Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
Material Wealth Is Not the Good Life

Material Wealth Is Not the Good Life

Last updated on: July 10, 2023 at 8:30 am by Randy Alcorn

0 Comments

Material Wealth Is Not the Good Life 2023-05-19T09:43:47-08:00 Randy Alcorn

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.

In 2007, actor Owen Wilson slashed his wrists in an unsuccessful suicide attempt. People magazine’s cover story about the “funny man who had it all” implied that his material abundance gave him every reason to live. Public shock over his actions unveiled the widespread belief that money, fame, cars, sex, a second home on the shores of Maui, and the whole celebrity package really do buy happiness. After all, wasn’t Owen Wilson living the good life?

In a subsequent issue of People, one letter to the editor astutely asked, “If a red-hot career, traveling the globe, a Malibu mansion and million-dollar paychecks didn’t prevent Owen’s ‘demons’ from rearing their ugly heads before the August incident, why would they do the trick now?”

The irony is inescapable: most of Owen Wilson’s fans would have, in a heartbeat, exchanged their mundane, commonplace lives for that of their idol. But the trade would have given them the life Wilson desperately wanted out of.

Most of us don’t have access to the amount of money and possessions celebrities do, but a similar story plays out in countless lives. If money were enough to constitute the good life, why does the prosperity-driven United States have a higher per capita suicide rate than war-torn, tragedy-plagued, poverty-riddled Sudan?

One thing is clear: what’s relentlessly advertised and sold to us as the good life is not the abundant life Jesus said He came to give in John 10:10.

Exchanging Good Things for Great Things

Nanci and I once spent five days aboard a ship that belongs to Operation Mobilization. The Logos Hope goes from port to port, bringing the gospel message all over the world. The volunteer teams use street dramas and music to share the Good News; other crew members distribute Bibles and Christian books to people visiting the ship’s huge bookstore.

While docked in Jamaica, we watched a crew of four hundred young people from sixty different nations welcome and serve thousands of visitors. Some also left the ship for the day to serve the poor in surrounding communities.

As we talked late into the night with crew members, we heard laughter and stories of God’s life-giving grace. These young people, many with little cash in their pockets and without credit cards, could have been making much more money doing something else. We might have felt sorry for them, since accommodations and food service on the Logos Hope are more like a warship than a cruise ship, and they often worked long hours at menial chores. Instead, we envied them, because while it wasn’t a perfect life, for most it was clearly an authentic, rewarding, happy-making life.

Nanci and I met Audrey, a young woman from the Philippines who had been serving for a year in the ship’s laundry. She told us a story about people trusting Christ after she spoke to them. Even though she didn’t know their language and they didn’t know hers, they had somehow understood her words. She’d witnessed a miracle. Her face beaming with joy, she said, “Every time I remember this story, I’m constantly amazed how limitless and how powerful our God is. It is such a privilege to be bringing this hope to all the people!”

So who lives the good life: Owen Wilson or Audrey on the Logos Hope?

What Jesus Said about Wealth

Google “the good life,” and you’ll find advice from both secular and religious sources on how to achieve a life worth living. Some of these attempt to temper the money-centered worldview. An article on MarketWatch.com entitled “The Good Life Is Not Only about Money” says, “Being healthy and wealthy have always been two well-known ingredients of happiness,” but it goes on to point out the importance of “being spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically healthy.”

Still, when I searched for “he’s living the good life,” the first two videos that popped up were people in plush surroundings, the first one flipping through a huge stack of cash and singing about partying, and the second one lounging in a luxury resort. A third was about a famous nightclub. One article was titled “The Keys to Building Wealth and Living the Good Life.”

Neither the videos nor the article clearly defines the good life. Why? Because the creators assume the viewers and the readers agree it’s about accumulating and spending lots of money to purchase happiness.

Yet despite both personal experiences and studies indicating money alone doesn’t bring the good life, countless people think and live and make choices as if it does.

Every truth seeker must grasp how fundamentally flawed this worldview really is. To correct this fatal perspective, Jesus said, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15, NIV).

The last portion of this verse is rendered this way in different translations:

Your true life is not made up of the things you own. (GNT)

Life is not measured by how much you own. (NLT)

Even if a man has much more than he needs, it cannot give him life. (WE)

Jesus immediately followed this statement with the parable of the rich fool, turning our idea of the good life upside down:

There was a rich man who had some land, which grew a good crop. He thought to himself, “What will I do? I have no place to keep all my crops.” Then he said, “This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and other goods. Then I can say to myself, ‘I have enough good things stored to last for many years. Rest, eat, drink, and enjoy life!’” (Luke 12:16-19, NCV)

So far, doesn’t this story sound great? Store up lots of money for yourself, retire early, and live large!

These different translations of verse 19 capture the rich man’s philosophy, which sounds remarkably like the American dream:

Live it up! Eat, drink, and enjoy yourself. (CEV)

Take your ease, eat, drink, be merry. (RSV)

Relax! Eat, drink and have a good time! (PHILLIPS)

You’ve got it made and can now retire. Take it easy and have the time of your life! (MSG)

Jesus didn’t accuse the man of dishonesty, theft, or injustice. For all we know, he might have faithfully attended synagogue. He was living the life others dreamed of. What’s wrong with that?

Then comes the big surprise: “But God said to him, ‘You fool! Tonight you will die. Then who will get what you have stored up?’” (Luke 12:20, CEV).

What derailed the rich man’s attempts to live what he believed was the good life? First, death. Second, God’s judgment on his now irreversible life. In the predigital age, a high school photography teacher taught me how to develop photos by immersing photo paper in solutions. As long as the photograph remains in the developing solution, it can change. But once it’s dropped into the stop bath, it’s permanently fixed. Likewise, when we die and enter eternity, our lives on Earth will be permanently fixed, never again to be altered or revised. “People are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27, NIV).

The rich man wasn’t merely a fool like the kind described in the book of Proverbs, who still had an opportunity to repent and choose wisdom (see, for example, Proverbs 26). God’s appraisal of us after we die is final. There’s no reset button, no do-overs. If at the end of your life God calls you a fool, you’ll be a fool forever.

This parable serves as a warning to all of us. Jesus applies the rich fool’s experience to that of others: “So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:21). To lay up treasures for ourselves and not be rich toward God means clinging to our riches instead of honoring God by helping those who are physically and spiritually needy.

Adapted from Randy’s book Giving Is the Good Life.

Photo by Kylo on Unsplash

Previous Post

July 6, 2023

Joining the Real Party in Heaven

Next Post

July 13, 2023 107-Year-Old Generous Giver Stanley Tam Goes to Be with Jesus

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"The biblical references and examples make the message easy to follow, while the focus on ..."

harry085drop

Being with God Is the Heart ..."

"As we do good works (no matter how small), and struggle to live holy lives ..."

Tom Hering

How Can We Be Ready to ..."

"Katy Faust's "articles" are junk science at best."

Roger J.

Every Child Is Known and Loved ..."

"People can feed their thoughts or a few notes into AI and be delighted with ..."

rrhersh

AI, Ghostwriting, and the Ethics of ..."

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category About Me Animals Books Books and Resources Christ Christian Life Christians Past and Present Church Creation Culture and Worldview Doctrine and Theology Eternal Perspective Ministries Fun Grace and Truth Grief Happiness Heaven Marriage and Family Missions Money and Giving Persecuted Church Politics Prayer Prolife Salvation Sexual Purity Sovereignty and Free Will Suffering and Evil Uncategorized Writing

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz