Materialitus

Materialitus - a psychological disease of the mind and heart. Characterized by discontentment and the maddening desire to browse/buy unnecessary material possessions.

The invention of the world wide web has caused a massive spike in the spread of Materialitus. With the convenience of the internet, you can shop at your leisure without the crushing crowds and pushy sales representatives. You can narrow your search by price, category, color, style, you name it! Everything your heart desires can be bought and delivered right to the privacy of your home!

Unfortunately, internet shopping is the perfect breeding ground for Materialitus. The stores have professional models, photographers, and designers all with one goal in mind: to make you, the consumer, mad with desire for their product. The set, the lighting, the model, all of it has one purpose: to make the product look good. And I fall for it every time. I love looking at the different colors, styles and prints put on display. I guess you could say internet shopping is my guilty pleasure. But even though I'm only looking, seeing all the beautiful items incites a lust in my heart for material things that eats away my joy.

Have you ever wondered why, in one of the richest countries on earth, we struggle so much with depression and discontent while believers in third world countries who have nothing are filled to the brim with joy? The answer lies in our lustful, diseased hearts. If we allow covetousness and discontent to fester within us, it will destroy the peace and joy we have in Christ.

So this week, I am taking a break from internet shopping. I'm going to write out all the things I'm thankful for and read it to myself. I'm going to appreciate the things I do have, and with Christ's help, wrest myself from the feverish grip of Materialitus.

*Note: This is not a real medical disease--I made it up :)