A study revealed that 74 percent of Americans value their experiences more than material things.1 More things don’t make them happier, and they’re looking elsewhere.2 People are right in concluding that more things don’t satisfy. What they haven’t discovered yet, however, is that experiences won’t satisfy either.
They do bring people more lasting happiness than purchasing some new item. They do leave indelible, pleasant memories. They do build relationships and community with those who personally share them and those who experience them vicariously on social media. But they can’t provide the purpose and meaning in life only Jesus can give (John 10:10).
There is a problem with being part of this emerging trend, especially for Christians. Such community sharing, and social media in general, is the Enemy’s counterfeit of Christian fellowship.
Our shared experiences become our trendy idols. We value them more than God-centered living based on how much time, money, and energy we spend accumulating them.
Instead of living in remembrance of Jesus and for Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:19–20, 2 Corinthians 5:15, Galatians 2:20), we spend far too much time living for ourselves. We collect experiences and memories like stamps or coins.
The Enemy doesn’t care whether money or experience-gathering distracts us from Jesus-pleasing as long as something does. We claim to be serving Jesus, but our idols rattle behind us as we drag them through life.
Our values shape us like a potter a pot. If the world informs our values, we’re traveling just another winding, meaningless path to nowhere in the darkness of what pleases us. Meanwhile, Jesus has challenged us to be the light of the world. “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden (Matthew 5:14 NLT). Why do we march to the dominion of darkness tunes?
The underlying false and atheistic assumption in this experience-seeking lifestyle is this life is all there is and we need to wring all the pleasure we can out of it. But this life isn’t all there is, and this life isn’t about us.
It’s not about accumulating as many pleasant memories as possible. It’s not what we remember about our lives that ultimately counts. Enough of living like practical atheists!
Jesus told us things didn’t satisfy 2,000 years ago: “Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own” (Luke 12:15 NLT). It’s not measured by how much we experience.
What matters most is what Jesus remembers about how we loved God and others (Matthew 22:37–39) by making more and better disciples (Matthew 28:18–20). And He doesn’t forget anything. “For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body” (2 Corinthians 5:10 NLT). It’s crucial to understand that God is the evaluator. What is your purpose? The purpose of this life is to prepare us and others through us for the next. #freediscipleshipresources #freeevangelismresources #freechristianleadershipresources
See free spiritual growth resources for Christians at https://www.christiangrowthresources.com
God has equipped and empowered me to write His Power for Your Weakness—260 Steps Toward Spiritual Strength. It’s a free devotional, evangelism, and discipleship resource. Pastors have used it in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to lead more than 2,400 people to faith in Christ and teach the basics of Christianity to 3,753 people. I invite you to check it out. https://www.christiangrowthresources.com/his-power-for-your-weakness