Beware Of Greed

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house . . . nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.” Exodus 20:17

Greed is an intense and selfish desire for something, often something belonging to another. The Bible speaks of greed as covetousness, as in the Ten Commandments. Greed seeks more than its own in life. It cheats, robs, and slanders to achieve its desires. The Bible teaches that we are born with the sin of covetousness (Jeremiah 6:13). Charles Kingsley, a historian, once said, “If you wish to be miserable, think about yourself: about what you want, what you like, what respect people ought to pay you— and ­ then to you, nothing will be pure. You will spoil everything you touch. You will make misery for yourself out of everything good. You will be as wretched as you choose.” Greed is rated with other sins like wickedness and maliciousness in Romans 1:29. Greed is idolatry and not to be confused with riches, if riches have been earned honestly. But if riches choke out spiritual life, then it is sin. Many people have been blessed by the story of Zacchaeus and challenged to turn from a life of greed to a life of giving— and ­ God’s blessing falls on them when they live according to the attributes of Christ. Everything that we see about us that we count as our possessions only comprises a loan from God.

Graham, Billy. Truth for Each Day : A 365-Day Devotional, Thomas Nelson Incorporated, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=30516542.
Created from liberty on 2025-04-01 04:14:41.