Insatiable Greed

~~~ Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues ~~~

Priests, and Companions, Martyrs

~~~ Romans 4:20-25 ~~~ Psalm Luke 1:69-70, 71-72, 73-75 ~~~

~~~ Luke 12:13-21 ~~~

Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich,
one’s life does not consist of possessions.

The parable of the rich man is a good reminder that
all of our possessions remain here
the day that we die.

Greed...an intense selfish desire
to have more of something than you need
especially wealth or money.

The richness and wealth of life does not
depend on our possessions.

Greed is one of the seven deadly sins,
because it throws ones soul into great chaos.
The soul filled with greed is ruthless.
Greed can lead to violence and hatred.

If you want to follow Jesus there is no place for greed.

If you want to follow Jesus it is best to get rid of your extra things.
When greed is in control of your life it consumes your soul.
Greed renders the soul in capable of loving,
because everything has strings attached.

Jesus had no use for greed.
Greed leads to sin because eventually you
will do whatever it takes to have more.

There can be no love for the poor
when greed resides in your heart.

A person driven by greed will not be stopped
in his endeavors for more.

Anyone who gets in the way of a person
controlled by greed will eventually get hurt.

A greedy person is a person to stay away from.

Beware, jealousy is the cousin of greed.
Too often we tend to focus on what we want
and lose sight of what we really need.

Greed is insatiable.

Making provisions to store more is not the ticket to heaven.
Store up your wealth in what matters to God.

Thus will it be for the one 
who stores up treasure for himself
but is not rich in what matters to God.

Love and compassion is
what we need more of in our heart.
The treasures which hold value to God
cannot be stored in barns.

There is no room for greed when your heart
 is already completely filled up with love.

May the Lord teach us to value what
 matters most to him.

Blessed be the Poor in Spirit.

~~~Peace~~~

Is Money the Root of All Evil?

 

~~~ 1 Timothy 6:2c-12 ~~~ Psalm 49 ~~~ Luke 8:1-3 ~~~

 

...the love of money is the root of all evils...

 

Love...Money...Evil

 

Money itself is not evil, but rather it is the attitude

of the one who has the money.

Is money what we value the most?

Is money really everything?

We do need a certain amount of money in order to live in this world.

 

There are some people who have more money

than they need and there are those

who barely get enough money to buy the necessities.

There are those individuals who are very generous

with their money, they give to charities.

There are some wealthy who even leave endowment funds.

 

The key word in the verse about money is the word love.

Love is a strong emotional word.

Does it really belong coupled with money?

 

Recently there have been many studies concerning

money and happiness with surprising results.

The overwhelming conclusion is that more money does not

translate to greater happiness.

Money is a tool.

Many times we just throw more money into a project

only to find that it fails any way.

 

Recently there have been huge power ball lottery winners.

I wonder if they are really that much happier or is it a means

 to just become a grand foolish person.

Does more money simply give us the permission

to spend more frivolously?

 

In reality you can be happy if you are poor

and you can be happy if you are wealthy.

The opposite is also true because it is not the money

 that determines a persons happiness.

 

It is true that the more money you have at your disposal

the more choices are set before you.

 

Jesus did not have money, but he did have many choices.

Three women accompanied Jesus and his apostles on their journeys.

These three women came from very different backgrounds.

I wonder how they came to be the three who traveled with Jesus?

These three named women...

Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,
Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza,
Susanna

coming from diverse backgrounds.

They came together for a common purpose...to serve Jesus and his twelve men.

These women served Jesus in the background.

They most likely told their friends

much about what they heard and saw

through the service of the Lord.

 

These three women represent the diversity

of even the women who followed Jesus.

From sinners to the well off; all can serve the Lord.

 

This is where the dilemma lies with having money.

Does money prevent one from serving the Lord?

Is it just too difficult to have the distraction of money.

When given the choice of serving God

or having money which does one choose?

The question remains;

is money really the root of all evil?

 

Blessings come through discerning

what is worth loving.

Money can certainly not be the end all for either happiness or evil,

but rather it is how we value our money.