SO, I shall try a very short answer to the question about materialism in Christianity. Please forgive the inevitable errors of spelling and grammar.
There is quite a clear picture of materialism in the New Testament and what our attitude should be. Basically, as a Christian adult, you have a responsibility to provide for yourself and your family, but that has to be balanced against the other teachings. We are to be content with food and clothing (and shelter), and in whatever circumstances that we find ourselves. We are not to seek after wealth but after the Kingdom and pleasing God. We should trust God to provide what we really, really need because he knows what that is before we do.
The attitude of Christianity towards wealth etc. is that we should focus on covering our basic needs not our wants, so that as long as we have what we really NEED, then we should not look for more, because this distracts us fro what is truly important - seeking God and building up treasure in heaven.
18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful Mark4: 18-19, from the parable of the sower.
*13 Someone in the crowd said to him, ?Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.?
14 Jesus replied, ?Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?? 15 Then he said to them, ?Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.?
16 And he told them this parable: ?The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ?What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.?
18 ?Then he said, ?This is what I?ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I?ll say to myself, ?You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.??
20 ?But God said to him, ?You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself??
21 ?This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.?* Luke 12: 13-21 the parable of the rich fool
*22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: ?Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life[b]? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27 ?Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you?you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
32 ?Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.* Luke 12: 22 -24
*5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
?Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.?[a]
6 So we say with confidence,
?The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?* Hebrews 13: 5-6
There is also a positive burden laid on Christians to redistribute their wealth and care for the poor. In the early church, all the believers put all their assets together for the benefit of everyone, so that everyone had sufficient food, clothing etc. There is a very real and vitally important burden put onto Christians to care for the poor. So we should always try to make sure that when we benefit on any way or gain in material wealth that it should not be at the expense of the poor.
Another important aspect of Christian attitude to money is that we believe that God is far more interested in the condition of our heart and what goes on inside us than He is in what we have. The story of the widow's mite shows us that a small gift, given willingly and sacrificially, is worth far more the God than a huge gift which costs the giver nothing.
There are literally dozens and dozens of quotes that I could give about money and possessions in the NT, but it would take all day. I think that Jesus story of the rich young man kind of sums it all up.
*6 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, ?Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life??
17 ?Why do you ask me about what is good?? Jesus replied. ?There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.?
18 ?Which ones?? he enquired.
Jesus replied, ??You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honour your father and mother,?[a] and ?love your neighbour as yourself.?[b]?
20 ?All these I have kept,? the young man said. ?What do I still lack??
21 Jesus answered, ?If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.?
22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.* Matthew19:16-22