Write down everything you've bought in the past month.  Everything.  When I did this, I was appalled at how much I had bought and spent.  I had just paid tuition, bought a laptop, and went out to eat several times that week.

   It's amazing how materialistic our world has become.  Late one night I was watching TV.  There was some show on that was talking about how shopping has evolved.  There used to only be general stores where you went only when you needed something.  You would buy only that thing you needed.  Then came window shopping.  It became much easier to be tempted to buy more.  Then came malls and Wal-Mart where you could go to one place to get just about anything you needed and wanted. Now we have the Internet where you can buy things 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

   I'm looking at my room now and noticing just 'stuff' everywhere.  I have books that I've read once and will never pick up again, and other books that I've never read and don't plan on reading.  There are three clocks in my view right now, not including my watch or the clock on my computer.  I have probably about one hundred stuffed animals.  Some of them aren't even in view because I have so many.  Most of this stuff I don't even need, but somehow I know that I'd have trouble parting with it.

   Now I'm thinking about how the members of my church bought gifts for some needy teenagers.  I got to watch them open their gifts.  You have no idea how appreciative they were.  Many got clothes, and some got clothes for their children.  I remember one girl who wouldn't open her gift because she wanted to save it so she would have a gift to open on Christmas.  She wasn't smiling.

   I remember my dad talking about how when he was a kid there was a Christmas where none of them received gifts because they didn't have the money.  His sister got a doll that was attached to an oatmeal box.  It was one of her old dolls that her mom fixed up because it didn't have any legs anymore.  Guess what?  That was my aunt's favorite Christmas.

   We want the latest video games, the best computers, and the newest fashions.  The more we get, the more we want.  Look through your closet.  How many of those shirts do you never even wear anymore?  Recently, my brother's van got broken into.  They stole his stereo, about 60 Cds, and two packs of cigarettes.  My brother was very upset at losing such an 'investment,' but when you get right down to it, it wasn't that bad.  He is still a well-fed guy with a roof over his head.  In my opinion, most of his music was trash anyway, and those cigarettes weren't doing much for his health.

   Do you have a problem with materialism?  Are you constantly buying for yourself, and do you always have a wish list?

   Pray for contentment.  Philippians 4:13 says, 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.'  Did you know that Paul was talking about contentment there?  Let God strengthen you so that you can use your money to build His kingdom instead of your own.  After all, everything we have is His, and we should be good stewards.