Missing out on the essentials?

Junk mail is one of the facts of modern life.  Most of ours finds its way very quickly into the recycling box (so it can return some day as a different piece of junk mail, perhaps!)   Sometimes we may give the item a cursory glance, especially if Sue gets to it first!  One particular item arrived last week, and on the way to the bin I noticed with some interest the strap-line on the cover, "Essential items at everyday low prices"

Well, I thought, if they really are essential items I'd better have a look!  I soon discovered that items classed as essential are such things as laptops, LED Smart TVs, fridge freezers, a number of other electrical goods, various items of furniture and other sundry items.  So does this mean that anyone without these items if somehow incomplete?

Of course I recognise that most, if not all, of the items named would be regarded by many on the UK as fairly important, if not essential.  Yet I have a nagging feeling that this leaflet is a symptom or example of the materialistic culture in which we now live.  And so many have discovered to their cost that however many "things" they possess, ultimately these possessions don't bring lasting satisfaction.

Many years ago I heard a story about a man who decided to visit a missionary who was living and working in a very remote part of the world, in a situation which lacked many of the creature comforts which people in the West often take for granted.  When the visitor arrived at his destination, he was show around the very basic accommodation by the missionary, who said, "If there's anything you need, let me know, and I'll show you how to manage without it!"

Perhaps surprisingly (or perhaps not), Jesus seems to have spoken quite a bit about wealth and possessions.  For example, he warned, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.’

Many people think that that Bible tells us that money is the root of all evil.  In fact that isn't what the Bible teaches.  What St Paul actually wrote to Timothy is, 'the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.'  If we allow money or possessions to become a controlling passion, we are in great danger of missing out on true life as God intended it for us.  As Jesus himself challengingly asks, 'What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?

The leaflet did find its way to the bin.  On this occasion I think that we can manage without one or two "essentials!"