, create strong narratives about the value of money and material things. The essence of this false narrative—whether we are a saver or a spender—is similar to others we have looked at: “You are all alone—so either save like a miser or spend like the prodigal.” It is fueled by fear, either that we are not valuable without possessions or that we need to save all we can to protect our future.
Understanding Avarice
Just as vainglory perfectly describes the need to impress people, avarice describes another vice Jesus addresses in the Sermon on the Mount. Avarice is an excessive desire for money or material possessions. It is slightly different than greed. We can be greedy about a lot of things: attention, food, pleasure. Greed desires more of something than is needed. Avarice describes greed for money and possessions. Surprisingly, both the stingy and the spendthrift are in the grip of avarice. Though they appear to be opposites, they share the same belief: money (spent or saved) is what makes a person happy.
Avarice, like epithumia and vainglory, is insatiable. Once it takes root, we always want more. Apparently John D. Rockefeller, the wealthiest man in the world, told a reporter that he was not really happy or satisfied. The reporter asked him how much money it would take to make him happy, and Rockefeller said famously, “Just a little bit more.” This is true because our fears always outrun our money. And remember, the false narrative is based on that classic fear: I am all alone. Outside of the kingdom of God we are on our own, and we must trust in our resources.
Feeling alone and scared, avarice whispers to us, “Money will make you happy and secure. It will impress others. It will give you power.” As always, this is partially true. Having money in the bank does bring a sense of security. Having enough money to pay our bills and enjoy life (vacations, sufficient material needs) does bring us a sense of comfort. And having a really nice __________ [pair of shoes, car, house, gourmet meal] does bring a sense of pleasure.
So the narrative “money will make me happy” is partially true. We all know that wonderful feeling that comes over us when we buy or are given something truly special. When I ask people about their favorite Christmas gift, they usually light up as they remember some wonderful present; the joy is evident in their faces. How about the feeling we got when we bought our first car? Freedom! Fun! Material things bring a sense of happiness and joy.
But not long after, we lose the elation that we first felt. The toy sits in the corner, the car is not as good as the one we now covet, and the house is just a place to live in—not as nice as our neighbor’s, which leads to covetousness. Many of today’s purchases are tomorrow’s load to the dump. We buy the lie that money and possessions will make us secure and happy, but eventually they let us down. Outside the kingdom of God, money and possessions are about all we can turn to in order to have these needs met. Fortunately, we don’t have to live outside.
Jesus’ Narratives: Treasures, Eyes and Masters
Kingdom economics contrast with worldly economics. Jesus uses three metaphors—two treasures, two eyes and two masters—to describe kingdom economics, which he contrasts with false narratives we find in the world.
1. Two kinds of treasures.
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. (Matthew 6:19-21)
Jesus teaches us that there are two kinds of treasures: earthly andheavenly. Treasures on earth comprise things like money and material possessions. Anything that a thief could steal from us, a moth could nibble on or rust can corrode is an earthly treasure. They are temporary. My Adidas shoes were earthly treasures. Moths didn’t eat them, but wear and tear got the best of them. Treasures in heaven relate to the things God is doing. And we know that God is helping people. Thus the best way to lay up treasures in heaven is to live out Matthew 6:33: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you” (kjv). Seeking the kingdom first will lead us to loving (and thus helping) others.
What exactly is a “treasure”? Dallas Willard explains, “We reveal what our treasures are by what we try to protect, secure, keep.” Humans are designed to treasure things. Jesus isn’t telling us to not treasure things, he is telling us which kinds of things to treasure. We shouldn’t treasure a car because it will not be around forever and cannot love back. Treasuring our spouse or friend is a very good investment. He or she is an eternal spiritual being who can return love and can bless the world.
We can invest our time, resources and emotional energy in earthly treasures, or we can lay up treasures in heaven. Most of us do a little of both, I suspect. Jesus is helping us to get our priorities straight. We make a lot of choices each day on the basis of the narratives we embrace. When we adopt Jesus’ narrative—which allows possessions without being possessed by them—we can make better use of the precious resources we’ve been given.
Treasures in heaven are not gained by meritorious acts, “but by belonging to and living by the priorities of the kingdom of heaven.” Some people have misinterpreted Jesus’ words as encouraging us to increase our good works so we will have a nice house in heaven. That is far from the truth. Our good works do not merit anything except the intrinsic value of growing closer to God and helping put on the character of Christ.
2. Two kinds of eyes.
The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! (Matthew 6:22-23)
In this passage Jesus is using cultural idioms (common illustrations) that make little sense to us today. In Jesus’ day “unhealthy eye” referred to a stingy, envious, jealous person. A person with a healthy (clear) eye was generous. Today Jesus might have used a different metaphor: “If you’re tight-fisted, your soul begins to shrivel; if you have an open hand, your soul will be vibrant.” Jesus’ point is that through kingdom economics, his apprentices can be generous with their money and possessions. Generosity indicates that one is living in the kingdom.
3. Two kinds of treasures.
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. (Matthew 6:24 rsv)
Explain how you previously understood this passage.
In the final illustration, Jesus points out the logical—but not obvious—truth that we cannot pursue earthly treasures and the kingdom of God at the same time. Mammon refers to wealth or the spirit of wealth. Jesus says mammon is a rival god. Scholars have no record of mammon being used in a negative way in Hebrew culture, thus Jesus’ words must have shocked his hearers, who typically believed wealth was a sign of God’s blessing. Why was Jesus so bold as to call wealth a god?
Money and wealth are godlike in several ways. First, money outlives us, having an almost eternal dimension. Second, it has a wide circle of influence—everyone respects it. People may not like the rich, but most people respect their money: “Money talks and people listen.” Third, wealth pretends to offer what we want from God — security, comfort and happiness. This is why we are prone to “serve” money. But money, wealth and material possessions are not the real issue; our hearts are. It’s possible to be very poor and serve mammon; it’s possible to be wealthy and have a kingdom heart. The outward issue (money or lack thereof) is not important. The inward issue—where our heart is set—is what really matters. Jesus contrasts God and mammon because they compete for our hearts.
It is impossible to serve God and mammon because they have opposite agendas. God wants us to reject mammon and to love and trust him, which is the path to peace and happiness. Mammon wants us to deny God and slavishly pursue happiness through wealth. We cannot move east and west at the same time; neither can we look up and down at the same time. In the same way, we cannot simultaneously serve God and mammon. They are opposites.
There are two types of treasures we can invest in (heavenly or earthly), two kinds of eyes (generous or stingy) and two deities we can serve (God or mammon). Earthly treasures are temporal; heavenly treasures are eternal. The wise choice is obvious. Stingy people are inwardly focused and don’t experience joy; generous people are outwardly focused, give freely and experience joy. Giving is the wise choice. Finally, mammon says it can produce peace and happiness, but it fails. God promises peace and happiness, and always delivers. Who will we give our allegiance to? Our loving, giving, endlessly able Father. Jesus is not trying to shame us but is offering good investment advice. And that is because he understands the nature of the kingdom of God.
The Cure for Avarice
Jesus understood how the kingdom of God operates. The kingdom runs on specific economic principles that contrast with the kingdom of this world. Our kingdom narrative is God will provide for and protect me and mine, and therefore I am free to seek his kingdom and invest the resources he gives me in his endeavors. The kingdom gives a new perspective on money. God is out for our good and has endless resources. We can never out ask God.
How does God provide for our needs? Not by dropping money from the sky or secretly depositing it into our bank account. God moves money and resources through people. Always. Kingdom economics works this way. And when God uses money through people, he also gives it back to them. This is another key to kingdom economics. Money given on kingdom principles is never lost. Once I loaned $300 for car repairs to a Christian man I hardly knew. He was in need, and I had the resources to help him. He promised to pay me back, but never did. After three years I asked a friend, “Do you think I should call him and ask for the money he owes me?” My friend asked, “Have you missed that money, Jim?” I answered no. This taught me that God moves money through us to help others; and when given wisely and with discernment, that money is never lost. I did not lose $300. No, I gave it. And God saw to it that I never missed it.
As I reflected on my friends’ great question, I remembered a time during those three years when we were about to come up short due to unexpected medical bills for our daughter. We needed $500 to pay our bills. The very day I discovered the shortfall, we got an anonymous letter from someone, which said, “I was praying for you all, and thought this might come in handy.” The letter contained a check for $500. I never even had a chance to worry! When God uses our money, he also replaces it. This is kingdom economics.
Let me repeat—because there is such bad teaching on this issue—this is not an investment scheme. I have heard late-night preachers say, “If you send my ministry a thousand dollars, you will receive ten thousand dollars in return.” Then a couple tells a story of giving their last penny to the ministry and they miraculously got rich. This is contrary to the rest of Jesus’ teaching on money. Those who give this way—in an attempt to get a lot of money in return—are gripped by avarice, the very thing we are trying to be free of. It is a shame that in the name of Jesus these ministries play on people’s fears and desires, take their hard-earned money, and often use it for their own gain.
Once you understand kingdom economics you can better understand Jesus’ teaching. Earthly treasures decay. Heavenly treasures (investing in what God is doing) accrue eternal interest. Stingy people do not understand kingdom economics and are afraid to give generously because they fear it will be lost. And mammon is not the right god to serve; mammon makes no return on investments but merely takes from us and enslaves us. God liberates us from the bondage that comes when we love money more than people. Instead of concern for return on investment, apprentices are concerned about “return for the kingdom” (my friend Trevor, a Christian man who works in the business world, coined this phrase). When we invest in what God is doing, there is a return for the advancement of the kingdom. Shoes, cars and stocks cannot make this guarantee.
However, these kingdom economics are a challenge to put it into practice. Mammon’s tentacles reach everywhere and will subtly pull us toward itself.
Religion and Retail, God and Mammon
Recently, neurologists scanned the brains of people of faith as they recalled and reexperienced the times they felt close to God, either in prayer, worship or solitude. Then they exposed the same people to stained glass, the smell of incense, icons and other religious images that connected people to God. The same specific area of the brain (called the caudate nucleus) lit up in all of these people when they felt connected to God. The caudate nucleus is not a “God spot,” just the part of our brain that is activated when we feel connected to the divine.
To what extent can you relate to the euphoric effect, much like a religious experience, of buying something special?
It gets even more interesting. The neurologists similarly tested another group, but this time exposed them to material possessions. When they showed images of products that were tied to “cool” brands, the exact same area of the brain lit up. The neuroscientists discovered that people who bought certain items experienced the same sensations as those who had deep religious experiences.
Martin Lindstrom observes:
When people viewed images associated with the strong brands—the iPods, the Harley-Davidson, the Ferrari, and others—their brains registered the exact same patterns of activity as they did when they viewed the religious images. Bottom line, there was no discernible difference between the way the subjects’ brains reacted to powerful brands and the way they reacted to religious icons and figures.
This is why Jesus called mammon a rival god. It also explains why I wanted those Adidas Americana sneakers so badly.
It is hard to avoid the temptations of mammon in contemporary American culture. Advertisers know how to play on our fears and desires. By the age of sixty we will have seen over two million commercials, which is the equivalent of watching nothing but those ads for eight hours a day, seven days a week, for six straight years. While they appeal to desire, more ads are tapping into our fears to get us to buy their products. Lindstrom explains:
Practically every brand category I can think of plays on fear, either directly or indirectly. We’re sold medicines to ward off depression, diet pills and gym memberships to prevent obesity, creams and ointments to quiet fears of aging, and even computer software to ward off the terrors of our hard drive crashing. I predict that in the near future advertising will be based more and more on fear-driven somatic markers, as advertisers attempt to scare us into believing that not buying their product will make us feel less safe, less, happy, less free, and less in control of our lives.
This is why living in the kingdom can be a cure to avarice and a way to say no to mammon. We can face those fears because we know who we are (indwelt by Christ) and where we live (in the strong and stable kingdom of God).
Should Apprentices Live in Poverty?
Jesus told the rich young ruler that in order to inherit eternal life he should give all of his money to the poor and follow Jesus (Luke 18:18-23). Many people have taken this to mean that Jesus expects this of all disciples. I don’t believe God wants us to live in poverty or as beggars. He never gave that command to anyone else in the Gospels. I believe God wants us to have adequate material provision for ourselves and our families. This includes a place to live, food, clothing, insurance, even money for recreation and vacations. I see no conflict with the kingdom of God and using our money to have a comfortable life. Poverty, if you have ever seen it, is not spiritual. It is closer to evil.
But we need to examine what adequate material provision looks like. Before we do, we need some perspective: 92 percent of the world’s population can’t afford a car. Yet in Western culture a car is not a luxury but is considered part of adequate material provision. How about having a home, medical insurance, a savings account and retirement plan? While most of us believe these too are adequate material provisions, we need to remember that most people on earth live without these things. But we need to ask questions like these and then apply the principles of the kingdom to discern how to answer them.
At the next level, though, questions about what we should have and how much we ought to give become more difficult. To be sure, many of us have more than we need, and much of the world lacks what they need. The longer we live in the kingdom of God, the more we will discover the needs of the world. And in light of kingdom economics we will find ourselves more able to give with a cheerful heart.
The Freedom of Simplicity and the Joy of Contentment
The kingdom solution is not financial stinginess or carelessness, but simplicity. Simplicity is an inner attitude that affects what we choose to purchase. According to Richard Foster, simplicity is “an inward reality that results in an outward lifestyle.” It must first be an inward reality. This involves adopting the right narrative about wealth, knowing that it is a provision from God, but must not be treated as a god. If we don’t know this inwardly, our attempts at simplicity will result in legalism. Once we have the inward reality in place, we can make our outward, lifestyle decisions.
Instead of being legalistic about the kind of car or home we should own, the best approach is to ask the following questions with our large purchases (and some small ones).
Do I really need this?
Will it bring me kingdom joy (and not merely temporary happiness)?
How much of the money I would spend on this item can I free up to invest in heavenly treasures?
This is the kingdom way to use our money. I am not interested in making a person feel guilty about having a $3.86 latte, owning a Jaguar or vacationing in the Caribbean. Instead, I am interested in helping people—under the leading of the Spirit and in light of the kingdom—make informed choices about their resources.
The apostle Paul does not say that money is the root of all evil. He said the love of money is the root of all evil. Loving money often traps a person. Paul counseled:
Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. (1 Timothy 6:6-10, italics added)
How would you rate yourself in the area of simplicity?
Paul advocates contentment with adequate provisions. Beyond that we are tempted to serve mammon and not God.
Not a Law but a Way of Life
We are continually tempted to create laws: A Christian must give everything to the poor. People who love Jesus don’t drive luxury cars. It’s sinful for a Christian to wear jewelry when there are poor people. We like to make laws because they provide security, allow us to feel good about ourselves and give us a way to judge others. Though Jesus told the rich young man to give away all of his possessions (Luke 18:22), another passage tells of a woman who poured a very expensive jar of oil on Jesus’ feet.
When the disciples saw it, they were angry. “Why this waste? For this ointment could have been sold for a large sum, and the money given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? She has performed a good service for me.” (Matthew 26:8-10)
We are tempted to turn Jesus’ teachings into universal laws:
In every situation, you must turn the other cheek and never strike back, even when you see someone being attacked.
Always tell the truth, even if it ruins your relationships.
Never let anyone see you pray; Jesus forbids it!
Give everything away and live in poverty, as Jesus commanded.
Living in the kingdom requires wisdom. It entails understanding Jesus’ teachings not as universal laws (except the Great Commandment, to love God, self and neighbor) but as insights for kingdom living. We need to examine the ways we spend money, how we think about possessions, and see them in light of the kingdom of God.
So would I buy those cool athletic shoes today? Maybe. But the decision-making process would be done through the lens of the life with God I have come to know. But I would not love them or invest my emotional life in them as I did when I was eleven. And I would answer a number of questions before I made the purchase: Do I need them? Do I understand that they won’t make me content? Am I spending too much on them and thus less able to invest in the kingdom?
Today, I am less likely to spend God’s money (I am his steward) on something that I don’t need. But I am not going to say there is no way I would do that. I know better. I am a child of God, living in his abundant kingdom and not under a law.
Soul Training Deaccumulation
The Lenten season is usually a time when people give up things (coffee, chocolate, TV) for several weeks. This week I want you to try giving things away. Give five things away that would be of some value to someone else. It can’t be junk but must be in good shape—something that will be a blessing to someone else.
If at all possible, give these possessions to someone you know. But be careful; some people aren’t comfortable accepting unsolicited gifts—especially used ones! Don’t give someone your old clothes or a pair of decent shoes you don’t need. Your friend will not want this strange handout and may feel you are being condescending. Instead, I am thinking of situations like this: say you have three guitars and you know someone who wants to learn to play guitar but does not have one. Give one of them away. If you have something nice that you are sure a friend would appreciate, bless them with it.
I did this exercise over Lent one year, giving away one thing for each of the forty days of Lent. I had, for example, a pristine copy of a famous novel, and I knew of a friend who loved this author but did not have the book. So I was able to give it to her, and she was genuinely blessed. On the other hand, I had a very nice and barely worn pair of shoes that I did not need. In that case, I dusted them off and took them to the disabled veterans store. I left knowing that someone would appreciate a very nice pair of shoes, and I took comfort knowing that the veterans somehow profited as well.
Some people doing this exercise have very little money. I have had students who, frankly, had very few possessions. If that is the case, be at peace. You probably have a few small items (CDs, books, DVDs) that you could give away. Others have an opposite problem. They have a storage room full of stuff that they don’t need. Their challenge is to sort through these things to find what would be of value to others.
Most people, though, struggle with letting go of things. Some of us feel great attachment to everything we own. You may find it difficult to watch your things go out the door. If this is the case, remind yourself that you live in the kingdom and that the things that really make you happy cannot be bought.
One final caveat: Avoid the temptation to buy new things to replace those you have given away!
Your aim is to be five things lighter by next week. Think about how much of a blessing they could be in the hands of the right people. Offer this prayer: “God, help me to get these to people who will be blessed by them.” God bless you as you de-accumulate.
