Greedy For More
Greedy For More
Reading: Proverbs 19-21; Romans 13
Some people are always greedy for more, but the godly love to give! (Proverbs 21:26 NLT)
You probably shouldn’t read this! OK, maybe you should read this, but you may not like it! Well, maybe your old self – your ego self won’t like it, but your new self – your true self is gonna love it!
Recently, a friend and I were talking about how the economy works. In order to keep the powerful engines that drive our economy revved up, we all must spend more money! Spending is what makes the wheels turn. But if you don’t have the money, and the solution is to spend money, you have to spend money you don’t have!
Did you catch that? To do our part to keep the economy strong, we’ve got to spend money we don’t have. God says if we spend money we don’t have, we’ll imprison ourselves with debt. To be willing to do that to ourselves, we’ve got to be driven not by gratitude for what we have, but by dissatisfaction with what we have, and by the desire for what we don’t have.
I know this sounds crazy, but to do my part to help the economy grow and make the wheels of industry turn, I apparently need to go deeply in debt! To be willing to do that, I’ve got to be driven by the desire to acquire things I don’t have (and probably don’t need!).
Don’t run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other. When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along. The law code, “don’t always be wanting what you don’t have”, and any other “don’t” you can think of, finally adds up to this: Love other people as well as you do yourself. (Romans 13:8-9 MSG)
Yes, I checked: One of the law codes (The Ten Commandments) says “Don’t always be wanting what you don’t have!”
If I’m not careful, I could forget that God’s economy is driven by giving generously what I do have, not by wanting stuff I don’t have! See how different God’s way is from man’s way? See how much better God’s way is!?
Prayer:
Father, I need help with this. I want to be a good provider, a generous giver, and a good citizen of my country. But I don’t want to be driven by wanting stuff I don’t have, and I don’t want to be imprisoned by debt. Show us how to do it your way. Amen.