Greed

Greed -- excessive desire for getting or having, especially wealth; desire for more than one needs or deserves; avarice; cupidity.

Greedy -- wanting or taking all that one can get, with no thought of others' needs; desiring more than one needs or deserves; avaricious; covetous.

Psalm 17:12 ASV says Like a lion greedy and eager to tear his prey, and as a young lion lurking in hidden places.

Proverbs 1:19 ASV says So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; It taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

Proverbs 15:27 ASV says He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; But he that hateth bribes shall live.

Isaiah 56:11 ASV says Yea, the dogs are greedy, they can never have enough; and these are shepherds that cannot understand: they have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, from every quarter.

1 Timothy 3:3,8 ASV says no brawler, no striker; but gentle, not contentious, no lover of money; Deacons in like manner must be grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;

Being "greedy for money" is one of Satan's traps. It begins when he plants that seed that we can't live without possession and more money. That desires fan it's own fire until it consumes you. Ask God for wisdom to recognize any greedy desire that you may have before it destroys you. Leadership will either sacrifice for the good of their people or to sacrifice their people for their own greed.

Productive of Greed:

1. Defeat.......Joshua 7: 11-26 ASV  Israel hath sinned; yea, they have even transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: yea, they have even taken of the devoted thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also; and they have even put it among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, because they are become accursed: I will not be with you any more, except ye destroy the devoted thing from among you. Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow: for thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, There is a devoted thing in the midst of thee, O Israel; thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the devoted thing from among you. In the morning therefore ye shall be brought near by your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which Jehovah taketh shall come near by families; and the family which Jehovah shall take shall come near by households; and the household which Jehovah shall take shall come near man by man. And it shall be, that he that is taken with the devoted thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath; because he hath transgressed the covenant of Jehovah, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel. So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel near by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken: and he brought near the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zerahites: and he brought near the family of the Zerahites man by man; and Zabdi was taken: and he brought near his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.  And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to Jehovah, the God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.  And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Of a truth I have sinned against Jehovah, the God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: when I saw among the spoil a goodly Babylonish mantle, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it.  And they took them from the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel; and they laid them down before Jehovah.  And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the mantle, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them up unto the valley of Achor.  And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? Jehovah shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire, and stoned them with stones.  And they raised over him a great heap of stones, unto this day; and Jehovah turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.

2. Murder.......1 Kings 21:1-16 ASV And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.  And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house; and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it: or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.  And Naboth said to Ahab, Jehovah forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.  And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.  But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?  And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard.  And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thy heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.  So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, and that dwelt with Naboth.  And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:  and set two men, base fellows, before him, and let them bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst curse God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him to death.  And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who dwelt in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, according as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them. They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.  And the two men, the base fellows, came in and sat before him: and the base fellows bare witness against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did curse God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him to death with stones. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead.  And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.  And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.


3. Betrayal......Luke 22:1-6 ASV   Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might put him to death; for they feared the people.  And Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. And he went away, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might deliver him unto them.  And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money.  And he consented, and sought opportunity to deliver him unto them in the absence of the multitude.

Examples of Greed:

1. Samuel’s son........1 Samuel 8:1,2,3 ASV And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.  Now the name of his first-born was Joel; and the name of his second, Abijah: they were judges in Beer-sheba. And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted justice.

2. False prophets.........Isaiah 56: 10,11 ASV  His watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge; they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.  Yea, the dogs are greedy, they can never have enough; and these are shepherds that cannot understand: they have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, from every quarter. The "watchmen" were the nation's leaders. The leaders of Israel were blind to every danger and thus did not warn when danger was coming. Apathetic about their people's needs, they were more concerned about satisfying their own greed.

3. False teachers.........2 Peter 2:14,15 ASV having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; enticing unstedfast souls; having a heart exercised in covetousness; children of cursing;  forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing; The false teachers, although they were sinning openly, took part in the communion with everyone else in the church. In one of the greatest hypocritical acts, they attended a sacred meal designed to promote love and unity among Believers. 1 Corinthians 11:27 ASV says "Wherefore whosoever shall eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. " Balaam was hired by a pagan king to curse Israel. He did what God told him to do for a time, but eventually his evil motives and desire for money won out.