The Danger of Materialism
Materialism caters the physical body and its
senses, while Spirituality cares about the soul and the spirit.
Minimally, a person’s physical needs are
fulfilled with only the essentials: air to breathe, water and food to satisfy
thirst and hunger, a few clothes for cover and protection, a bed to rest, and a
house for shelter.
What usually happens, however, is that anything
excess of these basic needs will either be unused or misused.
When a person is given four hotdogs for lunch
when his capacity is only two, then the remaining two will either not be eaten
– or eaten, but not so good consequences about his health will happen.
All of us have five senses: vision, smell,
taste, hearing, and touch. These are difficult to satisfy, and they always
crave for more.
Once a level of satisfaction is reached, the
senses desire for a higher level and it will go on and on, thus contentment is
never achieved.
The mind is considered as the sixth sense, and,
apparently, is the most unsatisfied and ambitious of all.
New cravings and desires arise in the mind
once an old one is fulfilled.
Suppose a person wants to buy a new car.
His mind will remain preoccupied with that thought until it is satisfied.
Once the car is acquired, the desire fades, and
the mind will go on looking for more.
Bodily desires can never be completely
satisfied. As long as we are living, we will always have these assorted levels
of tendencies to desire for a little more. Or way more.
So we have to be aware and careful.
Some are enslaved in this rat race: doing work
they do not want, to have money to spend on things they do not need, just to
impress people they do not like.
Sadly, this is reality now, and is happening
right before our very eyes.
Whatever is acquired fuels the dissatisfaction
even more.
The danger here is in the end, on our
deathbeds, we may probably realize that life is short.
That we haven’t really lived life.
That we haven’t achieved anything that is
really worthwhile.
Nothing is remarkable to be remembered.
In the end, all that’s left is the soul and
the spirit.
All the things we’ve ever had here on earth
will remain here on earth.
The soul and the spirit will drift into
eternity – into darkness, or into light.
Where it will end up depends on how we took
care of our souls and spirits while we are still alive.
“He then told them, ‘Watch out and be on guard
against all greed because one’s life is not in the abundance of his
possessions.’”
– Luke 12:15
– Luke 12:15
