Greed
If I had to pick the greatest sin in my life, and western society in general, I would suggest greed. I’m not talking about the healthy self-interest type of thing here. I’m talking about the fruitless pursuit of happiness that comes at the expense of others. Western society has been built upon this greed.
Greed is the exact anti-thesis of the Christian life. Whilst Jesus calls us to place ourselves last as we stand in awe of an amazing creator, greed sets us up as our own God as we attempt to meet our own ends through our own means. Greed is idolatry.
Whilst the causes of Global Poverty are complex we cannot over look the responsibility we share in causing this catastrophe. Social sins are built upon personal sins. Our nations are rich because of years of exploitation of the poor. Our firm grasp on our comfortable lifestyles causes us to seek apathy as we immobilise ourselves from making a difference. Europeans each year spends more on alcohol alone than would be required to supply clean water an sanitation for all.
Greed destroys our relationships. Lust is a manifestation of greed. It causes us to steal all we can from someone without giving anything back - in the end leaving us hollow and unsatisfied. So often we befriend people for what they can give us in return. The result is a lonely society where the pain is so strong youth kill themselves in their thousands.
Greed infests our worship. Many times I have caught myself living a Christian life not for the glory I can bring to God - but rather for the benefits I can get out of it. Comfort and Security - the great shackles of society - have become the primary export of almost every Church. So often I have taken God’s grace for granted, not recognising Him as the glorious and fearful God He is.
Greed gets everywhere.
‘They’ say that there are two opposite ideas that make up greed: envy and jealousy. Envy is wanting what you don’t have. Jealousy is fiercely guarding what you do have. Personally, I don’t find envy to be too much of a problem (at least not overtly). But I do have a problem with jealousy. Christians should do more than just give sometimes to their favourite charity. We should share everything. That scars me because I like my comfortable and secure lifestyle.
My jealousy gets in the way of following God. Sometimes I am too worried about being embarrassed than to do what He asks: that’s being jealous of my image. Sometimes I’m just to comfortable - like I keep hitting the sleep button on the alarm clock of God’s nudging.
Greed is infectious. It keeps tempting me to place my own desires above God, and people suffer for it. Everyday I dethrone God as I seek to satisfy my own wants via my own ways and are left empty handed in return. Greed is what makes me grasp at straws.
Jesus calls us to place ourselves last and Him first. In so doing we find that life exists in the service of God rather than the service of self. God’s kingdom comes alive in our midst as love overtakes greed and redemption reveals itself in our relationships and actions. It is this the-last-will-be-first style kingdom that we are meant to spread to the world. Yet how can we do this when we are corrupted by greed?
I think we all need to get serious about greed. That photo at the top of this blog was taken from graffiti written into wet cement just in front of where I work. It reads, “Where is the war on greed?” (recently someone added in pen: “I sold it to an international consortium”). It is an important question to ask. As Christians we strive to end hunger and homelessness and broken relationships. Yet so often we over took the source: human sin. Perhaps this is because repenting of our own sin and greed is so much more difficult than applying a Band-Aid solution through aid (which is part of, not all of, the solution).
And that’s the clincher. It is so much easier to give to a charity than it is to admit that our sin is partly responsible for the struggle of the child I am helping 10 thousand miles away. But until we do deal with our greed (and let compassion overtake it) the world’s problems will never go away. Only when we are willing to share the comfort and security we have will others have a hope of enjoying the luxury.
This is where Christianity has an advantage over any other form of self-help style activism out there. Christianity deals with the heart of the issue - evil. It calls us to a place where greed no longer factors into our life style. Who can witness the glory of God and still hold on to their possessions so tightly when His children are suffering?
I am really preaching to myself here. Remembering that God is a billion times bigger than me is a hard thing to do. I like to think I rule the universe sometimes. So I seek our my own pleasure. Then, when I am unsuccessful, I mope around crying “woe is me”. If only I could keep my eyes on God’s glory than I know that even if I were surrounded by jewels I would not care for them because He is more beautiful.
It is the glory of God - revealed to us in the person of Christ - that may be used as a weapon against our sin. Who can be greedy when they see He who owns everything?
Filed under: Christian, Religion, Sin |
Tags: Christian, greed, Religion
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