Last year on Christmas Eve, a New York cab driver found more than $21,000 in cash and jewelry left in his cab by an Italian tourist. He drove more than 50 miles to return the possessions to an address he found in the purse. The woman wasn’t home, so he left a note that contained his phone number. The tourist called and the driver drove back and returned her lost items, refusing to accept any kind of reward. The driver said to her, “I’m needy, but I’m not greedy.”
Jesus understood the dangers of greed, and He warned His followers to be on guard against it as well. Approached by a man who demanded that his brother divide his inheritance with him, Jesus responded to his selfish request with a dramatic story about guarding against greed (Luke 12:13).
A certain rich man’s land had produced an abundant crop. He was dissatisfied with his present storehouses and wanted to build bigger barns to store his crops. As he looked to the future, He anticipated many years of ease. But in the middle of his soliloquy of greed, God shook the foundations of his soul with one word: “Fool!” (Luke 12:20). He was foolish because, instead of fulfilling his moral duty of meeting the needs of others, he was storing up possessions for himself and wasn’t being rich toward God (Luke 12:21). The result was eternity apart from God.
This narrative is a clear warning against one of the seductive dangers of greed—self-sufficiency. Every follower of Jesus can guard against greed by repenting of it (Luke 3:14), being on guard against it, separating ourselves from it (1 Corinthians 5:11), being content with the things God has blessed us with (Hebrews 13:5), seeking God not gain, and serving others with our wealth (1 Timothy 6:17-18).
More:
• Proverbs 1:19
• Ephesians 5:5
• Colossians 3:5
Next:
How does greed affect one’s relationship with God? With others? What lessons can we learn and apply from the rich fool’s tragic story?
emilycollins1973 on November 12, 2010 at 7:18 am
I love that, as usual, Jesus is dealing with attitudes and heart issues! Greed, entitlement….both issues of the heart that have behavioral manifestations. I find that one way I can be on guard about this and keep in focus that everything I have belongs to Him is to consciously loosen the grip on “things” (money, possessions etc). If I feel led to give something and a stingy spirit starts to try and take root I immediately give that to God and make a conscious effort to release whatever it is with a joyful heart, knowing that my Provider will take care of me and I don’t need to worry about holding on to things to take care of myself if I feel led to give! I try to focus on the leading and prompting of the Holy Spirit rather than thinking through all the possibilities my giving could create (less for me, fear of some sort of rejection of the person I feel led to give to, a despairing attitude that says it doesn’t really matter and won’t really make a difference anyway etc). Greed and entitlement are basically attitudes that tell God we “deserve” something (which we don’t), and that he owes us (which he certainly doesn’t!), and we don’t need Him (which we do!). Thank you for the reminder, especially at this time of year, that without intentional living we might be seduced by the subtle “virtues” of greed! I appreciate your words Marvin!