Weeds & the Consequences of Living in a Material World

Last updated on: January 25, 2010 at 8:23 am by Dave Dunham

Weeds & the Consequences of Living in a Material World 2010-01-25T08:23:34-07:00 Dave Dunham

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I have been reflecting heavily on a line from a Joe Pug song. Pug is contemporary folk artist and his song Hymn # 101 is extremely devotional. The line in particular that has struck me as of late says this: the more I buy the more I am bought, and the more I am bought the less I cost. The line picks up on the old question, ” Do we own our possessions or do they own us.” We all know that it is true that the more we have the more we are bound by it. I speak from personal experience. Last year I bought a house and a new car, and let’s just say I will be “friends” with my bank for a long time. To some degree those two possessions own me.

It’s not that owning things, of course, is wrong. That would be a wrong deduction to make. Yet I can’t help but wonder if we are trapping ourselves more and more with each new thing we buy. It feels nearly impossible to go back to living the way you used to once you raise your standard of living, yet to maintain that standard we have to do more, work more, earn more, etc. You see how the cycle works. A number of television shows recently have picked up on this reality, most notably Weeds, on Showtime.

I have only seen a few episodes (and probably wouldn’t recommend it) but the story revolves around Nancy, a mother of two whose husband recently died. She is left, then, with a massive mortgage and standard of living that she can no longer maintain, and her response to this predicament is to sell marijuana. A suburban mom sells pot because she is trapped. From what I hear the antics only get worse for Nancy as she continues to try and keep her life together (promiscous sex, secret marriages, and violence).

Obviously that’s a pretty extreme example and I don’t assume that those of you reading this are in Nancy’s boat. Yet I can’t help but feel that those of us who claim Christ as our greatest treasure aren’t living in light of that truth. I know I have to take some time to reevaluate my life and allegiances. If I am bound by my possessions what am I communicating to the world around me? What am I communicating to my children? Is Jesus my treasure or not?

It is a material world we live in, and we can’t escape that. Yet we must be on guard that the material things we have, need, and (rightly) enjoy don’t take Christ’s place in our hearts as the greatest treasure we have. Don’t end up like Nancy, or even some milder version of her.

Previous Post

January 24, 2010

From the Supreme Court

Next Post

January 25, 2010 Participate!

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Asides Elsewhere Featured Film Games General Culture Headline Literature Music Of the Moment Podcast Politics RetroPost Sports Technology Television Uncategorized Viral

Select a Month February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz