Material and Immaterial

Why is it that almost without exception that material wealth causes people to walk away from God?

"Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers.
Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.
Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you."
Deut.8:1-3

The Lord knows the hearts of the children of Israel, so He warned them, told them, warned them of the consequences, and the disasters that would befall them if they turned away from Him, and became a wicked, idolatrous, adulterous people. But slowly and surely there was a slow fading away, one decision leading to another, one day a bit colder, and a bit farther away from the Lord. They willfully exchanged worshipping God and communing with Him for created things, Paul said, "exchanging the glory of God for a lie..."
We live in a material world, in a wicked and adulterous generation. Many, even those who profess Jesus and call themselves "Christians", have embraced mammon worship, the love of created things, entertainment as a lifestyle, as in the days of a declining Israel, or the times of Rome on the verge of being sacked by the Visigoths, and totally unaware of the Lord's warnings to His children.

"Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and revering him.
For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.
When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.
Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day.
Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you.
You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.”
But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.
If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed."
Deuteronomy 8:4-19

Beloved, let us make sure, guard, protect, and nurture our relationship with the One who has given us everything, including eternal life. If you have grown cold, or worse- lukewarm- return to Him, draw near to Him, He is waiting for you, for us, to repent and "come home". Cast off the sins that so, so easily ensnare us and trip us up, trash every idol, everything that is immaterial, that will rust and decay.
Choose life.