Materialism, individualism and the decline of social coherence in society

Romans 12:2

2 Don't be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him.

The culture of materialism is based on the positive meaning given to the accumulation and hoarding of worldly goods primarily for the benefit of oneself and one’s immediate family. It goes hand-in-hand with hedonistic individualism, the quest for personal pleasure and immediate gratification. Materialism is wrongly considered a sign of prestige and living the good life as it in fact demonstrates a very wrong way of life and a mindset which is diametrically opposed to the mind of Christ who He shared his wealth with others and freely opened his home for them. This mindset is also detrimental for society as it leads to an ever widening gap between the have’s and have-not's, leading to suffering, oppression, resentment, anger and social unrest. Left unchecked and uncorrected it will eventually destroy the very fabric of our societies leading to chaos and violence. The values of materialism are simply unable to provide the social cohesion necessary for a stable society.