What is Greed :
People are greedy. This is because people want to possess. They want to have more and more. Here, I want to explore how God wants to deal with money and property.

Sadly, people fight for money, real estate and all kinds of earthly possessions.
There is nothing wrong with having a big, palatial house. A luxurious car. But God says do not love the world and it’s possessions.

Your mind must not be devoted to earning money twenty four hours a day, rather you should concentrate on  giving your time to help others.

The Bible offers 500 verses on prayer, fewer than 500 verses on faith, and more than 2,000 verses on money. In fact, 15 percent of everything Jesus ever taught was on the topic of money and possessions-more than His teachings on heaven and hell combined.

Luke 12:15

Nothing wrong with saving money. Having a big bank account. Building houses, investing in real estate.
Yes, you need money but also you must give. Give and you shall receive. You must not idolize money.

Luke 6:38

The more you give more you shall receive.If you give more you will receive more. Therefore, I urge you to give as much as possible. There is no end to how much you can give.

We can confidently give knowing our heavenly father will bless us in return, not only monetarily but in other ways as well.Unfortunately, what most, do is save everything and build up a fortune. And place their trust on the money they have. This is a big mistake many do.

It should be noted in the end you take nothing from this world.You should not think of earthly possessions as you need to leave all that behind one day.

Can money prevent disaster, a life threatening illness. Yes, you can delay death by spending the money you have on medical specialists.

Greed is not because of fear or insecurity. It is because of excessive selfishness, which is the result of ignorance, lack of wisdom, lack of kindness and love. Fear, insecurity, anxiety, tendency to betray or harm others, overconfidence, arrogance are the result of greed.

Ecclesiastes 5:10-

Businessmen, investors all they think about is making more money. And they are never satisfied with how much money, property they have. They continue investing, buying stocks and property. And they even buy islands.

After all this, they are still not happy. And as the psalmist says it is not enough for them. It is meaningless.

I know even in my own family, as soon as some person dies, all they think about is the inheritance from that person, and the siblings fight over it. They sue each other creating much unpleasantness among them. I do not understand but I know it’s because of the greed in them.

This has caused much unpleasantness.

Matthew 4:4-

Yes, man can not live by bread alone. How long can he survive by depending only on the wealth he has. Not too long. Calamity could strike anytime. Life threatening illness, sudden bankruptcy, death of a loved one.

An accident that results in losing your limbs. In all these situations, only God can help and console you. Even though you could be comforted by your loved ones and even by the church pastor, you can only comforted by hundred person is by god.

For that you need to know the word or spiritual scriptures. Many know it as it is being deposited in their heart and it will be reminded by the holy spirit.
Therefore, it is very important for all to read the bible daily, so that when calamity strikes you will be comforted by the word.

1 Corinthians 6:1

Greedy people will not be in heaven, also thieves, drunkards nor swindlers. This is the bitter truth. How many drunkards you encounter in life. This is sad for many people get drunk and behave as drunkards.

I challenge them to change their life styles even at this moment. If unable to change get counseling, go to AA meetings.get help. Why spend thousands of dollars unnecessarily on alcohol ?

Give it to church, poor, siblings who are unfortunate and suffering due to lack of money. Do not waste money that god has given you. You say you made it. But do you realize the good health, strength was given to you by grace of God. That is how you made that money, because of god.

Here, I want to emphasis it is only the Love of money that is not good, make no mistake you need money for your daily living. Therefore, you need to work and make money for a living but do not depend on it entirely for everything, if you do you will be making an idol of it and will be disappointed when calamity strikes.

Proverbs 22:7

On the other hand if you do not have any money, you are under the mercy of the rich. What most do is borrow, from banks, family and friends. And if you do not pay them back in time you are in trouble. Family members will keep reminding you of the debt. The friends will continue to “bug” you. And sometimes resulting in end of the friendship.

The bank will seize your car and house when you stop paying them. High interest rates make you declare bankruptcy. It is important to save money but you need not hoard it.

You will not fall into any financial difficulties like being forced into bankruptcy if you follow the word of god that is found in the bible.

1 Timothy 6:10 

Many people go to gamble hoping to make a million dollars, but at the end come up with nothing but losses. Gets more into debt. Some goes from as they say “hero to zero”

You can not serve both God and Money.You need to choose between the two.

Only people who make money at these casinos are casino owners. For them to lose a million dollars on winnings is nothing compared to the profit they make. Many do not realize that by gambling they are only making the casino operators rich.

Proverbs 21:5

For you to be successful in life you need to plan and slowly earn little by little. Eventually you will be a millionaire, if you save just $2000 a month from age of 20 till you retire at 65, you will surely have at least quarter million dollars in your bank account. You can eventually have more if you invest all your money in a 401k or RSP plan (in Canada)

Alternatively, you can invest in stocks, but that is risky. I know many who lost their entire life savings investing in stocks.

And it could lead you to poverty. Businesses are built with hard work and it takes time to reap benefits. And you will succeed if you do not give up. There are no shortcuts to riches in life.

Matthew 6:19-20:

This is one of the most important scriptures in the bible. People die to make money, but eventually they do not enjoy but someone else like their children enjoy it. This is also meaningless.

You need to accept Jesus as your Lord and savior. Then you will be assured of a place in heaven. In heaven you will find incorruptible treasures.

In the end you take nothing from this word. That is why here it says, ” lay up treasures in heaven.”

Philippians 4:19.

Our God, gives you all the strength and ability to earn. And God will ensure that you will have all your needs met. Having said that you can not idle, be lazy. You need to do your part and work, earn a living.

Conclusion-
Do not depend on money for everything. If you do, you will be disappointed. You need money and it is imperative that you earn money and make a living. But you need to save your money. You can save little by little from your young age and still be a millionaire.Gambling will make you poor. You need to lay up treasure in heaven not on earth as our life here on earth is temporary whereas we will have an everlasting life in heaven,

Sermon on Greed