Greed and the fight for contentment

And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.”  He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,  Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”  When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.  Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”  When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved? But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” - Matthew 19:16-26 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Jesus talks more about money and possessions than heaven and hell. Why? Because our approach to money and possessions can take us away or move us towards God.

We will readily call greed a vice but we will not look for examples in our lives. It is okay to call Wall Street evil, but we don't consider if there us any examples of greed in our own lives.

Nature of greed

Greed is idolatry. Here's what Brian Rosner has to say on the topic: "a strong desire to acquire and keep for yourself more and more money and material things is an attack on God’s exclusive rights to human love and devotion, trust and confidence, and service and obedience." Our hearts are devoted to things rather than God. We derive our safety and security from money and material things. We spend our time and order our lives based on seeking more money rather than what God desires of us.

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 6:10 ESV

Christians are marked by generosity and love. Greed blocks love. Prioritizing money and things over people is the opposite of love. We see the poor and greed tells us to walk away. We will start to judge the poor rather than share our wealth and love them. Workaholics lose relationships with their family and friends. No dying person will say they wished they spent more time in the office. They wished they spent more time with their partners and their children. Greed kills.

Christian Contentment

This doesn't come from willpower. This is supernatural from God. We have a savior, the Prince of an everlasting kingdom, who became poor so that we could be rich. In Jesus we have life eternal and an inheritance unimaginable. The one who gives us his son will not withhold any good thing from us. We will have peace, joy, and contentment regardless of circumstance.

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. -
Philippians 4:11-13 ESV