Today concludes our blog series focused on the Seven Deadly Sins. Find all of the links to each post here. And to read more on this topic, check out my book, Seven Deadly Sins: The Uncomfortable Truth
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God started working on the greed of his people as soon as they cleared the Red Sea. Wilderness was their training ground for life. They were totally dependent on God. No crops. No fast food restaurants. No grocery stores. Just God. He gave them manna in the morning and quail in the evening. The instructions were simple. Gather only what you need.
Some got greedy and began to stockpile the heavenly groceries, only to discover maggots in their manna. The lesson was simple. Learn to live from the hand of God. Go out every day and work for what he gives you. On the sixth day, gather enough for the seventh day. Enough is enough. Don’t stockpile. Don’t get greedy.
The Deadly Sin of Greed Destroys Our Capacity to Trust God
Greed is a deadly sin because it destroys our capacity to trust God. It suggests that we can secure ourselves and please ourselves by the possession of things rather than in obedient relationship with God. It destroys our concern for our neighbor and for their “enough.” Greed makes us small.
But in a consuming world, can we imagine ourselves unplugged from greed? Is there a spiritual laxative that can loosen the constipation of stuff that clogs our soul? Stuff that is consumed but never passes through our hands. Stuff that clutters our lives like trinkets in a musty attic.
