Youth ACHIEVEMENT FOUNDATION

CHARACTER TALK

Materialism

1.   Ask your student if they have heard the expression, “it is better to give than to receive” and ask them what it means.

 2.   Material goods, things, are good and there is nothing wrong with possessing them provided that you use them for good. However, it is also important to understand that we always think we need more than we do, so we need to be careful not to become “slaves” to material goods, instead of owners.

3.   Because they are good and help us to do good, we should take care of the things we possess. Keep them clean and use them for their intended purpose.

4.   Judge people by their character and not by their possessions. No one should ever think that they are better than someone just because they have more belongings. People are always more valuable than things.

5.   Material things are just that – things. They are at best tools, which can help us to do good, and nothing more. They are not persons and can never care for us. Therefore, we should never “love” a material thing.

6.   Ask your student if they can think of some ways a person might demonstrate materialism. Here are some examples:

a)   Thinking one has to have the latest, most expensive clothing fads to be “cool.”

b)   Children complaining because they cannot have something.

c)   Brothers and sisters who will not share their belongings with their younger brother and sisters.

d)   Getting angry or upset because something breaks by accident.