Ten Sins That We Now Take Less Seriously - Part Six

He leads me …

In the previous five blogs we have had a look at how some recognised sins in the first half of the 1900’s were progressively ignored. People’s way of life changed, and their standards became laid-back.

One of the key changes was that manners do not mean much anymore. Manners let others see that we cared about them, and they could feel comfortable in social situations. We saw that this was a practical out working of, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ as taught by Jesus in Luke 6:31 and Matthew 7:12.

Manners covered many aspects of life, but they came down to some basic principles of politeness - consideration, respect, and honesty.

A downturn with these values led to a more ‘broad-minded’ way of life in the 1960’s.[1] Changes to our general behaviour were in progress. This meant that the Ten Commandments which is the basis of most of our laws were being progressively abandoned. The ‘sins of the flesh’ listed in Galatians 5, were being neglected too.

Previously we have looked at buying lotto tickets, swearing, Game of Thrones, sex before marriage, the inappropriate joke, idolatry, alcohol, gluttony and caffeine addiction, but there is still another sin that has become forgotten that we should look at too.

Let us look at our last example –

10. Greed

This sin has the potential to convict us all. We would probably all agree in principle that greed is wrong - but does that principle still hold when we are dining at a buffet or are thinking about buying an Apple Watch because our friends all have one?

The reality is that we find it hard to say ‘No’ when we know how nice it would be to indulge – just a little (hmm). Greed arises from our fallen nature. This fallen nature urges us to satisfy our desires regardless of whether it is ethically correct or not.

Webster’s Dictionary defines greed as ‘a selfish and excessive desire for more of something (as money) than is needed.’ WordNet, based at Princeton University, defines greed as an ‘excessive desire to acquire or possess more than one needs or deserves.’

Most people, including many Christians, accept this definition of ‘excessive desire’, but we should look what the Bible says to understand the correct meaning of ‘more of something than is needed’ or ‘more than I deserve.’ Is it greedy to drive a Porsche when a cheaper car like a smaller Suzuki Swift could get us to our destination just as well?

Many of us have a definition of greed that is relative to how we understand life. How do we work out how much is necessary, and then when a person has more than enough? Who decides what someone needs and deserves? The earlier definitions of greed do not address these questions.

Fortunately, for us as Christians the Bible is a better source than Webster’s Dictionary to enable us to understand greed more clearly. The Bible has a lot to say about greed, which allows us to come up with a clear definition, and as expected it is different than the one that is used as part of the popular ‘broad-minded’ point of view today.

What does God or the Bible have to say about it? Here are a few Bible verses that should help.

Greed Steals Life

So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; Greed takes away the lives of its possessors. (Proverbs 1:19 AMP)

This verse warns us that greed takes away life. Not only will the greedy man be willing to destroy the life of another to pursue wealth, and his greed will also consume and destroy his own life (note 1 Timothy 6:9-10).

Greed Is Insensitive

Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. (Ephesians 4:19 NIV)

The Greek word for greed in this verse is used of people who are willing to exploit their neighbour or their best friend to get whatever they want. It is the irresistible desire to obtain what we have no right to possess.[2]

Greed Is Not Truly Fulfilling

Then Jesus said to them, “Be careful and guard against all kinds of greed. A man’s life is not measured by the many things he owns.” (Luke 12:15 ICB)

We are not blessed by God to hoard our wealth for ourselves. We are blessed to be a blessing to others, and to build the kingdom of God. The things of the world will not truly satisfy the desires of our soul.

What is the cure for greed? Generosity.

Fostering a giving and generous heart will drive greed out of our hearts by the power of Gods love. Sharing is the cure. Giving and being generous. Either our possessions control us, or we control them.

If we have all we need and see one of our own people in need, we must have pity on that person, or else we cannot say we love God. (1 John 3:17 CEV)

As we have worked through these 10 sins there will be both agreement and disagreement with the points that were made. The reasons for this will be based on how we view the world around us, and how we react to what the world’s media tells us in terms of our own experiences.

Our responses will also be shaped by what we were taught as we grew up. Obviously, this includes the teaching and actions of our family, but also includes what we learnt directly or indirectly from school and groups that we belonged to.

From a Christian point of view our reactions will be determined by our understanding of Scripture where there is a great variety of interpretations amongst believers. Where we are uncertain about what the Bible says, our only alternative is to pray about it and trust the Lord for His answer. It may not happen immediately, but it will happen if we are open to His gentle promptings. 

He important point is, will the people that know us just see us and other Christians as a people who are not all that different than them? If we are not really seen as 'set apart', and we do not seem to care greatly about being a Christian, why will they care what we think? Can we really expect them to want to join us?

Dear Reader – If you have found some value in this blog, please feel free to send a copy on to your family and friends. Kind regards, John

[1] Definition of Etiquette, Emily Post, emilypost.com;

https://emilypost.com/advice/definition-of-etiquette

[2] Ephesians 4:17-19 – Knowing, Being, and Doing, Jeremy Myers, Redeeming God;

https://redeeminggod.com/sermons/ephesians/ephesians_4_17-19/