According to a hadith, the Prophet said: "Remember death much because it demolishes all desires." (Sunan Ibn Majah 4258)
Desires deviate you from the truth and lead you astray. Remembrance of death works as a check on your desires. The more a person remembers death, the more realistic he becomes. The Quran says: "You have been granted but little knowledge." (17:85)

We must understand that in this world we have been given little knowledge and not infinite knowledge. Acceptance of this fact opens the door to acknowledging the prophets. A person seeks total knowledge, while he has been given only partial knowledge. The verse 17:85 tells us that since you have been given partial knowledge, you will have to take help from prophetic knowledge. You are in need of the knowledge given through revelation. This will compensate for your partial knowledge. 
Another point is that the Hadith lays stress on simplicity. (Sunan Abu Dawud 4161) All the prophets and the Sahaba led a simple life. Simplicity is not only about spirituality, rather it is the practically possible way of leading life. This discovery happened after global warming. Earlier people used to think that simplicity is for ascetics. Now we know that simplicity is the only option for all of us. If you try to acquire luxury, the result will be global warming. This will create problems on a global scale. This is why the Prophet said: "There is no joy except the joy of the Hereafter." (Sahih al-Bukhari 2961) If you try to have luxury in this world, it will not work. You will suffer double loss: worldly loss and religious loss. From the religious perspective, luxury is a distraction. From the worldly perspective, luxurious life is not possible due to limited number of resources.