“A greedy man stirs up strife, but the one who trusts in the Lord will be enriched.”
Proverbs 28:25
“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.”
1 Timothy 6:9-10
“One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.”
Proverbs 11:24
What is it that men want in this life? Many Christian men will lie to you about the “virtue” they are pursuing when they are really only interested in money; but because they have no money, they pretend like they are spiritual. They will tell you this world is not about the material items we possess or the money we make, yet they will go out the very next day and burn themselves into the ground trying to make tremendous amounts of money. Now there is nothing wrong with making a lot of money or working hard to pile up resources, the problem arrives when money becomes the sole focus of our lives or when we trust in money to save us.
We need to have more than just the desire for material wealth because we will find it hard to focus on God at the same time. This is what Christ meant when He said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:24).
Greed is addictive because making money feels good, buying items feels good, and the idea of not having to work a job we hate anymore because we saved enough money or developed enough income streams sounds incredible.
Anyone who tells you money cannot buy you happiness is stupid. For most people, quitting their job would bring happiness, which could be brought about by the acquisition of enough funds. Everything that you enjoy in life, more of it can be acquired with more money. It is delusional to think otherwise. While money itself does not bring you happiness, money can be used to acquire whatever makes you happy, including free time. The only people telling you that money will not make you happy are people in the church with no money or superbly wealthy people who have not worked through the great existential questions of life.
Even if you believe money can’t buy happiness, you cannot deny that poverty cannot buy anything.
Contrary to what you hear in the church, it is possible to be wealthy and not greedy. All you have to do is avoid fixation on money and resist the urge to place wealth above God.
Greed itself is not limited to money. Man can be greedy for power, pleasure and even food. Greed is an intense desire or craving for something. The problem is that we are typically desiring and pursuing something worldly while forgetting about God. This is a difficult principle because we often do not “emotionally want” God nor do we want to do what He says, and for this reason we have all participated in greed in one form or another. This greed must be eliminated from our life.
Mantra
Correct the mind to correct the actions. I am avoiding Greed in my Life.
Application
Get to the root of your greed. Ask yourself multiple times why you want the items you are intensely desiring, because often the first answer does not go all the way to the root of the problem. Many people are greedy for money not because they are evil, but because they have great insecurity after being raised poor, or they are terrified of being bankrupt and on the streets.
Men fear the results of what will happen if they do not have money, so they pursue wealth with a burning passion.
Many men also want money because they know it will give them access to more women. These are cases of a faith problem (deep), not a greed problem (superficial). We lack faith in God to provide us with what we need, so we become greedy and pursue wealth instead.
Some men have damaged egos due to being raised with few possessions, so they chase money to fill the void and protect their ego from that intense level of shame. Perhaps we hate mindless jobs with a passion and we hate the people we work with, so, ironically, we work extremely hard so we can get to the point where we can stop working. Our hatred of our fellow man and our distaste for the work of our hands drives us to acquire wealth so we can end our career and live with freedom. The underlying problems with greed are often not directly related to greed itself.
Once you isolate your specific problem, lay your ax to the root of the tree.
Start correcting the deep faith problems that have resulted in a greedy mindset or behavior. You have to increase your level of trust in God.
Never expect overnight results in any endeavor of personal change. All you can do is make one small improvement at a time, and eventually those will add up to make the difference in your life. Start by correcting your thoughts. Every change begins in your mind, in the seat of your being. Correct the fallacies of the mind and you will see an accompanying change in actions.
You must separate the idea of acquiring wealth from your ego or fear, because fear is the emotion that drives you on and perpetuates your irrational way of thinking. Cast aside those emotions and build wealth not because you are greedy, but because you have shown yourself worthy of being entrusted with riches.
Tactic I – Reclaim Rationality
- Detach from yourself and all your emotions.
- View wealth and possessions like the amoral tools they are.
- Ask yourself what it is you truly want in life.
- Lay out concrete steps to achieve your goal and do so without becoming emotional.
- Remain unemotional and remind yourself constantly that God is in command of the world. But never use that as an excuse to avoid working hard.
Lay the axe to the root.
Purge your mind of evil.
Be at peace within your soul.
Kill your ego.
Conduct yourself like a man.