Greed. It seems like it has made a comeback recently, but in reality, it has never gone away. Avarice, lust, covetousness has been the singular cause of some of history’s greatest misses. From Eve looking at the forbidden fruit, to David looking at Bathsheba taking a bath. From Ahab weeping for Nabioth’s vineyard, to Judas weeping because he sold the Lord. Greed turned Lot’s wife to salt, gave Merriam leprosy, sent Joseph to jail, got Achan and family stoned and buried Korah and associates.While that may be ancient history, greed and covetousness has been foremost in man’s destruction until this very day. Madoff and IGA are nothing new. Whenever you hear of oppression, slavery, murder, rape, adultery and such, greed has overcome someone’s heart and led them down the path of destruction.
Jesus says this of greed, “The Light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single (healthy or clear), thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore thy light be darkness how great is that darkness (Matt. 6:22-23).”
The meaning of this becomes clearer when you see the verses before it “Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth…., For where your treasure is there will your heart be also.” And then the verses after, “No man can serve two masters…, You cannot serve God and mammon.”
What the Lord is revealing to His followers is the pollution of greed and its corruptive power over the heart. As the eye is the source of light (Light = knowledge and truth), then the eyes must be kept clear. If not then it fills the body with darkness (Absence of light = wickedness and ignorance). Our souls either suffer from lack of light or flourish in the abundance of light. We must not let the lust for treasure and the service of mammon pollute our purpose.
Keep your eye focused on light and make sure that nothing blocks that focus and Light will fill your soul. Don’t let your soul become darkened by greed.
3 comments:
Loved this; quite apposite for the times; for ANY time, actually. I was just sharing with someone one of my favorite scriptures when they were complaining about how they didn't have what they "thought" they should by this point in their lives. Luke 12:15 says, "And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." My grandpa used to collect all kinds of stuff in his own way (long story, maybe I'll blog one day, ha ha), but he gave 90% of it away. In the end, he didn't have anything Bernie Madoff might have considered worth anything, but each of his family and friends all had something that a "Madoff" couldn't steal; the example of a giving heart and beautiful memories for us to treasure.
Thank you as always for sharing with us all.
You should blog it. Sounds like a great story to counteract these sad stories. Do it!
Thanks.
Amen, Amen!!! Greed is the source of most of our problems today, but it seems that we are not learning our lessons no matter how many examples we have. We need to have our priorities in order. We have to be greedy for the right things. Greedy for the "Word" needs to precede being greedy for money and position. That's not to say we shouldn't desire more money, but when that desire overshadows our responsibilities of God and family, then everything starts going wrong, physically, emotionally and spiritually
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