The secret to happiness? It's not what you've been sold

One summer, I went to an orphanage in Honduras with just a few sets of clothes.

At the end of my time there, I realized how little I actually needed to get by. I left most of my clothes at the orphanage with the Honduran girls, and by the time I returned home, I was overwhelmed with the sheer volume of stuff I owned. It’s always a good reality check — a humbling reality check — to leave the luxuries of America, go to a third-world country, and then return with a new perspective on materialism.

A friend recently reminded me that “everything we own will eventually end up in the dump.” This stuck with me, because the pressure to buy things keeps growing as digital ads constantly bombard us with promises that the latest and greatest products will make us "happy." The convenience of Amazon Prime, Shein and H&M’s cheap clothes, and fast shipping fuel our impulse to buy more.

You can worship and serve only one: God or something else.

We get a dopamine rush each time we purchase something online and another one when it shows up on our doorstep.

Consumer spending in America reached an all-time high of $16 billion in the third quarter of 2024, according to Trading Economics. We’re addicted to buying stuff. We’re spending an exorbitant amount of money trying to keep up with the latest trends, rich friends (a lot of them actually buried in credit-card debt), and the hottest new fashion lines.

But Jesus never called us to "keep up with the Joneses." Unfortunately, much of the American church has bought in to this lie.

I’ve been guilty of falling into this trap myself. The world, ads, and perfectly staged Instagram posts all tell us we need more, but Jesus calls us to be in the world — not of it. We should be set apart.

Has all of our “stuff” transformed us into more happy, more grateful Christians? No.

King Solomon reminds us of this powerful truth in the book of Ecclesiastes.

As the richest king in the world, King Solomon “had it all.” Every material possession he could want, Solomon owned. Every luxury that life could offer, Solomon enjoyed. Nothing was withheld, yet Solomon longed for meaning and satisfaction because he couldn’t find it in material abundance. He was coming up short.

We see this same pattern in celebrities and politicians today. They have what most people seek — money, power, and fame — and yet they often lead sad and unfulfilled lives.

At the beginning of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon claims that "all is vanity," a declaration that largely summarizes the book. He explores the meaninglessness of life through all 12 chapters and declares midway: “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 5:10). Timothy echoes a similar reality in 1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is the root of all evil.” The Bible never says money is evil, but rather the love of it is. Jesus is clear in Luke 16:13: "You cannot serve God and money.”

You can worship and serve only one: God or something else.

Solomon ends Ecclesiastes with this charge, “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man" (Ecclesiastes 12:13). We should heed his advice. As the richest king on Earth, Solomon had everything at his fingertips. Yet he teaches that what really matters is loving and serving God.

When we reach heaven’s gates, God is not going to ask us what kind of car we drove, what kind of house we lived in, or how much money we earned. He will, however, hold us accountable for how we stewarded our money, possessions, and time.

The solution to greedy sin-nature is found in contentment. It’s a lifelong lesson. We must practice contentment every day, and it starts with gratitude.

Last summer, my husband and I moved into a small home built in 1979. This is the first house that we have owned, so we were thrilled to say goodbye to our apartment of two years. We finally had space to breathe and a great yard for our kids to play in.

We’ve had a lot of people come through our doors since moving. But I never expected to hear some of the comments we’ve received from people:

• “Your kitchen is small, and you don’t have a lot of storage space in it.”
• “Wow, the floor squeaks there.”
• “Why did you buy this house?”

I doubt every remark was ill intentioned. But it started to make me feel insecure about my home and less grateful for it after hearing those comments. I battled feeling “less than” because these comments made it feel like our house wasn't good enough and, therefore, we weren't either.

Thankfully, these feelings didn’t last long. But it’s a good reminder that our value in Christ is not dependent on material possessions.

Timothy also says, “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out” (1 Timothy 6:6-7).

Nothing is inherently wrong with owning nice things or having a new house or being financially astute. But most importantly, God has called us to use everything He’s blessed us with to serve Him, his kingdom, and others. He did not call us to follow him and hoard riches.

No, quite the opposite. God sees the heart. More often than not, material possessions are a hindrance to following Jesus, as the interaction between Jesus and the rich young ruler demonstrates.

Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell everything he had, give it to the poor, and follow Him. Instead of forsaking his worldly possessions and pursuing Christ, the rich young ruler wallowed in self-pity, “grieving” as he walked away from his conversation with Jesus (Mark 10:22). The young man knew himself well enough to realize that giving up his stuff wasn’t a sacrifice he was willing to make. Jesus also knew this, which is why He gave that specific man this specific challenge.

Christ knows each of our idols and asks us to lay them down.

Materialism shows us where our allegiances lie. It uncovers what we most value. Do we value God or possessions? Jesus saw right through the rich young ruler’s heart, and He sees right through ours.

In Philippians 4:11-13, the apostle Paul asserts that no matter what circumstance he’s in — abundance or need — the "secret" to life rests in contentment. We can be materially wealthy but spiritually broke, which is why God always looks inward. This world is not our home, yet we try desperately to live like it is. As God instructed us, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth" (Matthew 6:19) because they’re fleeting.

God’s truth sets us free from materialism. We only have to daily lay our treasures at the cross and focus on what really matters: eternity.