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BIG Idea: Giving is the only antidote to greed.<\/strong><\/p>\n The behemoth of Black Friday is behind us, and as the graphic so aptly states, only in America do we trample each other for sales exactly one day after being thankful for what we already have. Now that Black Friday has been pushed back into Thursday, we don\u2019t even wait a day. Underlying our consumer mentality is pure, unadulterated greed.<\/p>\n We want more, we need more. We feel we\u2019re complete until we see an advertisement with something newer and shinier. The American marketplace needs us addicted to stuff to fuel profits. PBS recently ran a documentary on materialism. Here\u2019s what they found:<\/p>\n All this for the pursuit of money. If you stop long enough, you know that money can\u2019t buy true happiness. So how can you break your addiction to materialism and money and stuff? Jesus himself shares how in Matthew 6:19-20,\u00a0\u201cDo not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. <\/b>20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.\u201d <\/b><\/p>\n If you want to break your addiction to money, you\u2019ve got to learn how to give it away. Until you do, money will own you. By learning how to give it away (to great causes like the local church, people in need, or great non-profits), you\u2019re storing up for yourselves treasures in heaven and you\u2019re breaking the power that money has over you. Here\u2019s the BIG Idea:\u00a0Giving is the only antidote to greed.<\/strong><\/p>\n So as we enter into the materialistic orgy formally known as the Christmas season, don\u2019t be caught up in the lie that more stuff will make you happier. Break your addiction to stuff by learning how to give it away. Trust me, when you\u2019re in heaven enjoying all those rewards for eternity, you\u2019ll thank me.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0 BIG Idea: Giving is the only antidote to greed. The behemoth of Black Friday is behind us, and as the graphic so aptly states, only in America do we trample each other for sales exactly one day after being thankful for what we already have. Now that Black Friday has been pushed back into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2490,"featured_media":533,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[139,141,262,571,598,760,893,952],"class_list":["post-532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bible","tag-biblical-truth","tag-church","tag-giving","tag-greed","tag-jesus","tag-materialism","tag-money"],"yoast_head":"\n\n