Sermon Info
Summary
Greed is a struggle for all of us. We live in a materialistic and capitalistic society. Everything around us is about money and more – more money, more stuff, more things. Greed is when we desire money or power more than God. Greed is a sin. The antidote to greed is generosity. God longs for us to know Him and to trust Him as our Provider. God took care of our salvation by giving His Son, so there is nothing God will withhold from us. Let God be enough for you. Find your contentment, joy, and peace in God through His Son, Jesus. God will provide for you.
Content
Are You Believing a Lie?
Have you ever found yourself saying or thinking, "If I only had [fill in the blank], I would be happy"? You're not alone. In our American culture, we are surrounded by wealth, money, and stuff. It's extremely common for us to see advertisements everyday (typically, multiple times a day) encouraging us to buy the newest version, the fancier car, the more expensive product. It's about more, more, more.
If we aren't vigilant and on alert, our desire for more can lead us down a very dark path – a path towards one of the Seven Deadly Sins: Greed. Possessions, money, and more will never bring us true contentment. Greed tells us the lie that money or the things that money can buy us will give us purpose and happiness. But, that's exactly what greed is: a lie.
So, what's the solution to fighting greed and the consequences of this deadly sin? Increased love for Jesus – only Jesus.
What the Bible Says about Greed
The book of Proverbs is filled with encouragement, challenges, and wisdom for us to live by. As we address the Seven Deadly Sins, we can combat and fight against these sins with the truth and wisdom we find in Proverbs. Proverbs 28 says, The greedy stir up conflict, but those who trust in the LORD will prosper. Greed, or the disordered love of (or desire for) increased riches, does not lead to life and peace – rather, it leads to lack of peace, conflict, and disappointment.
Our American culture may tell us that having more will bring us more happiness, but God’s Word tells us quite the opposite. It tells us to be on guard against greed: Then He said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15). Let’s read that again: life does not consist in an abundance of possessions. This is what the Gospel teaches us; greed tells us the converse of that. The Enemy uses greed to tell us to get more stuff, to make money our master, to trust in ourselves and in the stuff we have. The Gospel preaches peace found in Christ – peace that is not dependent upon our financial situation or the possessions we own.
Greed will misguide our purpose; it will draw us away from the purpose that God has for our lives as His children. He longs to give us life that is full and abundant, and a full life has absolutely no correlation with the amount of money that’s found in our bank account.
Do You Trust God’s Promises?
Okay, what does greed have to do with trusting God’s promises? Isn’t greed simply about wanting more stuff and more money? Well, yes, from one aspect it is about money and possessions. However, there’s a deeper root of greed, and that’s where the true danger of it comes into play. We can be led by the Enemy into greed when we start believing that our purpose is to obtain more money and more things – and the root of this is often found in us believing that we are taking care of ourselves, rather than God being in control and taking care of us, His people.
When we begin to forget or disbelieve the promises from God, we can start to lean into other things that are tangible and that we can, mistakenly, think we have control over. What we are forgetting is this truth: Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or read or stow away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? (Matthew 6:26) We are forgetting our value in God’s eyes. We are forgetting or choosing to not believe that God does take care of us always and knows exactly what we need. He will never let us down – while money and our possessions will never be something we can rely upon.
Don’t allow the hardships you may be facing, or the trials you’ve walked through, or the fears that you have to keep you from believing the promises of our Father. Don’t allow the world to draw your heart away from your Heavenly Father who loves us so deeply and unconditionally. Don’t allow yourself to fall victim to the lies of the Enemy and the lies of greed, and instead, cling to the truth of our good Father. He’s trustworthy, He’s faithful, and He keeps His promises.
