Greed.

[Ian Gentles]

Tonight's preacher told of a conversation he had with another minister, other guy said something like this, "You know in all my ministry people have come to me about ever kind of sexual sin imaginable, but never once has anyone come to me because of greed!" Wow, is there no greed in the church, in christian lives?
Maybe its just, we don't recognise greed in ourselves, in our christian lives, we justify ourselves in other words.
I had to be honest as i sat there, if God gave me a lot of money tomorrow would be tempted for, new furniture etc, car, holiday abroad. I have to be honest.
I think hardest thing to see and admit in our lives is Greed.

http://iangentles.livejournal.com

[Diane Likens]

Well put, Ian. I think greed is probably one of the most difficult things for us to recognize in ourselves. After all, we are inately born to watch out for "number one" and I think sometimes we believe that we're only getting what we have earned or things we deserve.

[Ian Gentles]

Well put, Ian. I think greed is probably one of the most difficult things for us to recognize in ourselves. After all, we are inately born to watch out for "number one" and I think sometimes we believe that we're only getting what we have earned or things we deserve.

Probably many do beleive they get what life owes them. Not saying folks dont work hard, but in end some get more than they ever need, and keeping it could be "greed". But thing is, as we concider what we have, what do we actualy need?

[Tami Martin]

I think hardest thing to see and admit in our lives is Greed.

I would have said pride was the hardest thing to recognize while greed is the hardest one to admit.

[Ian Gentles]

I would have said pride was the hardest thing to recognize while greed is the hardest one to admit.

Both can be kinda close together i think. The rich person, in their pride, can wrongly feel deserving of what they have.
Just a side note, this isnt an attack on rich folks but on wrong attitudes.

[Barbara Moulton]

Greed, as I understand it, is a selfish desire and/or pursuit of money, attention, possessions, pleasure, fame etc. It pursues these things without consideration of others and might even deny others of these things in order to gain more for themselves.

Greed is revealed in one's attitude towards acquisition. Although we might like to think we can determine this by looking at someone's bankbook, the reality is that we can't.

I would suggest that it has nothing to do with how wealthy someone is. You can be dirt poor and yet very greedy. You can be exceptionally rich and never even come close to being greedy.

Do I have more than I need? Yes? But I don't think that this means I am greedy.

[Dave McClung]

Both can be kinda close together i think. The rich person, in their pride, can wrongly feel deserving of what they have.
Just a side note, this isnt an attack on rich folks but on wrong attitudes.

Which do you think God prefers? An humble rich person or a proud poor person?

In this morning's Sunday School Lesson the writer said, "
If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead, and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75 percent of the world’s population.

If you have money in the bank, cash in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8 percent of the world’s wealthy.

If you own a computer, you are in the 1 percent of the world who enjoy this privilege.

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the 150,000 who will not survive this day.

If you have never experienced the reality of war, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are privileged above the 700 million people in the world who have endured these hardships.

If you can attend a church meeting without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than 3 billion people.

[Ian Gentles]

Yea but Dave, why did that minister say, no-one had ever come to him because of greed? Is it a sin we, whatever our finances, fail to recognise in ourselfs?

[Barbara Moulton]

Yea but Dave, why did that minister say, no-one had ever come to him because of greed? Is it a sin we, whatever our finances, fail to recognise in ourselfs?

Well..when you think about it .... how many of the "seven deadly" sins are ever the reason why someone comes to a minister?

I can't think of anyone who has come to me and asked for help with gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy or pride. Maybe lust.

But although they might not be the "presenting issues", they often are the underlying causes of some of the other reasons people come to a minister for help (relationship problems) for example.

[Barbara Moulton]

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead, and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75 percent of the world’s population.

The other night I actually commented on this to my husband...that what I take for granted, a soft mattress and warm blankets, would be unimaginable luxuries for many people across the world.

I hadn't really thought about this before. I think the fact that I haven't been feeling well for a couple of weeks has made that crawling into the bed at the end of each long day much more of an "ahhhh" moment. Maybe that helped me to focus on the very real comfort of my bed.

I am rich.

[Roy Richardson]

Tonight's preacher told of a conversation he had with another minister, other guy said something like this, "You know in all my ministry people have come to me about ever kind of sexual sin imaginable, but never once has anyone come to me because of greed!" Wow, is there no greed in the church, in christian lives?
Maybe its just, we don't recognise greed in ourselves, in our christian lives, we justify ourselves in other words.
I had to be honest as i sat there, if God gave me a lot of money tomorrow would be tempted for, new furniture etc, car, holiday abroad. I have to be honest.
I think hardest thing to see and admit in our lives is Greed.

http://iangentles.livejournal.com

I concur this is exceedingly difficult to recognize in ourselves. I think the 3 G's are all tough. Greed, Gluttony and Gossip. They are all easy to rationalize away.