“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” ~ Jesus in Luke 12:15
In this one simple sentence, our Lord gives us several very practical warnings about the danger of greed. In the second phrase, he says, “Be on your guard…”.
Greed is a far more serious foe than ever we realize. When I am hiking in the woods on a summer day, I might occasionally take a casual glance about me to make sure no traffic is coming or to be sure of my step. But when I am walking down a dark, deserted street in a big city at midnight, my head becomes like that of an owl, looking right, left, forwards and backwards, to guard myself again harm.
When it comes to greed, Jesus is saying, that is how we must be. Because greed is out to rob me blind. If you doubt me, just think about what greed can steal from you.
Greed will steal from you your ability to rest.
Jesus goes on in Luke 12 to tell the story of a wealthy farmer who found himself blessed with a bumper harvest one year. His only thought of what to do was to tear down his barns and build bigger ones. “Then I will tell myself, ‘Soul, take your ease,’ the farmer said to himself. Which was proof-positive he was over-run by greed.
For the barn of a greedy person is never big enough. A greedy person never feels secure. For the greedy, rest is always out there on the horizon. Ecclesiastes says, “Whoever loves money, never has money enough…The abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep.” (5:10,12).
It’s one thing to be a hard-working and responsible with your money. There is nothing wrong with building a bigger barn, in case you’re asking. (Or I’d still be driving a Datsun B210, the car of my college years.)
But as a Spirit-led balance fills your life, you experience a rest, that says, “Enough. I don’t need more clothes in my closet or the next highest model of car in my driveway to be happy. My barns are plenty big. It’s time for my standard of giving to go up; not just my standard of living.”
But a greedy person never arrives at that place.
Greed will steal from you your love for people.
Greed will strangle any impulse you have for generosity. Greed will snuff it out. It never occurred to the foolish famer to take his surplus crop and give it away. He thought it all belonged to him. But it did not.
All along, it was God’s money. Jesus said in verse 16, “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop.” He did not produce it. The ground did, and that which God provided – the seed, the sunlight, the rain, and the strength and health he was given to work the ground.
And God, who is the owner of all, has already given us instructions for how we should use our wealth. We should tithe, we should save, we should budget, and we should be generous. But greed blinds us from seeing others as God sees them. I actually heard someone say once, Why, if I give to the poor, I’ll be reinforcing their bad habits, which of course is what made them poor to begin with.
Yes, there are certainly people out there who need a kick in the pants more than a helping hand. (“If a man will not work, he will not eat.” I remember reading that somewhere.) But it’s scary to think there are well-off people who actually think that way about the poor as a guiding principle.
Greed also steals my love for God.
How can a greedy person love God? God tells me to trust him, and be content with what I have, but I am not content, the greedy person tells themselves. This world God created is fearful. God may make me lie down in green pastures, but God’s green pastures are never green enough for me. I need more and more. Therefore I must look after myself if I am to be secure.
If a person like that had come across Mary and Joseph with their infant son Jesus in that run-down stable in Bethlehem, they would not have loved them. They would have despised them. And certainly would not have worshipped Jesus.
And there is no poorer person on earth than one who never learns they were made by God and for God.