Question 1

What is greed?

Accepted Answer

Luke 12:15Then he [Jesus] said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”Greed is the very selfish desire for something, usually wealth or possessions. And some people are greedy for power, position, or even food. Greedy people seem to believe that they can measure the meaning of life and their personal worth by what they have—so they live to accumulate.

Question 2

Why are people so greedy?

Accepted Answer

Colossians 3:5So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.James 1:14Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.Greed comes from within people; it wells up from our sinful nature.1 Timothy 6:6-10True godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.The sinful, harmful desires of greedy people lead to their craving for more and more. This then leads to “all kinds of evil.”2 Timothy 3:1-2You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred.People who love and think only of themselves are greedy.

Question 3

What can greed do to me?

Accepted Answer

Proverbs 21:26Some people are always greedy for more, but the godly love to give!Isaiah 56:11Like greedy dogs, they are never satisfied. They are ignorant shepherds, all following their own path and intent on personal gain.Greed can so consume us that we become blind to the needs of others. Greed is opposite to generosity and graciousness.Exodus 20:17“You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”Envy, or coveting, is a form of greed. It can overpower us, causing us to be obsessed with things we want but know we should not have. Greed is dangerous because, left unchecked, it can destroy our relationships and control our lives.Mark 7:21-22“From within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.”In this passage, Jesus lists greed among some of the most destructive sins.2 Chronicles 10:15So the king paid no attention to the people. This turn of events was the will of God, for it fulfilled the Lord’s message to Jeroboam son of Nebat through the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh.Proverbs 11:24Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything.Motivated to get more for himself, Rehoboam pressed his people to the breaking point and lost half his kingdom. The more obsessed we are with having more, the greater the odds we will wind up with less.

Question 4

How can I resist the temptation of greed?

Accepted Answer

Mark 10:21-22Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.We should ask: How tightly do I hold on to what I have? Jesus doesn’t ask all of us to give up everything we have, but if he did, could we?1 Samuel 8:3They [Samuel’s sons] were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and perverted justice.Proverbs 1:19Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money; it robs them of life.Proverbs 28:25Greed causes fighting; trusting the Lord leads to prosperity.Ephesians 5:5You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.2 Peter 2:14They commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained in greed. They live under God’s curse.We should ask: Who do I know that is greedy and stingy? Do I really want to become like them?Matthew 6:19-21“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”Luke 9:23-25Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?”We should ask: How long do I want to enjoy the good things in life? If we want to enjoy them temporarily, just in this life, then we will have more trouble with greed. If we want to enjoy good things for eternity, then we will invest in our relationships with God and others so that we can enjoy God’s rewards forever.Job 1:21He [Job] said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!”1 Corinthians 4:7What gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?We should ask: Who really owns my things? We should remind ourselves that everything comes from the hand of God, and therefore everything belongs to God. This will change our perspective on our possessions.Colossians 3:2-3Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.We should ask: What do I think most about? We should redirect our focus from material things that don’t last to things that last forever—our relationship with God and with others.

Question 5

Why is noticing my own greed so difficult?

Accepted Answer

Matthew 7:1-5“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”We can easily see the faults in others and ignore those in ourselves. Often, then, we rationalize or excuse our own wrong attitudes and actions. For example, we might see others’ greedy actions and think, “I’m not so bad after all. I’m not like that.” It is easy for us to focus on another’s “speck” and ignore our own “log.”

Question 6

What’s the difference between greed and saving up for my future?

Accepted Answer

1 Timothy 6:17-19Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.The most important greed-check is to determine if we are trusting in what we have instead of trusting in God. Saving up for the future, especially when we consider that we don’t want to bankrupt our children, is a way to be “rich in good works.” But at the same time, we should be able and willing to share with others.Proverbs 21:26Some people are always greedy for more, but the godly love to give!Another good greed-check is whether or not we love to give to others. Greedy people think mostly of accumulating for themselves, not giving anything away, even to someone in need.Philippians 2:3-4Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.A good question to ask is whether we are trying to impress others with what we have or to have more than they do, as sort of a competition. This is often a habit of greedy people. Instead of worrying about others having more than we have, we should be happy for them in their successes.

Question 7

How does greed affect our relationship with God? With others?

Accepted Answer

Jeremiah 6:13“From the least to the greatest, their lives are ruled by greed. From prophets to priests, they are all frauds.”Greed can rule our lives. Instead, we should be ruled by God. Putting money and possessions in God’s place is idolatry.Luke 18:22-25When Jesus heard his answer, he said, “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But when the man heard this he became sad, for he was very rich. When Jesus saw this, he said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God! In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”Greed can come between us and God. This man turned away from following Jesus, the Savior, because he could not give up is possessions. That decision kept him from receiving the gift of eternal life.Matthew 6:24“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”We can only serve one master at a time; thus, greed will always destroy a person’s relationship with God.1 John 2:15-17Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.Loving what the world has to offer instead of living God’s way is a waste of our lives because all those things will fade away.Proverbs 28:25Greed causes fighting; trusting the Lord leads to prosperity.Greed can cause people to steal from others or fight with them over money and possessions, especially when two or more greedy people want the same things.Ecclesiastes 5:10-11Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!Greed is never satisfied. If we are constantly worried about having enough, we will miss healthy relationships and lasting happiness.