"The Price of Materialism"

The conversation went something like this: "Officer, I just can't understand why my son stole those things. He has always been provided for. I've always worked and part of the time I had two jobs so we could give him all those things we didn't have when we were growing up."

Here's another conversation: "I don't understand why my daughter married that boy. They are both so young and he can't support her. They need to get their school finished first. I tried to reason with her but she wouldn't listen. This is the first boy that showed her a little attention."

How about a conversation like this: "I don't understand why my children have stopped attending church. We took them every Sunday, taught them better than that and now they have no interest."

Our children have everything, but seem unable to find what they want. Teens feel like they must have someone or something they can possess and call their own. They "go steady". They make the earliest possible break from their parents. They marry to get away from home. They want something which they are not finding at home and will wreck their lives looking. Why is this?

We have misplaced our values! For many, "things" have become far more important to us that a home. Lives are filled with phones, games and the latest on the Internet. A home centered around God and His love, dedicated parents toward the Lord are fading. The result is mother's and father's time is taken up "paying" for the "things" to keep our children going. "Things" are more important than a godly mother in the home or a father taking time to guide and instruct. "Things" seem to be more important than spending quality time with each other.

In all this, we are now beginning to reap the harvest of materialism. Young people are being buried in "things" and the result is searching for love and understanding. With the lack of instruction in the home, our children are searching other places. Parents are left in shock as they watch their children's attitude change while claiming, "We didn't raise them like this!" The Lord meant what He said when the words were spoken, "Do not love the world nor the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (I John 2:15)