The fifth deadly sin is greed. Greed is an inordinate love for money and possessions. Money and possessions are good gifts God gives to us. But greed is when we can’t get enough and the pursuit of possessions consumes us.
There are consequences that come along with greed. Greed desensitizes us to the needs of others around us. God gives us what he gives us so that we can provide for ourselves and our families along with helping others in their time of need. The more we are given, the more responsibility we have to support and care for others.
It is not just others who suffer as a consequence of our greed. There are emotional challenges we will face with our greed. There is never enough and we will always be left wanting more. If you are not content with what you have, you will not be content with more. No matter how much we store up for ourselves, there will always be more. Greed causes us to miss out on the most satisfying things in life. What is more we will miss out on our true calling in life as we pursue worldly wealth.
America is filled with greed. Our capitalistic and consumeristic economy is built on greed. As Americans we are 5% of the worlds population yet we consume 35% of the worlds resources. We see greed all around us and we cannot help but get sucked in by it. Because of the affluence that surrounds many of us, greed easily becomes a blindspot for Americans.
Jesus says we cannot serve two masters. We will be devoted to one and hate the other (Matthew 6:24). Greed will negatively affect our relationship with God. We may give God everything in our life but the last thing we often give over is our checkbooks. Maybe this is the reason Jesus talked about money and possession as much as he talked about anything else. He knew the grip things will get on us. He knew this is a great stumbling block for many.
The virtue that stands in opposition of greed is generosity. We serve a generous God and generosity is born out of a relationship with him (James 1:5, Titus 3:5–6). It is through Jesus we come to know what generosity really is. It is virtually impossible to understand what generosity is without understanding the magnitude of his sacrifice on the cross.
There is a freedom that comes with generosity. We think that we own our money and possessions, but what often happens is our money and possessions own us. They start to control and dictate our lives. We do whatever they dictate to us to hold onto them. Generosity is to say I am not going to allow these things to dictate my life anymore.
At the end of this life we will loose everything we have. We cannot hold onto our “stuff” forever. The choice is how we are going to let go of it. Will we let go of our wealth and our attachment to it in a way that makes a kingdom difference? Or will it be pried away from us, leaving us with regret at how meaningless our life pursuits really were?
The most precious treasure we have is Jesus Christ. He is a treasure that is so precious he is worth giving away everything (Matthew 13:44, Matthew 16:24–26). In Jesus we discover value and a reason to live which far surpasses any other reason this world gives. In the end it is we are not really giving away anything, but gaining everything (Philippians 3:8–9).
Ann says
By coincidence, the 7 th grade language arts class in ,my school is reading Steinbeck’s The Pearl as a read along. The imagery of the corruption greed causes is fighting!
Ann says
I mean frightening!