Materialism#1

True Reality is a combination of physical, spiritual and emotional needs. In this Reality we are a combination of Body, Soul and Spirit. Many people get "bitten" when they separate these areas and emphasise one above and beyond everything else. 

The Greek Culture (in which the New Testament was born) was Analytical - they were the ones who divided Body, Soul and Spirit. This distinction is often UNhelpful because we have used it to divide life into separate compartments and "never the twain shall meet!" The Hebrew Culture (of the Old Testament) tended more toward Synthesis. They saw life as an integrated whole. (They understood that if our feet are sore, our soul feels it too!) 

When it comes to this text, many people move from one extreme to the other. Our so-called "real world" is an overly-materialistic world where people are gripped by possession-obsession and wealth-craving. Many people interpret Jesus' words as a call to completely abandon the physical world (and call it bad) and to live purely in the spiritual realm. This is to misunderstand Jesus words. 

Jesus is not saying that working for a living is bad or that clothes and food are bad. He is calling us to balance. Materialism is bad when we become obsessed by and define ourselves according to the things of the material world. 

Jesus is calling us to well-prioritised simplicity - his example of lilies, grass (and the sparrows in another passage) - is about simplicity. The lily still photosynthesises, the grass still puts down roots to get water, and the sparrow still forages for food. 

His point is that we need to recognise what is temporary and what is eternal. And get the sequence of importance right. 

(More tomorrow...)