"It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly." -Thoreau
Beware the dangers of greed. It is a gateway sin.
Greed leads to:
Senseless and harmful desires – 1 Timothy 6:9
Departure from the faith – 1 Timothy 6:10
Lying – 2 Kings 5:21-25
Murder – Proverbs 1:10-19
Theft – Joshua 7:20-21
Here is the terrifying one
Greed can lead to renouncing God – Psalm 10:3
Take the time to look up these verses in your bible. Ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate them for you. What is His Word telling you here about greed?
Let’s go deeper still and realize how absurd greed is for a Christian. If we have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and surrendered ourselves to the knowledge that He is Lord as well as Savior, then we must also understand that we are not our own, for we were bought with a price. Test that statement against scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. The context deals with sexual immorality, but the statement is universal in the Christian’s life. We, as Christians belong to God.
Let’s go deeper still. Read Deuteronomy 10:14. It is pointless to be greedy because not only do we belong to God; everything belongs to God. This is a freeing notion. Why be greedy when all the things you want belong to He who owns you?
This can be such a mental/spiritual struggle. I know that I was bought with a price and that everything belongs to God. But I want what I want when I want it! When I can step outside myself that attitude seems obvious and ridiculous. It is amazing how I can try to justify bad behavior. Thank you for this post. Peace, Vanessa
Sometimes I don’t even see the greed within myself. I remember several years ago I had a burned section of my lawn from applying to much fertilizer. My wife told me it was because I was greedy. I had to ask, what in the world made her think my applying to much fertilizer to a certain area, led her to think it was because I was greedy. She said it was because I wanted to have the best looking lawn in the neighborhood. I had to take a good look within myself.