Materialism-a preoccupation with material things-can smother our spiritual life. Jesus told us not to store up treasure on earth and warned us against covetousness. So did the apostle Paul, urging us instead to develop a lifestyle of simplicity, generosity, and contentment, drawing on his own experience of having learned to be content whatever the circumstances (Philippians 4:11).
John Stott, The Radical Disciple