Greed and Godliness
Out of fear for the unknown of tomorrow, we strive to accumulate or store as much wealth as it’s possible. We want to become self-sufficient… eliminate the uneasiness from the unknown about the future. We want to eliminate the fear, so we strive to create an abundance of things to secure our future.
We want to be in control of our destiny. Greed takes over for which the Lord has warned us:
Luke 12:15 says: “And he said to them: Take care, and be on your guard against all greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions”.
God doesn’t want us to put emphasis on the things of this world because they take us away from Him. We begin to depend on ourselves instead of Him.
Whatever we need in our lives God will provide. Scripture reveals to us that our Heavenly Father knows everything about us and He knows what we need. In Matt. 10:30, Jesus said to His disciples: “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered”. Jesus was telling His disciples not to worry about “things”, that God knows even before a sparrow falls on the ground, He said “ye are of more value than many sparrows” (Matt. 10:31).
The Lord wants us to trust in Him. To hope, and have faith in Him. He wants to be our provider!
In the book of Jeremy, we read His amazing promise to those who do trust and hope in Him. It says: “Blessed is the man that trusts in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. 8For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not fear when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be worrying in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit” (Jer. 17:7,8). That’s awesome!
In the Bible, we read about the parable of the “rich man”. In this story, we learn about a man who wanted to be in control of his future, who had placed his hope on THINGS and not on God. A man driven by greed. He thought that the more he accumulated the better off he would be. But God was not please with this kind of thinking and attitude.
In Luke 12:16-31 we read:
16And he spake a parable unto them, saying, the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
17And he thought within himself, saying, what shall I do, because I have no room where to store my fruits?
18And he said, this will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
19And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
20But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
21So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
22And he said unto his disciples, therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.
23The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.
24Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?
25And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?
26If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?
27Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
28If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?
29And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
30For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
31But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Just like the man in this parable, we also keep forgetting that no matter how much we have, we can take nothing with us when we die. In I Tim. 6:7 we read: “for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world”. Since the Lord controls the rain and thus the abundance of the fruit of the ground, He wants us to bless the people around us who are in need of things.
Greed, the love for money and for the things of the world, causes us to be blinded about the needs of people around us and the ultimate need to please God. Scripture reveals to us that it’s not a good if we gain everything in this world and lose our very soul. In the Gospel of Matt. 16:26 we read: “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Also, in I Tim: 6:9, 10 “9But 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. 10For 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”.
And why all the care and the worries about having more and more in this life? Does the eye ever get’s filled? Is there an end to all that?
Do the things we seek so desperately, add anything to our eternal destination? NO!
The Word of God is very clear about how we are saved from going to hell. Having an abundance of things in this life means absolutely NOTHING!
Eph. 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.
Rom. 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Eph. 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.
My friend, it’s all because of Jesus, because of what He did on the Cross. The blood He shed was the price for our redemption, in other words, we have been purchased, plucked out from eternal suffering by Him, the Prince of Peace. The Holy Son of God, Jesus! Praise God, we have been delivered from hell!
Do you know Jesus? If you don’t, don’t waste another minute because we don’t know what happens tomorrow. Fall on your knees and repent and ask God to forgive you in the Name of Jesus and open your heart and welcome Jesus in your life. Amen.
By Gregory Doublas
For comments, our email is: sinandsalvation@frontier.com
© Copyright 2012 by Gregory M. Doublas, P.O Box 15552, Fort Wayne, IN 46885.
No part of this article may be reproduced or copied in any form without the written permission of the author.
Filed under Uncategorized by on Apr 19th, 2012. 
Comments on Greed and Godliness
I often believe that I have been such a diemspointapnt. But, know that when God sees me he sees Jesus. But, here is what I often think about. If God sees Jesus who died for all of our sins, what does Jesus see when he looks down on earth. I try so very hard to be a good person and when I try really hard, I fail. But, when I run to Jesus to say I am sorry, he holds out his arms takes me into a tight hug and tells me it is okay. Go try again but, let me help you. Each day is better than the day before.
I simply want to mention I am beginner to blogs and absolutely liked you’re web-site. Almost certainly I’m likely to bookmark your site . You absolutely come with remarkable well written articles. Thanks for revealing your web-site.
Thank you for your kind words about my web site and blog. Please suggest to people you know to visit too.
Greg.
Thank you for submitting this article. This really is details I have been looking for. I’ve been hoping to locate clear and concise content like yours. Your unique points helped me take into consideration this data differently.
I was curious in the event you ever considered changing the page layout of your blog? Its very effectively written; I really like what youve got to say. But possibly you can slightly a lot more in the way of content material so men and women could connect with it much better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having 1 or two pictures. Perhaps you could space it out greater?
Not quite understand you.
Gregory Doublas
Hey i’m for the very first time here. I came across this board and I uncover It seriously helpful & it helped me out significantly. I hope to give something back and aid other people as you aided me.
Perfect work you might have done, this web web site is actually cool with great info.
I’m impressed with this website , rattling I’m a fan .
Great, thanks.
Greg
Ok, thank you.
Greg