Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But He said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” And He said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:13-21 ESV)
Greed is one of the seven deadly sins. Sin is something that is real in our lives and something we are called to contend with, not merely to tolerate because, "I'm only human." God's strategy for contending with sin is two-fold. We are to cooperate with the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to root sin out of our lives, and we are to replace sin with virtue - living a holy life instead of an unrighteous one. Contending with sin is part of the process of our transformation into Christlikeness.
The common definition for greed is a good starting point. Greed is an intense and selfish desire for something. Greed has been personified in literature in the person of Ebenezer Scrooge. When asked to contribute to the poor at Christmas, Scrooge asks, "Are the poor houses still operating? Are the prisons still working?" He insists the poor should be dealt with by those institutions. When told "Many of the poor would rather die than live in those places," his response is, "Well perhaps they should do so and decrease the surplus population."
There is some Scrooge in all of us. We want to keep what's ours, and we do not easily share with others. Truth is, we don't have to teach a small child to say, "Mine!" and take a toy away from another child. That intense desire to have things for ourselves is part of our fallen sin nature. And this is not just a behavior issue. It is a heart issue first.
Jesus says this about the heart: For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. (Matthew 15:19-20 ESV)
Jesus tells us to be on guard against all covetousness (greed) in response to a request to divide an inheritance between brothers. It was not uncommon for a Rabbi to be asked to assist in the division of property when there was a dispute. They were seen by the people as not only teachers of the law but wise judges in human affairs. Jesus uses the request as a teaching moment.
“Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Jesus prioritizes people over possessions. A truly heart-breaking experience is a person who dies estranged from family members over some long-past dispute over money.
The rich man in the parable is only thinking of himself. It's hard not to notice how many times the word "I" shows up in Jesus's story. "I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul..." He has all he needs and a surplus, but there is no thought of blessing others, only of accumulating more. This is the greediness of greed.
But God gets the last word. "Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?" The important things are the things that last for eternity, not the temporary possessions we amass while here on earth.
Jesus comes to the point at the end. "So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” The problem was not the man's wealth. Wealth is amoral. Wealth can be used for selfish purposes or for spiritual purposes. The problem was the man's selfish heart.
Truth is, one does not have to be wealthy to be greedy. One can be poor and be only focused on self and making it rich. Some of the most generous people on the planet are poor by the standards of the money they have in the bank and the possessions they can claim.
What fuels greed in our hearts? For one thing, fear. Fear of an uncertain future. What if the stock market crashes? What if I lose my job? That fear can drive us to an unhealthy preoccupation with security. I can weather losing my job if I have a big enough bank account. Sounds like building those bigger and bigger barns, doesn't it? What if our security is not in our live savings, but in the Giver of Life whom we trust?
Discontent can also fuel greed. If you want to take inventory of how greed might be hidden in your life, ask yourself, "Where am I discontented with what I have?" The time we spend dreaming of that forever house or the latest iPhone or that dream car can reveal discontentment and greed in our hearts. Greed is not only about money. We can also hoard with our time and our service and our love.
The Apostle Paul addresses this in 1 Timothy 6:6-10: But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
God's remedy for greed is to grow generosity in our lives. An effective way to contend with greed in our hearts is to give generously of our time, our talents and our treasures. Even before practicing generosity, we can surrender our hearts to the One who will always provide for us. We can tell Jesus, "I trust you, Lord. I don't have to hoard what you give because you never stop giving. I can be content with what I have because you are enough." The healing of our heart frees us to a life of joyful generosity.
If greed has a grip on our lives, let's contend with it. Let's combat it with surrender to Holy Love and with systematic, joyful generosity. Let's allow the Holy Spirit to grow virtue where sin has had its way, and watch the transformation of our hearts and lives. To God be the glory!
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