Some Christians are impressed when clergy or other Christians drive expensive cars, as they are apparently blessed by God. Others don't like it, saying that it's a bad example for someone serving God. As an atheist I don't believe anyone is really serving God, though sometimes people do serve others with their actions.
Some people don't care what others are driving, others are envious of their apparent wealth, and some say that people who drive fancy cars are all jerks (I knew one guy who said that, until he got a shiny new car!).
While attending a special church function last year (a family member was helping and I felt I had to come), I found myself surveying a parking lot full of shiny, attractive cars, most of them used but only a few years old, and in the higher middle range price-wise; and my mother's one white Honda that's about twenty years old. The more expensive the model, it seemed, the more conservative the owner's beliefs. I found it strange that the car from the early nineties with peeling paint brought an atheist and a Christian with more liberal beliefs; some people say that the things of the world pull one away from God.
When I was a Christian, I was influenced a lot by the writings of K.P. Yohannan, founder of the missionary organization Gospel For Asia. I was amazed at the revelation of just how rich modern westerners really were. I read about his first time in America, the immense culture shock, his surprise at everyday conveniences like running water and the modern highway system. Then I looked around at all of the "stuff" I had and I felt guilty and disgusted.
A few years back, I had a job where I made more spending money than I had ever made before. Though most would not consider what I made very much, my expenses were low and it was quite a bit by my standards. But after a while, I was unhappy. Since making and spending money was my main preoccupation, I felt bored, depressed, like I had no dimension to my life. Though the money itself didn't cause it, I was stuck in a rut.
Then about a year ago I lost that job and had to take another with much lower pay. It was perhaps what I needed. I began to write again. I started planning my future career. I focused on enjoying the things I had, and saying no to some of my shopping impulses. Now I feel like my old self again, before the money took over my life, only it seems like there's more to me now. I have learned a valuable lesson and am more of myself now.
Because I was stuck in my habits, the best thing for me was losing income. I couldn't afford to buy worthless things, only things that truly made me happy.
I learned more about myself, and I think also about human nature.
And as I surveyed the expensive late-model cars parked all around me, I wondered if such status symbols made their owners truly happy. I sincerely hoped so. But I couldn't bring myself to believe that they did.
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