Beware the plans of the greedy

We live in a world which is obsessed with greed. A world with a continuous desire to make more and more money. A world obsessed about owning the latest and most fashionable things. A world where people continually struggle to out-compete those around them. In the news we hear of company and bank bosses receiving bonuses worth millions of pounds. Bonuses that are paid to well-off executives while some of their own staff struggle to earn enough money to merely survive. Even the Church of England has recently been accused of failing to pay all of its employees a living wage.

Although many believe that greed drives people to success and therefore happiness, God knows differently. As we can see in our passage God tells us that it is better to be poor rather than be rich through greed or dishonesty. Greed is like a wild animal, the more you feed it the stronger it becomes. As it becomes stronger it demands more and more from you. The longer the cycle continues, the harder it is to break.

God has a plan for you that is far bigger than ourselves. It extends way beyond our desires for success. Far beyond our selfish interests and surpasses our wildest dreams. God wants us all to succeed and thrive. However God wants your success to be a benefit to others, not something that tramples them down.

Remember that greed leads even good people away from the plans that God has for them. Greed may bring short-lived happiness, but as we have seen in the news over the past few years long-term reliance on greed so often results in trouble, and disaster.

This week keep an eye on your greed, reign it in and keep it in check. Have a great week.

Header image by: Chika Watanabe via Flickr