GREED IS GOOD!?

GREED IS GOOD!? 1 Timothy 6:6-16 November 6, 2011 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introduction In the 1987 film, Wall Street, Michael Douglas won and Oscar for best actor playing the part of a fictional corporate raider and unethical racketeer and Junk Bond King named Gordon Gecko. The Gekko character became a symbol in popular culture for unrestrained greed. In the film during a particularly dramatic speech he delivered the signature line, "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good." Is greed good? Or is it evil? God has a clear opinion in the matter. Toward understanding greed Greed defined Greed (or, avarice) is #5 in the list of deadly sins (or, cardinal sins) as determined by the 14th century Roman Church. These are considered deadly sins because they engender other behavioral sins. Greed is also known theologically as the fifth and last “sin of the Spirit.” The sins of the Spirit are those that are “cold” and “respectable.” Greed is the desire to get all we can, by whatever means possible and then to keep what we have. The things we get, the possessions and money, are not evil in themselves, but the craving for them as something that will fully satisfy our souls is. It is in this regard an attempt to replace the satisfaction that only God can give with something material and only seemingly satisfying. Fact is, we are all strongly tempted to greed. Back in the old West as the story goes, a San Diego bank hired a private investigator to track down a bank robber and retrieve stolen funds. The search led to Mexico. The investigator crossed the border and then, realizing he would need a Spanish interpreter, opened up the telephone book and hired the first interpreter listed in the Yellow Pages. After many days, he finally captured the bandit and, through the interpreter, asked him, "Where did you hide the money?" In Spanish, the thief replied, "What money? I have no idea what you're talking about." The translator related his answer in English to the investigator. With that, the investigator drew his pistol, pointed it at the suspect, and said to the interpreter, "Tell him that if he doesn't tell me where the money is, I will shoot him where he stands." He told the thief in Spanish, and the bank robber said to the interpreter in Spanish, "Se?r, I have hidden the money in a coffee can, under the fourth floorboard, in the second-floor men's room of the Palacio Hotel on Via Del Rio in La Paz." "What did he say?" the investigator asked the interpreter. "Se?r," said the interpreter as he thought for a moment, "he says he is prepared to die like a man!" Let’s focus on greed for the next few moments, because when we consider what the Bible teaches us about this topic, I believe we’ll not only see why it is called deadly, but we will also get some much needed insight into issues we face personally, nationally and internationally in terms of the world economic climate. Greed in the Bible The 10th commandment expressly forbids greed when it says, You shall not covet. A good chunk of Jesus’ teaching in the Gospels is directed against greed, and He makes it clear that it is destructive to life--not only illusory, temporary and a dismal failure in terms of satisfaction, but also disastrous to the human heart. It is also pictured as ending in judgment and damnation in the parables. The apostle Paul summarizes the seriousness of greed with his teaching that the love of money is a root of all evil. Biblically speaking, greed is second in wickedness only to the sin of pride. Greed is portrayed as finding expression in the mishandling of money: by hoarding, by excessive consumption, getting it by dishonest means and by selfishness in terms of withholding from others who are in need. Greed is a secular sin Identifying greed is complicated because in our world greed has become a secular sin. That is, it is socially acceptable. People are not only not condemned if they are greedy, they are often the heroes of our culture (as in the case of the fictitious Gordon Gecko, symbol of the rich and famous whom the world admires). Seeing greed as sin is further complicated by the fact that it is so woven into the fabric of our culture. Capitalism gets a black eye as “the engine of greed.” And the appeal of socialism is that it is allegedly the corrective to such greed. This is the message being touted by the “Occupy Wall Street” and “Occupy Main Street” folks who are snarling traffic in hundreds of cities world wide. And there is a point, because if we want to be biblical we cannot simply dismiss the greed element so seemingly inherent in capitalism. At the risk of sounding political (I am not being political, but biblical—hear me well.) But the idea that you heal all social ills by the redistribution of wealth is not the answer.   Shirley Chisolm said, “When morality comes up against profit, it is seldom that profit loses.” The Socialism-Capitalism Battle I want to get to the Scripture’s wisdom. Consider why socialistic redistribution of wealth doesn’t work: 1. People need both freedom and responsibility. God made us with the need to be productive, to be earners; it is beneath our humanity to be willfully dependent. And it is equally counter to our freedom to be stripped of the rewards we earn by hard work and required to give of our hard earned substance to those who do not work. There must be balance. Listen to the wisdom of 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 - Make it you ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. Earn freely… Add to that Paul’s counsel in Ephesians 4:28 – He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. Give freely… 2. People need both freedom and responsibility, but we have to also realize that people are sinners. We are fallen people, all of us susceptible to the sin of greed and its ugly behaviors. In 1 Timothy 6, Paul warns that some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. That seems to be a stern warning toward the rich, but be careful! It is not only rich people who can get caught up in greed; those who don’t have riches and crave them are just as guilty of greed a those who do have and hoard it. Paul’s answer: But godliness with contentment is great gain. (6:6). Capitalism doesn’t work well, and that because of sin. Socialism doesn’t work well because of sin. Redistribution of wealth does not work because people are sinners, and those in power, running the show—are prone to exercise their power in unjustly depriving the poor. That’s a problem with capitalism--selfishness, but you can’t fix it with redistribution of wealth, because every socialistic experiment in history has fallen victim to the same problem. 3.  People need biblical morality. Does the Bible’s teaching come down on the side of socialism or capitalism. Well, let’s see. There is the work ethic that says if you work hard you will be rewarded; by contrast, if you don’t work, you don’t eat. But the Scriptures also teach that we are responsible to use what we earn with justice and mercy toward those who have real needs. Notice, though, that the individual is taught to make that voluntary decision—it is not a mandate handed down from government, synagogue or church. Once someone steps in and tries to legislate benevolence and generosity, the whole spirit of that virtue collapses in on itself. Biblical morality focuses on individual freedom and responsibility in matters of wealth and justice. The sin of greed is at the root of all economic difficulty. Jennifer Donnelly wrote: “Most of the mess that is called history comes about because kings and presidents cannot be satisfied with a nice chicken and a good loaf of bread.” G. K. Chesteron once said of the billionaires in the world, “To be clever enough to get all that money, you must be stupid enough to want it.” 1 Timothy 6:6-16 This passage picks up right after the apostle warns against false teachers who are men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. Wealth neither leads to spiritual maturity, nor does it prove spiritual maturity; in fact, it can more easily lead to spiritual poverty. Pick up, then, at verse 6: But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. Saints of God, do not strive for riches; strive instead for contentment. Does that mean we ought to not work hard and do our best? Absolutely not. The Christian is to live by this principle found in Colossians 3:23 – Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, (and this is in a context of employment)—work at it with all your might (Here is the important part) as working for the Lord, not for men. If God grants you riches in the process, use it for His glory, remembering it’s all His and you are His steward. 1 Timothy 6:10 – For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. The operative term is “eager for money.” If you make a god out of money, even a little money—even money you don’t have, but want—you put yourself in a spiritually dangerous place. Next, Paul gives personal, pastoral counsel to Timothy, and we are privileged to listen in. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. When each of us publicly confessed Christ, giving our hearts to Him in faith and receiving the forgiveness of our sins, we came into covenant with Him. We told Him, “You are my Savior and You are my Lord. I am not beholden to any other god. Listen, if we later decide that the pursuit of riches is our real God, it is spiritual treason. Your good confession turns bad. Christians, live for Christ, be content with what you have, work hard, share generously and honor your Lord. A young boy was driving a big hay-rack down the country road when it turned over right in front of a farmer's house. The farmer came out and saw the boy crying. , "Son, don't worry about this, we can fix it. Right now dinner's ready. Why don't you come in and eat with us and I'll help you put the hay back on the rack." The boy said, "No, I can't. Man, is my father is going to be angry with me." The farmer said, "Now don't argue, just come in and have some lunch and you'll feel better." The boy said, "I'm just afraid my father is going to be very angry with me." The farmer insisted and he and the boy went inside and had dinner. Afterwards, they walked outside to the hayrack. The farmer said, "Well, don't you feel better now?" The boy said, "A little, but I’m so worried about how angry my father will be with me." The farmer said, "Nonsense. He loves you. Where is your father anyway?" The boy said, "He's under that pile of hay." Make money your friend by treating it with godly respect. Make it your servant by being a good steward. But if you bow down and make it your god, the Lord Jesus is dethroned in your heart. Verse 13 – In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this commandment without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. The rest of the passage goes on to accentuate the great remedy for greed: Generosity. The Lord willing, I hope to bring a message on verses 17-23 next Sunday. I think you would honor the Lord, and bless me in the process, if you were here to hear.     [ Back to Top]