Author: Gary Witcher
Company: none

Greed

     Several years ago a couple was participating in a real estate presentation in Florida.  The salesman tried every approach that he knew, but to no avail.  Finally he went to his sure-fire question, "Don't you like to make money?"
     The standard answer to this question is, "Of course, everyone likes to make money."  But, when the couple replied, "No, making money in and of itself doesn't mean anything," the salesman was at a loss of words.
     Modern society tells us that everyone should want to make money.  Not only this, but everyone should want to make MORE money.  Making money is accepted as a goal within itself.
     Now, there is nothing wrong with supporting a family and even having money to spend to things we like to do.  The problem comes when the focus is on making the money and not on how we are going to use it.
     Time was when a person had a job to support the family.  The emphasis was on the family.  But too many people today seem to have a family as an excuse to have a job.  The emphasis is on the career.
     The Bible has a word to describe the attitude of modern society: greed.
     In Luke 12:13-21 we have the story of a man who comes to Jesus because of greed.
     "And someone in the crowd said to Him," the passage recounts, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.
     "But He said to him, 'Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbiter over you?'
     "And He said to them, 'Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.'
     "And He told them a parable, saying, 'The land of a certain rich man was very productive.  And he began reasoning to himself, saying, "What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?"  And he said, "This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.'"
     'But God said to him, "You fool!  This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?"
     'So is the man who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.'"
     In this example, greed obviously refers to money.  But we should point out that greed often involves power, sensuality and even religion.
     The first thing that we must do is recognize greed.  In verse 17 of this parable we notice that the man is worried about his own crops.  In fact, look at the number of times that the words "I" and "me" are used in this story.  The first aspect as greed is selfishness.
     In Joshua chapter seven we have the story of Achan.  God had given orders for the people to not take anything from Jericho.  But Achan was greedy, and he disobeyed God.  As a result, the next attack resulted in defeat for the Jews and death for some of the Jewish soldiers.
     1 Kings 21 tells the story of Ahab, the wicked and childish king of Israel.  He coveted the land of his neighbor Naboth, so he started pouting like a small child.  His wife, the infamous Jezebel, solved the problem by finding two false witnesses who claimed that Naboth had cursed God.  Naboth was stoned, Ahab took the land, and the king's greed had worked its course.
     Even King David was not immune from greed.  In 2 Samuel 11 we find the account of David's greed for the wife of a faithful soldier named Uriah.  David arranged for Uriah to be killed in battle so the king could have the wife.
     In each of these three cases, innocent people died because of the greed of others.  How many people die because of greed in our society today?
     Remember that greed involves many things, including religion.  How many people today want to hold on to religious power so much that they are willing to fight all forces, including the Bible itself?  How many innocent people are dying spiritually because of selfish greed in the religious world?

     Going back to the parable in Luke 12, we notice in verse 18 that the rich man is obsessed with building bigger barns.  Whenever we are obsessed with, or worship, a thing, it is called "idolatry."
     "Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry," Colossians 3:5 warns.
     The idol of Ananias and Sapphira was to be praised as generous givers.  But they didn't want to give up their money.  So, as we read in Acts five, they devised a scheme to sell some property, keep part of the money, and say they had given all of it to the church.
     Simon the magician had another idol.  He wanted to control the people.  He was greedy for power.  According to Acts 8:10, he liked for the people to call him "the Great Power of God."  Even after Simon became a Christian, his idol was so strong that he tried to buy from the apostles Peter and John the ability to give miraculous powers of the Holy Spirit to others.  This way the people would still be dependant upon him.
     Greed is idolatry.
     Returning once more to the parable in Luke 12, we read in verse 19 that the rich man had the attitude that he needed nothing.
     A good example of this attitude is King Solomon.  When Solomon first became king, God offered to give him anything he wanted.  Solomon needed help to be a good leader, so he asked for wisdom to rule the kingdom.  Since he had not been greedy, God also gave him much more, including great wealth.  But, later on in his life,  Solomon did become greedy.  He was greedy for pleasure, including seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines.  Solomon felt that he needed nothing, although he was actually being carried away from God.
     Isn't it odd that the wealthiest people in the world are also among the greediest?  Their attitude of "needing nothing" only causes them to grab for more."
     What, then, is greed?  Greed is selfishness.  Greed is idolatry.  And greed is accompanied by the attitude of needing nothing.  Taking the first letter of these three, we have the reality of greed: selfishness, idolatry and a "needs nothing" attitude add up to "sin."
     Once we realize what greed is in our lives, we still have to do something about it.  The first thing that we must deal with is selfishness.
     2 Corinthians 8:1-5 gives us a good example of a group of unselfish people.  Following their example, we find that we must let go of ourselves.  We must put God, Christ and others before ourselves.
     Ephesians 4:22-32 gives advice on how to deal with our idols.  Things that rule us must be eliminated.  But they must also be replaced by constructive things.  What rules your life?  Whatever it is, it is an idol unless it is the Lord.  Get rid of it, and replace it with the right thing.
     What about a "needs nothing" attitude?  The man in the parable learned too late.  And the rich man in the story of Lazarus recorded in Luke 16 also learned too late that material comfort is not all that important.
     There is a cartoon of two men in heaven.  One is holding onto a fist full of money and is shouting, "I did it!  They said it couldn't be done, but I took it with me!"
     "Great," the other replies.  "Now where are you going to spend it?"
     "Let your way of life be free from the love of money," Hebrews 13:5 states, "being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, 'I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.'"
     Perhaps Solomon caught on to this before it was too late,
     Everything is "vanity and striving after wind," he writes several times in Ecclesiastes.
     "The conclusion, when all has been heard," he sums up in Ecclesiastes 12:13, "is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person."
     Do you want to be free materially and religiously?  Are you telling yourself that you don't need anything spiritually?  Are you willing to follow Solomon's recommendation for happiness and fear God and keep his commandments?
     Reject God and you will remain in the selfish, idolatrous, need-nothing world of greed.  Obey the truth, and it will set you free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission."