CNBC’s popular show “American Greed” opens a window to a world few of us ever enter. Scoundrels of every description do whatever it takes to get more. The tactics they employ to increase their own wealth leave us speechless: they lie, cheat, and steal in such creative ways and to such sensational degrees that their stories captivate us.

Unfortunately we no longer need such television shows to introduce us to the concept of American greed. It seems as though every daily newscast introduces a new Wall Street scandal that shocks and stupefies us because of its depth and severity. One man alone is said to have swindled hundreds of investors out of 50 billion dollars through the employment of a complex Ponzi scheme. To put that into perspective, it would take the average American 1,315,789 years to earn that much money.

The abundance of such stories presents a danger for the average person. We can walk away thinking, “I’m glad I’m not greedy like that.” We may be surprised, though, to learn the definition of greed is simply “a selfish and excessive desire for more of something than is needed.” In many ways it’s a description of our entire culture.

There’s a terrible story in Acts Chapter 5 that illustrates the potential of greed to disrupt the church and destroy lives. A wonderful sense of community had developed within the first church that saw believers sharing their possessions and even selling personal property to meet the needs of those who had very little. One couple, Ananias and Sapphira, sold a piece of land and brought what they said was the full amount they had received for it to the disciples. Being prompted by the Holy Spirit, Peter challenged their assertion that they had given the whole amount as they had claimed. Right there in the assembly they both fell down dead and were carried out to their graves.

One of Jesus’ harshest criticisms of the Pharisees is found in Luke 11:39: “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.” This statement is amplified later in chapter 18 when Jesus contrasts the Pharisee (a man supposed by all to be pure of heart) and a tax collector (a man supposed by all to be filled with greed) as they enter the temple to pray. The Pharisee brags to God about his goodness demonstrated by his fasting and tithing. But it is the humble tax collector who goes away justified before God.

God despises greed because it is so unlike him. When we allow greed to rise up within our hearts we are becoming less and less like him in whose likeness we were created.

Paul instructs us in Ephesians 4 not to be like the pagans he describes as having “a continual lust for more” (v. 19). That was our old way of life; we’re not to live like that any longer. Christians are set apart from the world and no longer live like we did before we knew Christ.

Most of us will acknowledge there is an element of greed in our hearts simply because of the culture in which we live. We are bombarded by advertising telling us we must have something else in order to be happy and fulfilled. Though we don’t want to, we often believe these lies and find ourselves “lusting for more” without realizing we are doing so.

The most important factor in overcoming greed is recognizing what is truly of value in life. After pointing out that pagans run after all the things of the world, Jesus said to “seek first [God’s] kingdom and [God’s] righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).

How can we continually lust for more when we have everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3)? Continually wanting more suggests we are not satisfied with what we have. How can we be dissatisfied when we have been given eternal life?

Peter reminds us in 2 Peter 3 that all this “stuff” is going to burn in the end anyway. Isn’t it foolish when you think about it? We constantly strive to gain money and things that we’ll only hold onto for a short time. While we’re holding onto them, they cause us stress and frustration. Then we “will” these things to our kids, so they can fuss and fight over them for a while. Then they squander them and lament their foolishness . . . all of this strife over things God is going to incinerate in the end.

We’ll know we’ve overcome greed when we notice a change in our hearts when it comes to giving. It’s tough to give generously when our hearts are full of greed.

The Pharisee mentioned in Luke 18 claimed to give 10 percent of everything he received, but Jesus never confirmed it. I know a lot of people who think they give much more than they do. But even if the Pharisee was tithing, it was the least a Jewish person had the option of giving. It represents no generosity or extravagance. The Pharisee may as well have been saying, “Lord, I’ve met the lowest standard of giving I can and still remain in good standing in your books.”

Contrast the Pharisee with a couple of history’s extravagant givers: J.L. Kraft, head of the Kraft Cheese Corporation, gave approximately 25 percent of his enormous income to Christian causes for many years. Henry Crowell, founder of the Quaker Oats Company, gave 60 percent of his income to God.

When we really let go of greed in our hearts, we’ll find our hands opening up wider and wider. And guess what? It’s when our hands are open that God can put something back into them. An expectation of replenishment should never be our motivation for giving, but blessings do come to generous givers. God’s blessings are falling all around us, but you can’t catch them with a clenched fist.

There’s another Old Testament story we should note. Second Kings 7 tells us about two lepers who stumbled upon a deserted enemy camp during a famine in which the people of Israel were starving. After eating and drinking their fill, they began to hide the plunder. Then they came to their senses and said, “We’re not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us” (v. 9).

We in North America have been richly blessed to the point that we hardly recognize blessing anymore. We’ve been blinded by blessing. Let’s do what these men did and share the plunder instead of hoarding it. Let’s abandon the way of greed our culture trains us to pursue and begin to give extravagantly. Above all, let’s seek the kingdom of God with all our strength. And should God decide to “add all these things” to us, let’s use them for his glory rather than for our pleasure. |L