Greed

Also called: Covetousness, Gambling, Materialism, Miserliness, Selfishness
Excessive desire for more of something, especially wealth or possessions.

Top Bible Verses about Greed

Proverbs 28:8

He who augments his wealth with interest and with usury gathers it for him who is kind to the poor. Read Proverbs 28:8

Ecclesiastes 5:10–12

Whoever loves money is not satisfied with money, and whoever loves wealth is not satisfied with profit. This also is vanity! When prosperity increases, those who consume it increase. So its owner gains nothing, except to see his wealth before it is spent. The sleep of the laborer is pleasant, whether he eats little or much, but the wealth of the rich man does not allow him to rest. Read Ecclesiastes 5:10–12

Isaiah 5:8

Ah! Those who join house with house, they join field together with field until there is no place and you are caused to dwell alone in the midst of the land. Read Isaiah 5:8

Ephesians 5:5

For this you know for certain, that every sexually immoral person, or unclean person, or greedy person (who is an idolater), does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Read Ephesians 5:5

1 Timothy 6:9–10

But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and a trap and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge those people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all evil, by which some, because they desire it, have gone astray from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains. Read 1 Timothy 6:9–10

James 5:1–6

Come now, you rich people, weep and cry aloud over the miseries that are coming upon you! Your wealth has rotted, and your clothing has become moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have become corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you, and it will consume your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages that were held back by you from the workers who reap your fields cry out, and the cries of the reapers have come to the ears of the Lord of … Read James 5:1–6

Famous Christian Quotes About Greed, Covetousness, Gambling, Materialism, Miserliness, Selfishness

God Will Not Be Shared with Other Things

Men of the world would fain increase their share of this world’s goods: some covet gold and silver, others houses and families, others a great name, influence, and glory. One is allured by one object, another by something else, and all strive by various paths to achieve their various projects. But the portion of holy souls is God Himself. If we would be possessed of such a portion, such a heritage as is our Lord, it behooves us so to order our life that we may deserve to possess Him and be ourselves possessed by Him. That is to say, if we would possess God as our lot, we must have nothing outside of God, for he is avaricious indeed for whose desires God is not enough. If we look for any other object, as, for instance, gold, silver, or property, God will disdain to be shared with such things.

Hugh of St. Victor

The Change Brought About in Christians

We who formerly delighted in fornication, now embrace chastity alone; we who formerly used magical arts, dedicate ourselves to the good and unbegotten God; we who valued above all things the acquisition of wealth and possessions, now bring what we have into a common stock, and communicate to everyone in need; we who hated and destroyed one another, and on account of their different manners would not live with men of a different tribe, now, since the coming of Christ, live familiarly with them, and pray for our enemies, and endeavor to persuade those who hate us unjustly to live in conformity with the good precepts of Christ, to the end that they may become partakers with us of the same joyful hope of a reward from God the ruler of all.

Justin Martyr

A Dreadful Thing Is the Love of Money

A dreadful, a dreadful thing is the love of money. It disables both eyes and ears, and makes men worse to deal with than a wild beast, allowing a man to consider neither conscience, nor friendship, nor fellowship, nor the salvation of his own soul; but having withdrawn them at once from all these things, like some harsh mistress, it makes those captured by it its slaves. And the dreadful part of so bitter a slavery is that it persuades them even to be grateful for it; and the more they become enslaved, the more their pleasure increases; and in this way especially the malady becomes incurable, in this way the monster becomes hard to conquer.

John Chrysostom
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