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greed! examining the difference between greed and need.
Greed
Leo Tolstoy once wrote a story about a successful peasant farmer who was not satisfied with his lot. He wanted more of everything. One day he received a novel offer. For 1000 rubles, he could buy all the land he could walk around in a day. The only catch in the deal was that he had to be back at his starting point by sundown.
Early the next morning he started out walking at a fast pace. By midday he was very tired, but he kept going, covering more and more ground. Well into the afternoon he realized that his greed had taken him far from the starting point. He quickened his pace and as the sun began to sink low in the sky, he began to run; knowing that if he did not make it back by sundown the opportunity to become an even bigger landholder would be lost.
As the sun began to sink below the horizon he came within sight of the finish line. Gasping for breath, his heart pounding, he called upon every bit of strength left in his body and staggered across the line just before the sun disappeared. He immediately collapsed, blood streaming from his mouth. In a few minutes he was dead. Afterwards, his servants dug a grave. It was not much over six feet long and three feet wide. The title of Tolstoy's story was: How Much Land Does a Man Need?
Greed is the logical result of the belief that there is no life after death.
It is the desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the realm of the spiritual. Its an excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth. Consider the following anecdote.
The crime boss and his attorney meet with his accountant.
"Where's the $3 million you embezzled from me?" Demands the gangster.
The accountant is silent.
"Where's my $3 million?" the crime boss shouts. The lawyer explains, "Sir, the man is deaf. Allow me to translate."
So using sign language, the attorney asks the accountant about the money, and the message is relayed back that the accountant knows nothing about it. Furious, the crime boss pulls out a revolver and puts it to
the deaf accountant's head, screaming at the lawyer, "Ask him again where my money is!"
"Okay!Okay!" the deaf accountant sighs back.
"The money's hidden behind the old tool shed in my back yard."
"What did he say?" demands the enraged crime boss.
The attorney replies, "He says you don't have the guts to pull the trigger."
Perhaps the way to sum it up is that greed is a sin and all sin is against God inasmuch as a person condemns the eternal, for the sake of the temporal.
Greed, like gluttony, always has a certain material image attached to it (money and food respectively). Greed is actually at the heart of other deadly sins that we have and have not yet looked at. For instance, greed for sex is lust. Greed for food is gluttony. Greed of power or status or position is pride.
Greed is more then wanting more money, it is about wanting what the flesh wants and wanting more of it.
Luke 12:15-21
Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
Jesus said all kinds of greed. We will look at forms of greed that are not
usually associated with the word greed.
You may have heard the story of two friends who met for dinner in a restaurant. Each requested filet of sole, and after a few minutes the waiter came back with their order. Two pieces of fish, a large and a small, were on the same platter. One of the men proceeded to serve his friend. Placing the small piece on a plate, he handed it across the table. "Well, you certainly do have nerve!" exclaimed his friend.
"What's troubling you?" asked the other. "Look what you've done," he answered. "You've given me the little piece and kept the big one for yourself." "How would you have done it?" the man asked. His friend replied, "If I were serving, I would have given you the big piece." "Well," replied the man, "I've got it, haven't I?" At this, they both laughed.
It goes to show you that we are a generous people…on our own terms. Which, by the way, in and of itself, is also greed. But like the others 7 deadly sins, just telling you “bad dog” is not teaching you anything.
The 10th commandment has greed at its roots fertilizing its desires. Anyone know the 10th commandment? Its "Do not covet!"
Greed is a deadly sin because it consumes. Anything that consumes you; controls you. Anything that controls you; owns you. And anything that owns you, masters you.
1 Corinthians 6:12
"Everything is permissible for me"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"--but I will not be mastered by anything.
2 Peter 2:19
They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.
Greed killed our Savior (Judas Iscariot); sort of…I mean Jesus went to the
cross according to His sovereign timing, but greedy people are easily prone to immorality, compromise and bribes…
Proverbs 15:27
A greedy man brings trouble to his family,
but he who hates bribes will live.
Take a minute to read 2 Kings 7:3-9—you didn’t read it did you? Well, the lesson of that scripture is summed up in the following statement…
***When there is an excess beyond your need, keeping it all is surely greed.***
Greed gets us in four ways. We claim it is necessary—(I can make myself believe that an automatic litter box cleaner is necessary which wouldn’t be so bad if I actually owned a cat.) We convince ourselves it is useful—(seriously, are any “as seen on TV” products really that useful?)
Maybe you do not feel like a greedy person. You’re giving, you’re generous, you’re not stingy, but again if your idea of greed is directly connected to money alone, you may be suffering from greed in other area’s…Lets look at the 4 ways greed slips in.
1) When we withhold any talent. I love the quote Mel Gibson used in the movie “We Were Soldiers” (yeah, I know its rated R). Speaking to his new recruits he barks, “You learn the job of the guy above you and teach your job to the guy under you”. Your ability to ________, is not for you alone.
2) In our love and charity for another person. I knew a woman who openly and admittedly was generous to her daughter just so she would take care of her in old age. This of course applies to love, giving, charity, service etc.
3) When adoration and gratitude are corrupt. Gratitude is merely the secret hope of further favors. I know this is going to blow some of you women away, and guys sorry for letting out the fraternal secret of males worldwide, but ladies, sometimes our compliments have hidden selfish motives.
4) When we do not evangelize. Have you heard of the “us four and no more” mentality among Christians? Many admit they do not want their little church to grow. What is that!?!? Jesus said “GO”. Around these parts, there are a lot of “churches” that are basically just weekly family gatherings.
Maybe your saying, wow I never realized these things were greed. Now your mind starts wondering…is what I did then greed? Is wanting this or that greed?
Let me try to balance the subtlety of sin we just looked at with what may be perceived as greed but is not…
Greed is not…
1) Wanting more for the sake of another.
I am a hard worker. I remember asking my boss to give me as many hours as possible to wit he replied, “you’re greedy huh?” I was offended! I merely wanted to make more money to buy my wife things (written here in case she reads this). Truly, It can evolve into greed, but lets say, if I desire a larger share of an inheritance because I knew my sibling would spend it on fun, sun and gun, would it be greed to desire it for ministry?
2) Wanting money.
1Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
The key word in that verse often overlooked is “love”. Money alone is not a sin, neither is merely wanting it. I want money. I want your money, his money, her money, government’s money, I mean, everyone wants money. Wanting money is not a sin. I love the spin Mark Twain put on that scripture…“the lack of money is the root of all kinds of evil.”
The first and greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and body. If the love of money is above this, it is a sin; a terrible sin.
3) Hoarding, saving or accumulating for preservation. When we lived in Florida, we had our share of hurricanes. My wife could not understand why we had so many gas cans in the garage. Who do you think was the first person she thanked for having enough gas to run our generator when the power went out in July? Remember the story of Joseph? He saved and horded and as a result saved Israel from starvation.
One of the weaknesses of our age is our inability to distinguish our need from our greed.
I read a story about how they catch monkeys in the wild. Monkeys are attracted to shiny objects. So trappers put shiny things inside a large glass container with a narrow neck. The monkey reaches his arm in and grabs the item. Not wanting to let it go, the resulting fist that is made from grabbing the item, keeps the monkey from being able to get its hand free from the glass container. The trapper merely walks up and catches it.
The moral of the story…don’t be a monkey!!
The cardinal virtue to combat Greed is Justice.
Justice
From the Latin "iustus" which means, "right, equitable". It is the ideal, morally correct state of persons and things. The concept of Justice is and has been particularly vague. It sometimes means a code of fairness or simply a state of harmony with nature or society. Simply put, it means balance. Re: scales of justice. Sometimes called liberality, Generosity.
A classic Old Testament example is the Manna God provided. Every time the Israelites tried to save some for the next day, it spoiled. God said He would provide it daily, but greed said, I must save some for myself.
Justice or generosity is more then money. Time is the need of most people who are hurting. Generosity in the Bible is mostly spoken of as money and sometimes attitude of heart.
2 Corinthians 8:2-4
In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people.
This was not a rich community but they were eager to give of their time and selves. Most know this story…
Mark 12:41-43
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.
The Bible is clear that giving, sharing and generosity is demonstrated more by the poor then the rich.
When I pastored my church we never took up an offering and rarely asked for money. I never preached about the prosperity of God for the sake of gain or the “give to get” mentality. While the Bible teaches about the prosperity and reward of God, that should never be the motive to our giving or sharing.
God does tell us to give and God does bless the generous, but not greedy giver…
Psalm 112:5
Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely,
who conducts his affairs with justice.
Proverbs 11:24
One man gives freely, yet gains even more;
another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.
Proverbs 22:9
A generous man will himself be blessed,
for he shares his food with the poor.
It is hard to be greedy and generous at the same time. If you struggle with greed, or never want to…then give!
Due to inherit a fortune when his sickly, widowed father died, Charles decided he needed a woman to enjoy it with. Going to a singles bar, he spotted a woman whose beauty took his breath away.
"I'm just an ordinary man", he said to her, "but in just a week or two, my father will die and I'll inherit 20 million dollars."
The woman went home with Charles, and in a few days she became his.........stepmother.
Men never learn.
In conclusion…passion and desire and sensual promptings are our makeup. Our creator designed us to respond to them. So, the answer to our victory in these areas’s we have been studying is not the annihilation of the passion but the control of them…
Anyone who seeks to destroy the passions instead of controlling them is trying to play the angel.
Voltaire
The greedy land owner in our opening story found out that six feet by three feet was enough land.
Before John Wesley became the founder of the Methodist Church he was a teacher at Oxford University back in the 1700's. When he began his career he was paid 30 pounds per year - in those days a lot of money. His living expenses were 28 pounds - so he gave 2 pounds away. The next year his income doubled - but he still managed to live on 28 pounds - so he gave away 32 pounds. The third year he earned 90 pounds - lived on 28 - and gave away 62. The fourth year he earned 120 pounds - lived on 28 - and gave away 92. One year his income was a little over 1,400 pounds - he lived on 30 and gave away nearly all of the 1,400 pounds. Wesley felt that with increasing income, what should rise is not the Christian's standard of living but the standard of giving. Increasing our standard of giving. What a great Christian man and what a great lesson he taught us.
The only difference between a window and a mirror is silver. One adds costly metal and reflects only self. The other reflects others.
Be Blessed.
Leo Tolstoy once wrote a story about a successful peasant farmer who was not satisfied with his lot. He wanted more of everything. One day he received a novel offer. For 1000 rubles, he could buy all the land he could walk around in a day. The only catch in the deal was that he had to be back at his starting point by sundown.
Early the next morning he started out walking at a fast pace. By midday he was very tired, but he kept going, covering more and more ground. Well into the afternoon he realized that his greed had taken him far from the starting point. He quickened his pace and as the sun began to sink low in the sky, he began to run; knowing that if he did not make it back by sundown the opportunity to become an even bigger landholder would be lost.
As the sun began to sink below the horizon he came within sight of the finish line. Gasping for breath, his heart pounding, he called upon every bit of strength left in his body and staggered across the line just before the sun disappeared. He immediately collapsed, blood streaming from his mouth. In a few minutes he was dead. Afterwards, his servants dug a grave. It was not much over six feet long and three feet wide. The title of Tolstoy's story was: How Much Land Does a Man Need?
Greed is the logical result of the belief that there is no life after death.
It is the desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the realm of the spiritual. Its an excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth. Consider the following anecdote.
The crime boss and his attorney meet with his accountant.
"Where's the $3 million you embezzled from me?" Demands the gangster.
The accountant is silent.
"Where's my $3 million?" the crime boss shouts. The lawyer explains, "Sir, the man is deaf. Allow me to translate."
So using sign language, the attorney asks the accountant about the money, and the message is relayed back that the accountant knows nothing about it. Furious, the crime boss pulls out a revolver and puts it to
the deaf accountant's head, screaming at the lawyer, "Ask him again where my money is!"
"Okay!Okay!" the deaf accountant sighs back.
"The money's hidden behind the old tool shed in my back yard."
"What did he say?" demands the enraged crime boss.
The attorney replies, "He says you don't have the guts to pull the trigger."
Perhaps the way to sum it up is that greed is a sin and all sin is against God inasmuch as a person condemns the eternal, for the sake of the temporal.
Greed, like gluttony, always has a certain material image attached to it (money and food respectively). Greed is actually at the heart of other deadly sins that we have and have not yet looked at. For instance, greed for sex is lust. Greed for food is gluttony. Greed of power or status or position is pride.
Greed is more then wanting more money, it is about wanting what the flesh wants and wanting more of it.
Luke 12:15-21
Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
Jesus said all kinds of greed. We will look at forms of greed that are not
usually associated with the word greed.
You may have heard the story of two friends who met for dinner in a restaurant. Each requested filet of sole, and after a few minutes the waiter came back with their order. Two pieces of fish, a large and a small, were on the same platter. One of the men proceeded to serve his friend. Placing the small piece on a plate, he handed it across the table. "Well, you certainly do have nerve!" exclaimed his friend.
"What's troubling you?" asked the other. "Look what you've done," he answered. "You've given me the little piece and kept the big one for yourself." "How would you have done it?" the man asked. His friend replied, "If I were serving, I would have given you the big piece." "Well," replied the man, "I've got it, haven't I?" At this, they both laughed.
It goes to show you that we are a generous people…on our own terms. Which, by the way, in and of itself, is also greed. But like the others 7 deadly sins, just telling you “bad dog” is not teaching you anything.
The 10th commandment has greed at its roots fertilizing its desires. Anyone know the 10th commandment? Its "Do not covet!"
Greed is a deadly sin because it consumes. Anything that consumes you; controls you. Anything that controls you; owns you. And anything that owns you, masters you.
1 Corinthians 6:12
"Everything is permissible for me"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"--but I will not be mastered by anything.
2 Peter 2:19
They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.
Greed killed our Savior (Judas Iscariot); sort of…I mean Jesus went to the
cross according to His sovereign timing, but greedy people are easily prone to immorality, compromise and bribes…
Proverbs 15:27
A greedy man brings trouble to his family,
but he who hates bribes will live.
Take a minute to read 2 Kings 7:3-9—you didn’t read it did you? Well, the lesson of that scripture is summed up in the following statement…
***When there is an excess beyond your need, keeping it all is surely greed.***
Greed gets us in four ways. We claim it is necessary—(I can make myself believe that an automatic litter box cleaner is necessary which wouldn’t be so bad if I actually owned a cat.) We convince ourselves it is useful—(seriously, are any “as seen on TV” products really that useful?)
Maybe you do not feel like a greedy person. You’re giving, you’re generous, you’re not stingy, but again if your idea of greed is directly connected to money alone, you may be suffering from greed in other area’s…Lets look at the 4 ways greed slips in.
1) When we withhold any talent. I love the quote Mel Gibson used in the movie “We Were Soldiers” (yeah, I know its rated R). Speaking to his new recruits he barks, “You learn the job of the guy above you and teach your job to the guy under you”. Your ability to ________, is not for you alone.
2) In our love and charity for another person. I knew a woman who openly and admittedly was generous to her daughter just so she would take care of her in old age. This of course applies to love, giving, charity, service etc.
3) When adoration and gratitude are corrupt. Gratitude is merely the secret hope of further favors. I know this is going to blow some of you women away, and guys sorry for letting out the fraternal secret of males worldwide, but ladies, sometimes our compliments have hidden selfish motives.
4) When we do not evangelize. Have you heard of the “us four and no more” mentality among Christians? Many admit they do not want their little church to grow. What is that!?!? Jesus said “GO”. Around these parts, there are a lot of “churches” that are basically just weekly family gatherings.
Maybe your saying, wow I never realized these things were greed. Now your mind starts wondering…is what I did then greed? Is wanting this or that greed?
Let me try to balance the subtlety of sin we just looked at with what may be perceived as greed but is not…
Greed is not…
1) Wanting more for the sake of another.
I am a hard worker. I remember asking my boss to give me as many hours as possible to wit he replied, “you’re greedy huh?” I was offended! I merely wanted to make more money to buy my wife things (written here in case she reads this). Truly, It can evolve into greed, but lets say, if I desire a larger share of an inheritance because I knew my sibling would spend it on fun, sun and gun, would it be greed to desire it for ministry?
2) Wanting money.
1Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
The key word in that verse often overlooked is “love”. Money alone is not a sin, neither is merely wanting it. I want money. I want your money, his money, her money, government’s money, I mean, everyone wants money. Wanting money is not a sin. I love the spin Mark Twain put on that scripture…“the lack of money is the root of all kinds of evil.”
The first and greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and body. If the love of money is above this, it is a sin; a terrible sin.
3) Hoarding, saving or accumulating for preservation. When we lived in Florida, we had our share of hurricanes. My wife could not understand why we had so many gas cans in the garage. Who do you think was the first person she thanked for having enough gas to run our generator when the power went out in July? Remember the story of Joseph? He saved and horded and as a result saved Israel from starvation.
One of the weaknesses of our age is our inability to distinguish our need from our greed.
I read a story about how they catch monkeys in the wild. Monkeys are attracted to shiny objects. So trappers put shiny things inside a large glass container with a narrow neck. The monkey reaches his arm in and grabs the item. Not wanting to let it go, the resulting fist that is made from grabbing the item, keeps the monkey from being able to get its hand free from the glass container. The trapper merely walks up and catches it.
The moral of the story…don’t be a monkey!!
The cardinal virtue to combat Greed is Justice.
Justice
From the Latin "iustus" which means, "right, equitable". It is the ideal, morally correct state of persons and things. The concept of Justice is and has been particularly vague. It sometimes means a code of fairness or simply a state of harmony with nature or society. Simply put, it means balance. Re: scales of justice. Sometimes called liberality, Generosity.
A classic Old Testament example is the Manna God provided. Every time the Israelites tried to save some for the next day, it spoiled. God said He would provide it daily, but greed said, I must save some for myself.
Justice or generosity is more then money. Time is the need of most people who are hurting. Generosity in the Bible is mostly spoken of as money and sometimes attitude of heart.
2 Corinthians 8:2-4
In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people.
This was not a rich community but they were eager to give of their time and selves. Most know this story…
Mark 12:41-43
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.
The Bible is clear that giving, sharing and generosity is demonstrated more by the poor then the rich.
When I pastored my church we never took up an offering and rarely asked for money. I never preached about the prosperity of God for the sake of gain or the “give to get” mentality. While the Bible teaches about the prosperity and reward of God, that should never be the motive to our giving or sharing.
God does tell us to give and God does bless the generous, but not greedy giver…
Psalm 112:5
Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely,
who conducts his affairs with justice.
Proverbs 11:24
One man gives freely, yet gains even more;
another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.
Proverbs 22:9
A generous man will himself be blessed,
for he shares his food with the poor.
It is hard to be greedy and generous at the same time. If you struggle with greed, or never want to…then give!
Due to inherit a fortune when his sickly, widowed father died, Charles decided he needed a woman to enjoy it with. Going to a singles bar, he spotted a woman whose beauty took his breath away.
"I'm just an ordinary man", he said to her, "but in just a week or two, my father will die and I'll inherit 20 million dollars."
The woman went home with Charles, and in a few days she became his.........stepmother.
Men never learn.
In conclusion…passion and desire and sensual promptings are our makeup. Our creator designed us to respond to them. So, the answer to our victory in these areas’s we have been studying is not the annihilation of the passion but the control of them…
Anyone who seeks to destroy the passions instead of controlling them is trying to play the angel.
Voltaire
The greedy land owner in our opening story found out that six feet by three feet was enough land.
Before John Wesley became the founder of the Methodist Church he was a teacher at Oxford University back in the 1700's. When he began his career he was paid 30 pounds per year - in those days a lot of money. His living expenses were 28 pounds - so he gave 2 pounds away. The next year his income doubled - but he still managed to live on 28 pounds - so he gave away 32 pounds. The third year he earned 90 pounds - lived on 28 - and gave away 62. The fourth year he earned 120 pounds - lived on 28 - and gave away 92. One year his income was a little over 1,400 pounds - he lived on 30 and gave away nearly all of the 1,400 pounds. Wesley felt that with increasing income, what should rise is not the Christian's standard of living but the standard of giving. Increasing our standard of giving. What a great Christian man and what a great lesson he taught us.
The only difference between a window and a mirror is silver. One adds costly metal and reflects only self. The other reflects others.
Be Blessed.
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