Recently I talked about the curious conflict between evangelicals (indeed, all people of faith) and materialism.  Those of faith believe that the things of this world are, in the biggest possible picture, passing and impermanent:  evanescent.  But people of faith, like every other human being, understand that they require certain "things" in order to live a reasonably comfortable existence.  Whether we believe in an afterlife, another life more glorious than this present one, or not, we all recognize that living requires that we acquire any number of possessions to do so (unless we are Diogenes in his barrel!).

     Moreover, people of faith who have discretionary income have opportunity to indulge themselves in the material offerings of this world, sometimes to an extraordinary degree.  Yet they continue to insist that, in truth, these things really mean nothing to them.

     Maybe so.  On the other hand, when, as many polls indicate they did, evangelicals, in particular, cited economic concerns as their top electoral priority, we must wonder:  what really is most important to them?  Sure, as I noted above, we all require "things" to live.  In addition, as I also noted, many of us have discretionary income, that is, we can spend our money in ways that are over and above what we really need to.  Furthermore, those with high incomes are in a position to donate very generously to charitable causes.  Their material abundance enables them to bless others.

     Where to draw the line?  I don't know, really.  Yet I suspect that some, though not all, of the reasons people of faith cite to justify their lifestyles are rationalizations developed, consciously or not, to reconcile their position in an affluent society with various biblical dictums about the transience of the material world and the billions of abjectly poor people who live in it.

     But I'm not trying to judge.  We're all individuals before God.  Our faith is our own.

     However, our faith is our own in a world that is not.  And that makes all the difference:  the creator God doesn't care how much or how little we have.  He cares about our heart.