Free from the trap of materialism

Japan has been known for decades as an economic giant—an Asian tiger. But after the long period of recession that followed the so-called “bubble” economy in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Japanese society started to feel empty and spiritually “poor.”

During past periods of high economic growth, as many as 80% of the Japanese people felt proud to belong to a middle-class society. Now many feel they are becoming less affluent because of changes in the workplace, among other things.

Lifetime employment used to be something to count on; now more and more companies are creating temporary positions, and workers can’t predict how long they will be employed. As in other countries, the gap between high and low incomes is widening. In the last few years, the top cause of death for people in their late 40's and 50's has been suicide.

Yet if you walk the streets of Tokyo, you wouldn't think Japan is heading down a path of hopelessness and less affluence. There, materialism seems to cry out loud, “This is the path to happiness. Life is too short—waste and be irresponsible! Working hard for others didn’t get your parents anywhere, so live day by day. Honesty doesn’t yield profit.”

People flock to Tokyo stores where high-priced designer clothes, bags, and shoes are sold. New high-rise developments and apartment buildings, listed as “mansions,” are sold or rented at incredible prices.

Statistics show that even high-school students feel one should be able to get rich without working hard. Cheating and shadowy business practices are acceptable means of income. In fact, the number of victims of false financial investments is rising, which shows how people are attracted by the promise of making quick money.

When the joy of hard work is replaced by slavery to materialism, one's perspective changes totally. Then, being rich is defined by what you own—what kind of home you have, your car, clothing—rather than your kindness, integrity, wisdom, and other spiritual qualities. Even intelligence can be seen in material terms, as the ability to outsmart people, instead of uplifting them.

Driven by materialism, hard work becomes a means to increase one’s supply of personal possessions, rather than a way to help others or provide spiritual satisfaction. And to be materially poor suggests one lacks the energy or commitment to acquire more things. In Japan, poor people are often referred to as shikatanai, meaning “can’t help it,” the argument being that they can’t succeed due to indifference or lack of effort. To be poor is to be seen by many as lacking talent.

But materialism isn't just about buying things. It also includes discrimination, greed, and dishonesty, and these attitudes gradually become our taskmasters.

As a witness to the transformation of the United States in the 19th century, Mary Baker Eddy gave spiritual insight to the need for the emancipation from slavery to materialism in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “Legally to abolish unpaid servitude in the United States was hard; but the abolition of mental slavery is a more difficult task. . . Men and women of all climes and races are still in bondage to material sense, ignorant how to obtain their freedom.”

Jesus devoted his life to showing people how God’s love would liberate them from that material sense of life. He freed them from sickness and from the sins that would prevent them from achieving their full potential as God's spiritual ideas. Through his ministry, he presented the Christ, the spiritual idea of God, which is ever-present and speaks to human consciousness in all lands and nations.

All people have access to this Christ, which reveals God’s goodness and each individual’s unity with Him. This recognition of God’s love can melt the stubborn tendency to cling to materialism and reveal an abundant well of ideas that never dries up and is never unloving.

In Japan, I see small signs that my fellow citizens are waking up to the fact that abundance is not about material wealth but spiritual affluence. Bookstores now carry more books about living a more soul-full life, with dignity and creativity. People are moving away from metropolitan areas, discovering creative ways to work while they live in the countryside. There is also rising interest in traditional Japanese culture, where spiritual quality was evident.

Hard work does not have to be a slave to materialism but can be a means to cultivate this spiritual affluence by helping us to depend more on God for strength, intelligence, foresight, and direction. The Christ, defined in Christian Science as “the true idea, voicing good . . .” can and will lead all of us in this more spiritual direction, if we are willing to follow it.

Gaining spiritual affluence instead of material things, and understanding that spirituality is the real substance of life, leads us to a much more dependable source of happiness. Mary Baker Eddy explained this source as God, the divine Mind of the universe.

Through her life she showed that an understanding of God is the key to our health, creativity, and the progress of humanity. She defined the healing works of Jesus as a teachable and learnable system that promotes spiritual thinking to combat materialism. She differentiated between mortal mind, which loves materialism, and the immortal, divine Mind, which roots out the byproducts of materialism, such as discrimination, greed, and dishonesty.

To be free from poverty, as one recognizes and corrects any injustice and limitation, is everyone’s birthright. We claim this birthright as we become more aware that each of us is spiritual, inseparable from our creator, and united with each other in God’s love.

Mrs. Eddy put it this way: “God has built a higher platform of human rights, and He has built it on diviner claims. These claims are not made through code or creed, but in demonstration of 'on earth peace, good-will toward men.'”

As self-centered thinking yields to selfless giving, affluence takes on a more spiritual character and we discover it in the abundant warehouse of our loving creator. Jesus made this very clear in his healing work, which so powerfully exhibited unconditional Love, the Giver of good and not evil.

He taught his disciples and others that everyone reflects this Love, or divine Principle. This kind of unselfish love brings healing into our lives. It meets our every need, including the desire to be free from materialism with its inherent slavery and limitations.

In Science and Health Mrs. Eddy declared, “Citizens of the world, accept the ‘glorious liberty of the children of God,’ and be free!” Each of us reflects the perfection of God as our attitudes toward those in need reflect more love, a more spiritual understanding of brotherhood, and unity.

And people in Japan and around the world will surely become richer as they awake to their divine identity, looking more into spiritual gain through meaningful work that blesses themselves, their global neighbors, and the environment. There is so much more for us to come together for than for us to be separated either by financial or racial differences. The Science of Christ gives a solid foundation for us to celebrate the real abundance of Spirit.

Spiritual abundance:

Science and Health
225:23-31  
332:9-11 Christ  
226:14-17  
227:24-25 (to This)

King James Bible
John 15:17  
Luke 12:15