• Matthew 6:19-34
    “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 'Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
     
  • Proverbs 4:23
    Keep your heart with all diligence,
    For out of it spring the issues of life.

     
  • Colossians 3:5-6
    Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,
     
  • 1 Timothy 6:6-11
    Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.
     
  • 1 John 2:15-17
    Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
     
  • Exodus 20:17
    "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."
     
  • John 6:26-27
    Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.'
     
For more scripture references, please see Bible verses for Material Things, Attitude Toward


Resources

Parable of the Rich Fool

Bible Study by Martin G. Collins

Even if we have everything we could ever want or need, when we die, our goods will do nothing for us. Because of wealth, the fool believes he has no need of God.


Be Happy (Part Two)

CGG Weekly by Gary Montgomery

God has made it possible through His Spirit for us to be optimistic and happy even in a world that seems to be crumbling around us.


The Tenth Commandment

Bible Study by Martin G. Collins

Covetousness is an insatiable desire for worldly gain and lies at the heart of where most sin originates. The tenth emphasizes man's relationship to man.


Parable of the Treasure

Bible Study by Martin G. Collins

Jesus' Parable of the Treasure in Matthew 6:19-21 is designed to get us to evaluate the relative values of material wealth and 'treasures in heaven.'


Ecclesiastes and Christian Living (Part Seven): Contentment

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

God desires far more for us than mere satisfaction: He wants to give us real contentment, a state that comes only through a relationship with Him.


Prosperity's Consequences

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

Prosperity is not always an emblem of God's approval. God will not prosper us if it would cause spiritual damage, insulating us from seeking His kingdom.


Stuff

Sermonette by Mike Ford

Everybody has the carnal habit of accumulating stuff, cluttering up both our physical surroundings, as well as the inner chambers of our minds.


The Tenth Commandment

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)

Coveting begins as a desire. Human nature cannot be satisfied, nothing physical can satisfy covetousness, and joy does not derive from materialism.



For more resources, please see the library topic for Material Things, Attitude Toward