Short answer: Materialism can keep Christians from pursuing God when possessions, money, comfort, status, or the fear of losing them begin to command the heart. In Chapter 2 of The Pursuit of God, Tozer’s concern is deeper than the amount a person owns. He focuses on the inward tyranny of possessiveness—the instinct that says “my” and “mine” and then treats God’s gifts as if they were our security or identity.
Chapter 2 is about possession of the heart
The chapter is titled “The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing.” Tozer uses Abraham and Isaac to explore surrender: the issue is whether a gift of God has become so central that the heart cannot release it back to the Giver. The original chapter can be checked in the 1948 Project Gutenberg text.
That is why a materialism article should not reduce Tozer’s teaching to “Christians should own fewer things.” A person may own little and still be ruled by envy, comparison, or fear. Another person may have significant resources and hold them with gratitude, generosity, and a willingness to obey God.
What materialism does to spiritual hunger
It teaches the heart to look to things for security
Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6:19–24 places treasure and the heart in the same discussion and warns that a person cannot serve both God and money. Materialism becomes spiritually dangerous when wealth stops being a tool and begins functioning as a master.
It turns wants into necessities
The more identity is attached to lifestyle, upgrades, appearance, or social comparison, the harder it becomes to imagine obedience that might cost comfort. Pursuing God then becomes something fitted around consumption rather than the organizing center of life.
It makes loss feel like loss of self
Tozer’s Chapter 2 presses precisely here. If a possession, position, account balance, collection, house, or plan is carrying more of our identity than we realize, the thought of surrender can feel like personal diminishment. That reaction is worth examining.
This is not a command to despise material things
Scripture does not teach that creation is evil or that every Christian must have the same income, home, or possessions. First Timothy 6:17–19 addresses believers who are rich and calls them away from arrogance and uncertain riches toward hope in God, generosity, and readiness to share. The problem is not that food, homes, tools, savings, or beautiful objects exist. The problem is trusting, hoarding, boasting, envying, or refusing obedience because of them.
Five questions that expose possessiveness
- What loss am I most afraid of? Fear can reveal where security has migrated from God to a gift.
- What purchase or lifestyle change do I keep believing will finally make me content?
- Where does comparison drive my spending? Notice the difference between meeting a real need and managing an image.
- What am I unwilling to share? Generosity often reveals whether we see possessions as entrusted gifts or absolute personal rights.
- Would I obey a clear biblical responsibility if it cost me comfort, status, or money? The question is not hypothetical perfection; it is whether possessions have veto power over obedience.
A practical way to respond without performing poverty
Avoid dramatic gestures made only to feel spiritual. Instead, choose one concrete practice for thirty days:
- Pause nonessential purchases for a defined period and notice what desires surface.
- Give intentionally to a genuine need or ministry rather than only giving what is effortless.
- Choose one possession you rarely use and give it freely to someone who can use it.
- Review recurring expenses and identify one that mainly serves image or comparison.
- Practice daily thanksgiving for what you already have before asking for something more.
The point is not to earn God’s approval through austerity. The point is to expose which desires have become masters and to practice receiving possessions as gifts rather than as identity.
What surrender looks like
Biblical surrender does not mean carelessness. Providing for responsibilities, planning wisely, and stewarding resources can all be faithful. Surrender means that God retains the right to direct what He has entrusted to us. We are not trying to become people who own nothing in a literal sense; we are learning not to be owned by what we possess.
From possession to presence
Tozer’s challenge in Chapter 2 belongs squarely in Pathway 1 because it explains a major theme of the book. The next pathway asks a broader question: what does it mean to live continually dependent on and connected to Christ? If the diagnosis of materialism reveals how easily the heart attaches itself to gifts, continue into Kingdom Pathway 2 — Abide in Me to explore the positive center—remaining in Christ Himself.
A deeper study option
The expanded study edition includes reflection and application material that can help readers slow down over Chapter 2 rather than merely admire its language. View the modern study guide on Amazon.