ICFW - Greed "I Owe Me"

Okay. Greedy people believe that they deserve every good thing that comes their way. Their mantra is "What's mine is mine because I earned it! AND I got a lot more coming." Greedy people rarely come straight out and say, "I'm greedy". What they say is "I'm careful". Unlike anger and guilt, greed hides behind several virtues.

Greed is not a financial issue. There are greedy rich and poor people. Greed emanates from the heart. LUKE 12:15 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."

Jesus started off his statement with a warning. Why? He knew that greed can take up residence in the heart and live there undetected for years. Jesus then went into a parable about a wealthy landowner whose property yielded a much larger crop than he expected. Rather than seek God about what to do with the extra God provided him, he asked himself, "what shall I do with all of MY stuff?"

The very day that this man made the decision to hoard all his things for himself was the day he lost it all. God said to him, You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?"

Jesus closes the parable with a stern warning, "The is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself bu is not rich toward God". (Luke 12:15-21)

Being rich toward God simply means being generous toward those in need with what God has given you. Greed is destroyed by giving generously. If you consume to the point of having little or nothing left to give, then you are greedy. Greed is not a feeling, it is a refusal to act.

In closing, having money is not a bad thing. It’s not knowing why you have money or things that cause problems. Whether we were born into rich families, came into it somewhere down the line, have great jobs, etc., there is no reason to feel bad about having a lot of money. It is not really yours anyway! If we are going to leave it behind anyway, one thing is clear: we are not owners, but rather managers of it.

Kind David wrote, “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.” 1 Chronicles 29:11

God owns it all. What we have was given by him. We all need to look at our things and decide, what was it given to me for? If you have extra, is there something you have that someone else could benefit from? Every time we are given something extra, we should consider “God, what do you want me to do with these assets?”