Is it a sin to want things you dont really need and how can you stop yourself from loving money?

Answer 1

It could be considered a bad habit, most certainly, but you are only human, after all.

Answer:

Wanting nice things is not wrong in itself. God even wants the best for us. The problem arises when we become consumed to the point where our lusts replace God as our number one priority.

"Thou shalt have no other gods before Me."

The "things" we make with our hands... our "graven images"... [houses, cars, computers, etc] can quickly become our "idols"... which God jealously detests. Lust is the ultimate in "selfishness"... which is merely basic human nature, which is the big thing God put us here to "overcome" through the study of His Word... growing in His Knowledge and Understanding, building righteous character.

God's Wisdom is discernment... understanding what's truly important... and what's not.

And God is all about "giving" [loving, outgoing concern for others]... not "getting" [selfishness].

Wanting things isn't a sin [coveting; transgressing the Ten Commandments]. It's no sin to ask God for the things we "need." But things we "want" that we don't need can put you at risk quickly if it becomes "all-consuming" to the point of becoming our all-important god.

The "love of money" is "lust," and needs to be addressed as a sin if it, again, replaces God in one's life. For the poor, the "love of money" isn't an issue. The poor don't have it to love... the rich do. The poor "need" money in this world to survive. Needing the money to get along can be worrisome to the poor... but sometimes, it's the lack of money that draws the poor to depend on God more than the rich man, who is more likely to be "self-satisfied" in the sating of physical desires and negligent in his "slumbering spirit."

That's why it's tougher for the rich to find God in their lives. The god they love is the power that money wields in the world. All of their material and physical wants and needs are filled... and their sleeping spirit sees no need for God.

Do you "love money"... or do you just "need" it to survive in the world? That's what you have to ask yourself... and deal with, accordingly.

God is concerned with our physical well-being, make no mistake. His Word tells us He wants all the best for us... but, He also tells us that obedience to His Commandments comes first.

"Thou shalt keep therefore His statutes, and His Commandments, which I command thee this day, THAT IT MAY GO WELL WITH THEE, and WITH THY CHILDREN AFTER THEE, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, for ever." (Deut.4:40)

"And it shall come to pass, IF THOU HEARKEN DILIGENTLY UNTO THE VOICE OF THE LORD THY GOD, TO OBSERVE AND TO DO ALL HIS COMMANDMENTS WHICH I COMMAND THEE THIS DAY, that the Lord thy God will SET THEE ON HIGH ABOVE ALL NATIONS OF THE EARTH: and ALL THESE BLESSINGS SHALL COME ON THEE..." (Deut.28).

It's a matter of our priorities.

Our mortal lusts are powerful and can be hard to impossible to overcome without the help of the Lord - our priority. But they are fleeting things that will die with us in the end. We are better served to pursue eternal things. Things that will serve us better, should we be deemed in the Judgment worthy of immortality by our "jealous" Creator.

Our physical wants and needs shall all pass with our mortal lives... and our Creator tells us that the priorities we worshiped will be assessed on Judgment Day. We would be smart to get our priorities in order, against that time, rather than waste them on our fleeting lusts.

God will not be put on a shelf for any other god. But since lust is part of our nature... the smart money is to place one's all-consuming [lust] on Him.