Greed is a strong and selfish desire to have more of something, most often money or power. Too often, greed becomes a detriment and danger when schemes and trickery are used for gains. Jesus warns us to, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist of abundance of his possessions.” Luke 12:15
If you care to witness the ugly side of an individual or organization, allow greed to penetrate the hearts and minds of people. It is true that many people are never satisfied with the wealth and gains made in life. The more we have, the more we desire. It just seems as if we are never satisfied with having enough. Most of us, I would think, have heard the aphorism, “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.” We are living in a time when greed has spread like cancer and it seems as if this has become a dog-eat-dog world.
One of the greatest tragedies in pastoring, for me, has been the aftereffects of the death of a loved one. If there are assets left and available, and the deceased did not leave matters in order, there is going to be a fight over who gets the inheritance. Too often, one family member will feel they are entitled to more than the others because of their own perceptions or reasons. Greed can cause a family to split and go their separate ways, so much so that they never speak to each other again. It happens too often and it can be painful and disgraceful that greed can cause such destruction and ruthlessness.
Greed has had a tremendous destructive impact on society, especially since the Pandemic. Wars are being fought because of greed. Throughout history, it is recorded that one nation would increase its wealth or property by invading another nation and taking possessions by force.
I once heard a story about a young man who had a job offer in another section of the country, but he had to make a decision to accept the $200,000 new job offer or leave his wife behind. His wife was content and satisfied with living the slow country life and she did not wish to move. He chose the $200,000 job and left his wife behind. Now that can be classified as greed or maybe he just wanted to get away from his wife.
I have also been privy to situations where family members wait patiently with great anticipation for the demise of a love one so they may receive the insurance or inheritance. It is a scene like vultures waiting to attack a deceased animal. There have been situations where family members have been waiting and hoping, but they end up dying before the love one. May we be cautious as to how we deal with matters of this nature.
Let’s make sure we do not get confused about greed. Just because a person wants to make a large amount of money does not classify the person as being greedy. Some people just enjoy their work and the money becomes secondary. It is the love of money that is the destroyer of good.
One of the mistakes we parents make is giving our children everything they want. There are some children who are creative and can be happy with simple, inexpensive games and toys. Just maybe, if we taught our children to be frugal, it would deter them from catching the greed fever.
Greed and a desire for riches are traps for destruction and ruin. “We have been taught that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil,” and Christians are taught to not put their trust in wealth” (1 Timothy 6:9-10). May we be reminded that it is the love of money that becomes a sin. Jesus even said it was difficult for rich people to enter the kingdom of God.
Greed can cause us to never be satisfied with enough. The more we get, the more we want. We may set a goal of making a million dollars in a life time, but once we acquire the million, we then seek to gain another million.
If we ever reach a point in life when nothing really matters but spending money on only ourselves and our family, just maybe greed is settling in.
The reason I write this message is because of a young lady who shared her story recently about how her family relationships had been destroyed by greed. She was heartbroken and in despair because greed had stolen the joy and peace the family once had with each other.
May we guard our hearts against greed in in every way, for it can cause so much unnecessary pain and agony. When we die, we cannot take any of our material possession with us.
Just my thoughts!
Robert Earl Slade, Pastor
