What does the Bible say about greed?

On all hands are people who earnestly desire to become rich; the making of money is to them the chief end of life. The Christian may all too easily become infected with this spirit to his great loss. Verse 9 does not speak of those that are rich, as does verse 17, but of those that "will be rich" or "desire to be rich," that is, they set it before them as the object to be pursued. Such become ensnared by many lusts, which in the case of the man of the world plunge him into destruction and ruin. This is so whether they succeed in their aim and amass wealth or whether they do not, for the coveting of money it is that turns men aside from the faith and pierces them through with sorrows, and not the acquisition and misuse of it only. The love of money is declared to be the root of every kind of evil. It is not that every bit of evil in the world can be traced to the love of money, but that the love of money is a root from which on various occasions every description of evil springs.

The Lord's reply here is to be well noted. "Man," He says, "who made me a judge or a divider over you?" And He said to them, "Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consists not in the abundance of the things which he possesses" (ver. 15). I believe that to be a most important, a most salutary word for us all. I mean it is a word we all need, and to which we should all pay heed, The Lord feels the value of it, and says, "Take heed, and beware of covetousness." And what is covetousness? Well, it is the desire to acquire what I have not got — the desire to gather and build up — to gather together round myself. You see it is the principle of the world. It is a danger for the Christian, also, and therefore the Lord says to His own, "Take heed, and beware of covetousness."

It is not the question merely of getting a thing wrongly. No, that is not the point. It is this. In the heart of man there is a sort of determination to acquire. Acquisitiveness belongs naturally to the human heart, which occupies itself with the things of time — the things of sense — the things of this life; and, concerning these things, the Lord says, "Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consists not in the abundance of the things which he possesses."

Now, I pray you mark that word, "A man's life consists not in the abundance of the things which he possesses." Well, you say, what does his life consist in? That is a very serious question. What does your life consist in? Is Christ your life? You know what Paul said, "For me to live is Christ." That was life indeed, according to God, for "a man's life consists not in the abundance of the things which he possesses," but in having Christ as an object and motive. The Lord reads our hearts very simply. He knows the danger of acquisitiveness to the human heart, whether it be the heart of the unconverted man, or the heart of one of His own people, and in this plain and simple way He unfolds the truth, and we do well to take heed to it.

How beautifully he gives them the remedy for any discontent of this sort: "Be content with such things as ye have have." Instead of reaching out after that which you have not, and having the spirit filled with discontent, remember One who has said, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

As we look around us today, we see that covetousness is characteristic of the whole world. The word "covetousness" in the original means "having more." It is not necessarily wishing for what some one else has, but wishing for more than I have; the root of all covetousness is being dissatisfied with what we already have.

Both πλευνεξία and φιλαργυρία -ρος refer to covetousness, but there appears to be a marked distinction between them. πλευνεξία (from πλέον and ἔχω, 'to have more') is not confined to money, and is often connected with open wickedness, the force of the word being 'desiring more (than is necessary),' and hence 'an over-reaching to get,' and is thus applied to the lusts of the flesh, Rom. 1:29; Eph. 4:19, where it is translated 'greediness'; Eph. 5:3; etc. It is declared to be idolatry, Col. 3:5.

On the other hand, φιλαργυρία (from φίλος and ἄργυρος) literally 'love of money,' is the miser's sin, and may be indulged in with a profession of religion. Thus in Luke 16:14 it is applied to the Pharisees, and in 2 Tim. 3:2 to those who had a form of godliness, but denied the power thereof. This love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, 1 Tim. 6:10, and those who go after it are liable to wander away from the faith, and to pierce themselves through with many sorrows.

The last commandment strikes, not at the things people do or say, but at the thoughts of their hearts, "You shall not covet." To covet is to crave something that another has. Though one may not steal from another, yet only the craving for his possessions is sin. Paul focuses on this one law in Romans 7:7, where he clearly shows that he would not have considered covetousness as sin unless the law had declared this. Who has not been guilty of such desires? Nor can we get rid of this covetous attitude unless the Lord Jesus works in our hearts by new birth, causing us to willingly judge our motives and seek to live by wholehearted faith. Then, instead of being envious of others, we shall know how to unselfishly "rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep" (Rom.12:15). We shall be glad if others are blessed even if we are deprived, and this, not because the law commands not to covet, but because the grace of God is working in our hearts. It is the grace of God that teaches us "that, denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age" (Tit.2:11). The law told people to live in such a way, but it was unable to teach us, as grace does.

While the Lord Jesus was in the act of pouring forth these unearthly principles, a true child of earth intrudes upon Him with a question about property. "And one of the company said to him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me." How marvellously little did he know of the true character of that heavenly Man who stood before him! He knew nothing of the profound mystery of His being, or the object of His heavenly mission. He surely had not come from the bosom of the Father to settle lawsuits about property, nor to arbitrate between two covetous men. The spirit of covetousness was manifestly in the whole affair. Both defendant and plaintiff were governed by covetousness. One wanted to grasp, and the other wanted to keep; what was this but covetousness? "And he said to him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?" It was not a question of which was right or which was wrong, as to the property. According to Christ's pure and heavenly doctrine, they were both wrong. In the light of eternity, a few acres of land were little worth; and as to Christ Himself, He was only teaching principles entirely hostile to all questions of earthly possession; but, in His own person and character, He set an example of the very opposite. He did not go to law about the inheritance. He was "Heir of all things." The land of Israel, the throne of David, and all creation belonged to Him; but man would not own Him, or give Him possession. "The husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir, come let us kill him, and seize upon the inheritance." To this the Heir submitted in perfect patience, but — eternal homage to His glorious name! — by submitting to death He crushed the enemy's power, and brought "many sons to glory."

201 In verse 13 one comes to the Lord, complaining of the injustice of his brother; "Speak to my brother," says he, "that he divide the inheritance with me." And the Lord replied, "Who made me a judge or a divider over you?" He was not come to set things right in this world then; though He will do this when He comes again. Had He been accepted as Messiah, He would have done so then; but the counsels of God were otherwise. It was quite right that the man should have his inheritance; but as Messiah He was rejected, and therefore could not then set "justice and judgment on the earth." He was then come about men's souls; therefore He says to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness." For while the one sought to defraud, the other sought to obtain; and it was the same spirit in both. They were both loving the possession of these things, and this was the whole secret: therefore the Lord told them, that "a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth."

202 The real mischief is in the riches of this world getting into the heart. Mark that most solemn word in 1 Timothy 6:9-10, 11, "But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil; which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness." It is they that have a desire for riches, who fall into "many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition." It is not the question as to whether riches are right or wrong in themselves, but as to riches being the object of the heart. If so, they keep Christ out. A man will then say, But suppose I do not set my heart upon them; but the Lord who knows our hearts better than we do ourselves, does not deal in this way: for He says, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also"; and not as it is often quoted, "Where the heart is, there the treasure will be." It is quite true that, if the Lord give riches, He can give grace to use them; but even then they are a snare. The language of the "certain rich man" to his soul in this chapter is, "Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry"; but God says, "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?" So is he that "layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God." Here come in the questions, "What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

203 "Therefore take heed, and beware of covetousness, which is idolatry." For, be it ever remembered, that while riches are a snare to the rich man, to be jealous of a rich man, because of his riches, is as bad or worse in the poor man; for it just shews that he would also have them if he could. It is not a question about riches. The Lord wants to get souls into heaven, and riches will not take them there; that can only be by being rich towards God. The whole question is about Christ; for if Christ has His place in our hearts, the things of this world cease to be temptations to us. The man that is rich towards God has no desire for other riches. But the man that layeth up treasure for himself is not rich towards God; because self is at the bottom. All this has to do with the world.

Here the Lord presents the picture of an everyday reality. Covetousness implies no dishonesty, and is not even hard or sharp dealing, being no more than the desire of more: the very spring of modern effort, the motive of bettering himself commended to all from the mechanic to the millionaire. Thus the creature becomes the object, not God; and therefore is covetousness declared to be idolatry. It is man looking down, not up in dependence on God. The rich man was not content, but high-minded and trusted not in God but in the certainty of what is most uncertain. Rich in good works he was not, nor liberal in distributing, nor grateful for the abundance which he had, nor disposed to communicate. He aspired after greater things and planned for nothing but his own ease and enjoyment, as if he had a lease for ever. God was in none of his thoughts, but read them all. When the rich man called on his soul to be merry over the many goods laid up for many years, the summons came: "Fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee."

things which may be bought with money. When this is so, it is a great mercy for many a man that he does not get the money he wants, for it would only lead him into more sin. These are the very things that drown men in destruction and perdition. A believer certainly will have no such end, but he is yet seriously warned against any polluting of himself with those things that cause the ungodly to perish. Let us guard continually against the selfishness of our own hearts. The expression here is properly translated, "The love of money is a root of every evil," that is, that it is a root that bears all manner of evil, not that it is the only root. Covetousness will lead one far astray from the faith, and some had already been so overcome, piercing themselves through with many sorrows. It will always defeat its own ends.