Editor’s Note: Dr. H. Wade Paris, a frequent speaker in the pulpit at Gallatin First Baptist Church, offers this scriptural view on the topic of greed. This is one of a series of articles published here and elsewhere under the column title, “The Shepherd’s Call.”
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When the housing market began to collapse, some analysts and executives of Moody’s Investors Service warned of trouble. The leadership of the company purged those who sounded warnings and promoted those who said, “All is well.” In hindsight, we know they abandoned all the safety features of investing. Why would a well-respected, previously sensible company do such a thing? The answer is greed. The company cared more for profit than public trust. It was a bad decision.
A few days ago a family in Colorado reported their young son had climbed into a homemade balloon basket and been carried off by strong winds. For hours the world watched as the balloon was chased in hopes of rescuing the boy. Today we hear it was a hoax. The parents had hidden the child at home and were hoping to get a reality show with the deception. One must wonder why someone would perpetrate such a pretext. The answer is likely greed. The parents hoped to profit from the hoax. What a shame.
In Australia, (this is classic) scammers persuaded local businessmen to invest $160,000 in a secret chemical that was supposed to duplicate bills of currency when soaked overnight. What on earth would make wise entrepreneurs so gullible? The answer is greed.
Greed is nothing new. It is as old as humanity. Adam and Eve had everything they needed and more, but they wanted that forbidden apple they did not need. Ananias and Sapphira sold their property to help the indigent Christians in the church at Antioch. At first, they were moved by compassion and a desire to help; but when they got the money their hands, compassion turned to greed. They decided to keep a portion and pretend they had given all. (Acts 5: 1-11)
Ananias and Sapphira died because of their greed. I know of no modern day experience where someone was struck dead because of greed. Today, greed does not kill us immediately; instead it destroys us little by little. When we Christians with our plenty become so greedy we turn our heads from the needy, are we not spiritually dead? If greed causes us to spend more time at the office than at home, are we not a little dead? If our greed causes us to cheat our neighbors or customers, then we have died at least a little bit.
Think on these things.