1 Know Who You Are

One of the most subtle and dangerous aspects of materialism is the false identity it can give us. When we think of ourselves in terms of our stuff—whether it's our clothes, our toys, or our money—we paint a pale and shrunken picture of ourselves.

In addition, our sense of self-worth suffers under the constant onslaught of advertising messages that try to sell us an image of who we ought to be based on what we ought to buy. Some research suggests that such advertising has negative effects on self-esteem, relationships, creativity, and overall happiness.1 To get teens to buy their products, some companies use cunning advertising techniques targeting the greatest teenage insecurities—fitting in, being "cool," body image, and so on. By doing so, they distort true identity and hijack our natural development of self-image and personality.

As children of our Heavenly Father, we have a divine identity and potential, but Satan wants us to forget this fact. When we doubt our divine nature and lose confidence in ourselves, we are more prone to fill the void with worldly things—with the outward trappings of coolness, prosperity, abundance, pleasure, or acceptance.

But the Savior reminds us, "A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth" (Luke 12:15). In our hearts we know it's true, but it's easy to lose sight of. Prayer, scripture study, and other spiritual experiences help give us sublime reminders that we are much greater than the sum of our stuff.