We commonly say “too much of anything isn’t good for you” and that is true. The goal with everything we do, have or consume is always to do so in moderation. Not too much, not too little, just enough is what we aim for. I believe that is why Jesus taught us to pray “give us today our daily bread” which is “just enough” for the day. Ironically, I discovered this past week that Jesus was not the first one to pray for his daily bread when I read about Agur who prayed the same centuries ago (Proverbs 30:8). To be fair, the idea of being given what was needed for the day was not knew if we only recall how God provided manna for the Israelites on a daily basis not allowing them to take more than what was needed. The point is, we only need what is enough. What we are allowed to never have enough of is God and nothing else. One of the reasons the sinful nature is at odds with the spirit is that the former wants to be intoxicated with other things, desires that please only the flesh while the latter wants to be intoxicated by God alone. The two indeed can never be aligned because fundamentally, they look for different things. Such is the case with greed. There are many sinful habits the bible warns us of and greed is one of them. In our walk of sanctification, we are pruned daily by the word of God (if we allow it to prune us) in order that we might give glory to our Father. Today, I would like to look at greed, specifically what the bible says about it and the reason it is detrimental to our faith. But first, let’s define it.
Greed, as plainly described by Merriam-Webster dictionary is a “selfish and excessive desire for more of something (such as money) than is needed”. Oxford says it is an “intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or food”. In both of those definitions, the words “selfish desire” and “excessive/intense” are repeated. I must say, most scenarios of greed I have seen or read about were for the most part related to money or wealth not so much with food. So, I was humbled when I read the Oxford definition that would include food as part of what greed is. From its definition alone, it is clear to anyone who has ever come to meet the God of the bible that such a quality is not welcomed in the kingdom of God. Indeed, this is a quality that is completely opposed to everything that God stands for. He gave us His son for our own good, to restore a relationship that was broken because of our sin. His son selflessly died on the cross on our behalf, endured the punishment and wrath of God we deserved, humbled himself for our sake so that we might have life and have it abundantly. There was no selfishness in what God did because unlike us, God did not and does not need anyone to be. He just is! He is self-sufficient, He is omnipotent and omniscient. One of my favourite verses in the bible has to be in the book of Colossians where it talks about the supremacy of Jesus. It says “He is before all things and in Him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:17).
When Jesus was on the earth, he preached a sermon on greed following an encounter with someone from the crowd. Not much is told about who the “someone” was except his question to Jesus. He asked Jesus to “tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me” (Luke 12:13). Jesus’ reply to this is very straight to the point “man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” So, just like that Jesus dismisses this man’s case or request and instead goes on to use that exchange to teach an important lesson on greed. This tells me that one of the reason Jesus dismissed the case is because he saw the man’s greediness in the request. Since not much is known about the man except his request, the fact that he asked for the inheritance to be settled most likely means he was not a firstborn because firstborn often had a double portion of the inheritance (Deuteronomy 21:15-17). But these are just my speculations, the point here is that Jesus saw greed in the man through his request. Funny how what you ask can reveal so much about who you are! Jesus goes on and gives a warning and a teaching at the same time. He says: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). When I read that this week, what caught my attention was the word translated as greed in the French version I was reading. It was literally “the desire to possess”! In fact, the translation said something to the effect of “be on your guard against any desire to possess in any form”. This simply reminded me of the fact that we are not in this world to live like people of the world. We have to be different. Jesus, in telling us to be on our guard against greed of all kinds is essentially telling us to remain free and not be entangled in a relationship that will keep us slaves. It is to freedom we have been called. It is for freedom we have been set free (Galatians 5:1). Jesus already secured our freedom in himself so we are no longer slaves to sin but we are slaves to righteousness! The desire to possess anything to that extent is a form of slavery because the thing we desire to possess is the thing that ends up possessing us. Like Jesus said, a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. What we have or don’t have does not make us, it does not define us. As a matter of fact, God does not see our possessions when He looks at us. He loved us while we were still sinners so even if we had a plethora of things, even if we had the most, that would still not have been enough for us to pay the price that was needed for our sins. Jesus is reorienting our minds to what is important, he is helping us think like the new creatures that we are now in Christ, people of the Spirit. Indeed, in this command to watch out and be on our guard, it is implied that it will be done regularly. Just as we are told to watch out for the coming of the Lord and always be ready, it is with the same vehemence that we ought to fight greed. Thankfully, we are not left to ourselves, we have the assistance of the Holy Spirit who is there to reveal our sinful motives to us, point us in the right direction and offer guidance. Indeed, the Holy Spirit causes us to meet people who will challenge us, he speaks to us through the word of God and through men. The only expectation is to obey and receive the challenge as the Psalmist says “Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it.” (Psalm 141:5).
It is never easy to sit under rebuke but it is indeed an act of kindness. I have heard a pastor say “kill sin or it will kill you” or “make war with sin”. This is the sentiment we must all have when it comes to sin and the ferocity with which we must embrace our new life in Christ. The more we get closer to the Father the more we realize how sinful we are and how easy it is to fall back into the things He has rescued us from when we do not rely on Him. My prayer is that, you constantly be in the habit of checking your motives, goals and ambitions, detecting any signs of selfish desire for more than what you need whether it is in food, clothing, money, influence, relationships, power, you name it. Be humble and “let the words of Christ dwell in you richly… and whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:16, 17). If you are able to thank God for your desires, your goals, your ambitions, and the like, you are in a good place. Do it and do it continuously. May the God of grace give you the grace you need to watch against all kinds of greed. Amen!
A Word Aptly Spoken 