My, my my...where to begin? Whew...here it goes.
Jesus of Nazareth states:
"Isn't your life more than its food, and your body more than its clothing?" Overall, I like this statement. And, yes I agree modern society certainly places far too much emphasis on material items. I live in Roseville, where myself and all my neighbors are surrounded by; mega-this and mega-that. Mega-stores, mega-malls, mega-cars, mega...mega..mega. I am guilty of seeking the material things as well. I buy nice clothes for my daughter, my house is furnished with beautiful things, I could go on and on. I do enjoy certain material things that life has to offer.
I don't live beyond my means though, and in my opinion there are far too many people that are completely consumed with material things...they allow it to define who they are both physically and spiritually.
Now onto my point in all this. If the message Jesus is trying to say is that: We should not give these material things much value at all. We should live simply with only what we need to survive, and be humble...how is it even possible that people of these faiths that follow Jesus' teachings are even capable of throwing up the multi-million dollar mega-churches? I mean honestly! I highly doubt that Jesus of Nazareth the "minimalist" would have been pleased to see hundreds of people flooding into churches built on prime real estate, serving Starbucks coffee, and using church funds to pay the minister a six-figure salary to live in a 5000 square foot home in Granite Bay.
Personally I think Jesus envisioned his followers congregating in a beautiful pasture beneath the sky, so his followers would be able to see the "...birds of the sky: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns..."
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Hey Alicia,
You wrote: "We should live simply with only what we need to survive, and be humble...how is it even possible that people of these faiths that follow Jesus' teachings are even capable of throwing up the multi-million dollar mega-churches? I mean honestly!"
I totally agree. I don't think Jesus was trying to found a religion, which one should sign up for. I think he was pointing out human nature, which was the same now as it was then. And like he said, seek the narrow gate...It leads to joy.
One thing, though...the second thing on the Eightfold Path is "Right Intention", which means that we don't think these things for anyone but ourselves. Whether or not someone else lives it out, or is a hypocrite, or whatever...it doesn't matter. If we're not going to change things inside ourselves, then who will?
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