Many of us have heard the saying that “Money is the
root of all evil.” Some say that this saying comes from the Bible. 1 Timothy 6:10
reads “For the love of money is a root of
all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith
and pierced themselves with many griefs." So it is in the Bible . . . kind of. The saying that we are used to
hearing is that “money is the root of all evil.” That is not exactly what the
Bible says. It does not say that money is the root of all evil. If it did say
that then I suppose we could all simply get rid of our money and thus rid
ourselves of evil. Yet, what the Bible says is that love of money is the root
of all kinds of evil.
As we have explored with the other deadly sins of lust
and gluttony the questions we are facing are those of our desires and passions.
Remember that the 7 deadly sins are vices or habits in our hearts that drive
us. It is our desires that we are being invited to pay attention to. Here is a
short definition of greed to use as we briefly explore this habit of the heart.
Greed is the selfish desire for wealth and positions. I would add to this
definition that wealth and possessions come with some other perks that draw us
in. The perks that wealth and possessions seem to bring us is power and or the
appearance to be more important in the eyes of our peers and family.
Thus the selfish desire for wealth and possessions is
often associated with the desire for power and prestige. It is not just money or
wealth that we desire. It is not just the object that you want to acquire. What
we truly desire are the perks that are supposed to come with the object. What
we really desire is happiness, the good life, power, prestige – these are the
things that we are in pursuit of when we are driven by greed. Greed is
something that is not that easy to talk about. For example, suppose you saw me
drive up in the church parking lot with a new lovely kayak strapped to the roof
of my car. You might see that and think Brian likes to kayak. You might also
think that perhaps I am unaware that Oklahoma is not known for being a kayak
kind of a place. But you also might not think that much of it. Oh, well I guess
he got a kayak and he likes to kayak. You probably wouldn’t judge me too much
for owning a kayak. However, if I pulled into the church parking lot with a 45
foot yacht hooked on the back of my car you might engaged in a different level
of judgment.
You might being to wonder how much money I make a
year. The odd thing is that both the kayak and the 45 foot yacht are luxury
items. A kayak is a luxury. I don’t really need it. It is not like I use a
river to get to work. When we talk about luxury it makes us feel a little uncomfortable
because some seem justifiable and others don’t but that is largely based on
intuition. Is it this purchase a good and healthy purchase or was this driven
by greed? That is often hard to tell.
When might you start judging? What if I had two
kayaks? Maybe if I got a new tricked out bass boat? Where is the line that one
crosses in water craft when you say okay that is luxury? It was fine with the kayak but now the line
has been crossed. When it comes to greed it is important to remember that we
are exploring our heart’s desires for things. The question is not whether it is
moral or immoral to have a kayak because that totally avoids the more
uncomfortable exploration of our desires. When it comes
to greed asking why and how questions become important.
Why is it that I want this thing?
How is it that I came to acquire this thing?
What was I willing to do in order to acquire this
possession?
I was reading sometime back sometime back that some of
the wealthiest people like Mark Zukerburg, Warren Buffet, Bill Gates were planning
on giving half of their wealth away. Well you might say big deal they have tons
of money. Well have you given up half your paycheck? What about half of your
Christmas money? So let’s don’t play the judgment game and think that all of
this talk about money is for those who have lots of it. Judging others based on
what they have or don’t have is a game that allows us all to totally miss the
point. Let’s be willing to take responsibility for our own stuff. Take responsibility
for our own purchases. Take responsibility for your own kayak.
It is easy to recognize that a fellow like Bernie Madoff was so greedy that he swindled
other people out of their money. We would say okay that is greedy. We would say
that all those people who get wrapped up in compulsive gambling are all about
greed. Yet it is so easy to point the finger at others and totally justify our
own purchases. It is hard to be honest about the greed that is in your shopping
cart. What do you put in the cart? What do you desire? What do you love? What
you plotting and planning to put into your cart? That kind of greed is a little
harder to recognize.
What about credit cards? That little piece of plastic
that allows you to go into debit. You can have a good old visa but then there
is a visa gold or platinum that will allow you to go even more into debt. Look
at how special I am because I have a platinum card. Greed exposes something
about our hearts and our desire not for stuff but what the stuff gets us. Some people
have garage and attic greed. When you visit your attic or garage you wonder if
you have just stepped into an episode of hoarders? So we go buy some bins and
shelving. We use the bins and shelving to organize all our attic and garage
stuff just so we have more room to amass even more stuff. Hoarding is connected
to greed. I am going to get all I can. It is mine and I need to protect it. We
can become greedy for the “good deal.” Many people have a closet full of good
deals. Greed comes in many forms.
Perhaps we need to level the playing field for just a
moment. The Bible says some interesting things about money. Duet 8:18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he
who gives you the ability to produce wealth. This passage reminds us that
we are not self-made people. Jesus tells the rich young ruler to Go and sell everything you have and give it
to the poor. In the book of Acts we witness early Christians sharing their
money, selling their possessions and land so that the needs of others could be
met. It tells us in Acts 2 that the needs of everyone were met. Think about that.
Everyone in the church was without need. In I Kings 21 there is an interesting
story about a fellow name Naboth. Naboth owned and operated a vineyard close to
King Ahab’s palace. King Ahab desired Naboth’s vineyard because he wanted to
turn it into a vegetable garden that would be close to the palace. The King
offers Naboth another plot of land in exchange for his vineyard. Naboth says no
to the King’s offer. The King sulks around that palace. Queen Jezebel tells the
King that she will fix it so the King can have his garden. Jezebel has Naboth falsely accused of cursing
the king and God. There is a trial and Naboth is found guilty and then stoned
to death.
The prophet Elijah goes to King Ahab and says God
wants you to know that where the dogs are licking up Naboth’s blood so will the
dogs lick up your blood because you murdered a man and stool his property. Ahab
did not murder Naboth. King Ahab did not murder Naboth did he or did he? The
King allowed the queen and others to do his dirty work for him. When it comes
to greed do you and I let others do our dirty work? We all enjoy low prices on
a range of items often because we let others do the dirty work. We like our low
prices on shoes, shirts and electronics. We don’t really want to know how that some
child in some third world sweatshop or a worker forced to work for hours and
hours for little pay is how we got our good deal. We are content to let others do our dirty work so we can enjoy low prices. Let us not forget James 5:4 Look!
The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out
against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord
Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence.
These passages are a challenge no matter how you slice
them. Here is the truth. If you live in American then by just about any kind of a world
standard you are wealthy. Often when we hear Jesus speaking about wealth and
money we think he is talking to somebody else. He is talking to somebody who
has more than I have. Well let’s level the playing field and just admit that
Jesus is talking to us. The challenging things in the Bible are for our ears.
Have you ever played the mental game of what if I won
the lottery? Have you considered the millions that you would still have even after
the government takes their cut? It still leaves you with a ton of money. Did
you know that 44% of those who have won the lottery spent all of their winnings
in five days? But you would be different? Did you know that 90% of lottery
winners spend every penny of their winnings in five years? I am sure that you
would be the 10% that would break the trend. The problem with money is that it
tends to magnify the habits and desires in our hearts.
Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a
person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under
the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. Moreover, when God gives
someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their
lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps
them occupied with gladness of heart.
Detachment. Do you own things or do things own you?
The moment you being to let things go you can start to climb out of the hole of
greed. Some of you won’t let anyone drive your car but if you have a rental you
will drive it like you stole it. How tightly do you hold on to your possessions?
Is your sense of worth and value wrapped up in what is stored in the attic or
what you have in the garage?
Gratitude. Sometimes
gratitude starts with things that are free. Air, sun, family. Yet it can extend
to your clothes and what you are going to eat. It takes practice to form new
habits that help us to look around our lives and say – these things are a gift
from God. It has always been a virtue within Christian history to not carry
around too much stuff and to live a simply life. Learning what it is to be
content in a culture that is addicted to having every desire meant by the
purchases that we make is difficult but not impossible.
Generosity. Generosity this is the opposite of Greed.
Generosity is a difficult habit because we can be generous for all the wrong
reasons. We give money on Sunday because we really want God to grant us good
health or forget about some sin. We give not as a way to live but as a way to
gain some kind of spiritual pride. Jesus has this odd saying found in Matt 6:22
The eye is the lamp of the body. If your
eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. This passage is a
head scratcher until you realize that Jesus is using a metaphor. Having a “good
eye” in Jesus’ day was code for talking about generosity. If you have a
generous eye then you see the needs of others around you and seek to help. By
seeing the needs of others it fills your body with light. When you have a
greedy eye you are closed off, stingy, hording. The truth is this – the
happiest people that I know are often the most generous. The happiest people I
know are filled with light. They don’t see their possessions as theirs. Their
self-worth and value are not attached to their most recent purchase. Rather it
comes from being known as a son and daughter of God.
Comments
Post a Comment