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From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

 

Dear Rev. Graham: We’re taught that reaching our goals is what life is all about and that if we don’t check off our wish list, we haven’t been successful. I’ve done everything I set out to do – and I’m in great despair. I have a lot of money, and even after retirement I’m young enough to do whatever I want. But my wife divorced me, my children rebelled and left home as teenagers, and my friends don’t really include me in anything. I have reason to believe instead of being successful, I’ve become a total failure. Where is the truth? – S.L.

 

Dear S.L.: Greed seeks more than its own in life. It cheats, robs, and slanders to achieve its desires. The Bible teaches that we are born with the sin of covetousness (see Jeremiah 6:13). Greed is an intense and selfish desire for something, often something belonging to another. The Bible speaks of greed as covetousness, as in the Ten Commandments (see Exodus 20:17).

Charles Kingsley, a historian, once said, “If you wish to be miserable, think about yourself: about what you want, what you like, what respect people ought to pay you – and then to you, nothing will be pure. You will spoil everything you touch. You will make misery for yourself out of everything good. You will be as wretched as you choose.”

Greed is rated with other sins like wickedness and maliciousness in Romans 1:29. Greed is idolatry and not to be confused with riches, if riches have been earned honestly. But if riches choke out spiritual life, then it is sin.

Many people have been blessed by the story of Zacchaeus and challenged to turn from a life of greed to a life of giving – and God’s blessing falls on them when they live according to the attributes of Christ. Everything that we see about us that we count as our possessions only comprises a loan from God.

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(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)