Greedy or Self Restraint?

Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household

Proverbs 15:27

Russian author Leo Tolstoy tells the story of a rich man who was never satisfied. He always wanted more, more and more. One day this rich man heard of a wonderful chance to get more land. For a thousand rubbles he could have all the territory he could walk around in a day. But he had to make it back to the starting point by sundown or he would lose it all. This wealthy man arose early and set out. He walked on and on, thinking he could get just a little more land if he kept going further and further. But he went so far, he realized he must walk very fast if he were to get back in time to claim the land.

As the sun got lower in the sky, he quickened his pace. Then he began to run. Finally he came within sight of the starting place, so he exerted his last energies, plunged over the finish line, fell to the ground and collapsed. A stream of blood poured out of his mouth, and he lay dead. His servant took a spade and dug a grave.

He made it just long enough and just wide enough and buried the avaricious man. The title of Tolstoy’s story is: “How much land does a man need?” He concluded by saying, “Six feet from his head to his heels was all he needed.”

Greed is defined as a desire to acquire wealth or possessions beyond the needs of an individual. So what do you need? We go through life saying: I need this I need that I have to have those things but in the end what do need? Food, water, clothing, and maybe shelter. Everything else is just a glorified want. Sure there are things that make life easier. There are things that make life seem more enjoyable or more comfortable. But ultimately they are not things that we need.

We have this insatiable desire to have more than we do. When is it enough? Never. There is always something else to buy, always something else to have. It seems that we have let our love for more dictate our actions.

Our consumer culture promotes greed to sell products, a basic principle of marketing. Commercials are designed to make us think, “If I can only have this product, I’ll feel better about myself; I’ll be happy.” Greed is the vice behind every advertisement. We buy more than products; we buy gratification.

Greed, which is recorded in the Bible as one of the seven deadly sins, is sometimes hard to notice in ourselves, but it’s awfully easy to notice in others.

People in the grip of greed aren’t consuming to live; they’re living to consume. Greed consumes people to the point that they’re never satisfied with what they have. Greed tempts us to seek the so-called “good life” apart from God. Having means to provide seems easier than trusting God for security, and can lead us to think we don’t need God.

Covetousness/Greed is God’s final warning in the ten commandments. It ranks equal with murder, adultery, stealing and lying. It deals with our inner motivation, our attitude towards things. We can possess things or be possessed by things. We have so much, and so much has us. Money can buy comfort but not contentment. Greed can make what we possess or hope to attain more important than our relationship to God. Chruch Father St. Augustine says greed becomes “disordered desire”.

The sin of greed is never about money. It is about priorities. It is about allegiance. Greed is what happens when your god is money. When you have turned your allegiance to the things of this world and your desire, focus, and ambition is to accumulate or have them you investment is in ashes. The problem of greed is not that money is evil or that when you have money you are evil. The problem of greed is that comes from bad priorities. Money is not evil. Caring about money more than God is.

The Bible asks 3 basic questions about money: 

1) How did you get it? (legally/justly or exploitatively); 

2) What are you doing with it? (indulging in luxuries or helping the needy); 

3) What is it doing to you?

There’s no sin in being wealthy, but there is a danger: we’re more likely to drift from God when we’re prosperous than when we’re needy. Greed distracts us from what is most important. We should give importance to Who we have rather than what we have. The author of Hebrews directs us, “Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for Christ has said, ‘I will never leave nor forsake you” (13:5).

Dear Friends, are we seeking first the Kingdom of God, or are we focused on getting all we can in this life? We find all we need in Christ. We can miss God’s goodness if we’re looking elsewhere for fulfilment.

This Lenten Season may we try to lessen our greed towards power, position and possession.

God Bless You.