Common Ailments - Greed
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Introduction:
We are at the end of a series we’ve called Common Ailments.
We are dealing with common ailments - things that as church people, we go through more often than we probably should.
We understand that the church resembles a medical facility. One of the reasons it exists is to provide care for the people that show up. We know that our first attention is to Glorifying God, to making his name great, and then it is to the care of ourselves and those around us.
Just like any other medical facility, we have a few things that we come across more often than other things. It is flu season - there are a lot of people showing up to get tested for the flue. We are still afraid of covid, so people are getting tested for that. So those facilities develop streamlined treatments for those things, to allow for the care of other things.
We can get overwhelmed with the stuff that is common, to a point that we aren’t able to deal with anything else.
So some of this, we have to streamline.
Some of this stuff that we deal with - we all have to get good at taking care of.
As a church we are all responsible to minister to the needs of one another. So we look at these common ailments, we train to see them - and to treat them, in ourselves and others.
We have gone through a few things already :
Identity Crisis
Unforgiveness - Like a poison.
Unchecked Pride.
Fatigue.
And today - Greed.
I want to say two things before we get started with this.
1. Everyone deals with a little bit of greediness. But I am not convinced that this is something that we currently struggle too much with as a church. Proof positive is the event that we are hosting this afternoon, the ministry that we provide, and the stability of the church checking account.
Again - we all deal with a little bit of greed. For the most part, the people that have called this church home for the last few years, I know to be generous people.
2. We know this is going to be an INCREASING problem until the day Jesus comes back.
2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, demeaning, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good,
4 traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 holding to the form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people.
So as we go through these common ailments - and again - this one, not currently an epidemic in our church, but one day could be - what we do with these common ailments is that we look at four things. So if you were doing a med journal entry here, you could already fill out a few categories to fill in details as we go.
Those four things:
Baseline - what is healthy.
Dianosis - how do we know we, or someone else, has this problem
Treatment - What do we do when we know we have this problem
Prevention - How do we keep from getting this problem
Baseline:
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out.
8 If we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.
A healthy christian is one who finds contentment in the Lord.
A healthy christian looks at the things God has given them, and says Lord - this is enough. Thank you.
A healthy Christian lives in such a way that way they are thankful, and trusting in Jesus.
Diagnosis:
Greed : Illegitimate unauthorized desire pursuit or acquisition of material gain. - Tony Evans.
29 They are filled with all unrighteousness, evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, quarrels, deceit, and malice. They are gossips,
30 slanderers, God-haters, arrogant, proud, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
Greedy if:
We use illegal or immoral means to acquire things.
We complain more than we give thanks
We are more concerned about cash than character
when your financial life is going up but your spiritual life is going down
when we treat people with money better than we treat people without it.
when we crave and plot to possess what belongs to others
when we hurt others in order to get something for ourselves.
13 Someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14 “Friend,” he said to him, “who appointed me a judge or arbitrator over you?”
15 He then told them, “Watch out and be on guard against all greed, because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.”
16 Then he told them a parable: “A rich man’s land was very productive.
17 He thought to himself, ‘What should I do, since I don’t have anywhere to store my crops?
18 I will do this,’ he said. ‘I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and store all my grain and my goods there.
19 Then I’ll say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.” ’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared—whose will they be?’
21 “That’s how it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
The Adam Johnson translation:
Jesus was teaching a great many things about himself and about the kingdom of God. And someone thought to themselves, hey - this guys pretty good. He speaks with authority.
Jesus - my brother is cheating me. Would you tell him to give me my money?
Jesus said - Can’t you see I am doing something already ? But hey - you better be careful getting worked up about money. Lemme tell you a story.
This isn’t the guy who has the money - this is the guy who wants the money.
If you find yourself in a place where money is the only thing on your mind you might be suffering from Greed.
Treatment:
Learn to trust in the Lord
Trust fall - Looking at the situation that you are in, looking at the strength and the abilities of the one you are trusting in, and letting go.
That is exactly the relationship we have with God when it comes to our provision.
Consider:
26 If then you’re not able to do even a little thing, why worry about the rest?
27 “Consider how the wildflowers grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these.
28 If that’s how God clothes the grass, which is in the field today and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow, how much more will he do for you—you of little faith?
Treatment becomes changing our posture.
Greed and envy come from within ourselves as we look at others.
So stop looking at others.
The only reason you should be looking in someone else’s bowl - is if you think that you might have too much, and they might not have enough. And if that’s not the case, praise god and move on.
But that takes some work.
As we see it in others, we might remind them - lovingly - that it is God who provides.
As we see it in ourselves, we might - lovingly - tell ourselves to sit down and shut up and watch God work.
Prevention:
Battling greed: 3 step process.
1. Put God in the right place. Study the word, pray, learn to and DECIDE TO trust him.
2. Give. Regularly and spontaneously.
3. Burn the barns.
1 Put God in the right place:
10 The one who loves silver is never satisfied with silver, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income. This too is futile.
11 When good things increase, the ones who consume them multiply; what, then, is the profit to the owner, except to gaze at them with his eyes?
12 The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich permits him no sleep.
13 There is a sickening tragedy I have seen under the sun: wealth kept by its owner to his harm.
35 Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
36 As it is written: Because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2. Give regularly and spontaniously:
7 Each person should do as he has decided in his heart—not reluctantly or out of compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver.
8 And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work.
9 As it is written: He distributed freely; he gave to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.
10 Now the one who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will also provide and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness.
11 You will be enriched in every way for all generosity, which produces thanksgiving to God through us.
3. Burn the barns.
Check yourself. Regularly. are you deciding in your heart to keep more than you need? Are you storing up treasures for yourself here?
I use the term market correction for a lot of things - what I mean by it is a big and sudden change in the right direction. One that makes a lasting impact on you as a whole.
A market correction can mean a lot of things, but in regards to our greediness - it would mean that we look at ourselves, and if we determine that we are in the wrong, we fix it. Big time.
The book of judges tells a story of a greedy people. .
God gave israel the land of the Canaanites. And in doing that - he said destroy them or drive them out. Do not let these people stay.
Greed has caused a great deal of trouble.
Slavery - tragedys of all kinds. Come from greed. As we see it creeping up in ourselves or in others , we gotta deal with it fiercely.