Greed: Selfish Desire

~~~ Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~~~

~~Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23~~

~~Psalm 90~~ Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11~~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 dictionary defines greed as...

intense and selfish desire for something, 

especially wealth, power, or food.

When an individual becomes strangled by greed

 they can never be satisfied...

there is always something more they desire.

Greed leaves the soul starving for something 

that it does not recognize.

Greed robs the soul of finding peace of heart.

Greed exhausts one's ability to rest.

One cannot rest when there is always something more.

In order to get more they must be in a constant state of acquisition.

God gives us his peace.

Peace never emerges out of greed.

We hear in scripture that 

'love of money is the root of all evil'...

(1Tim.6:10)

Greed keeps one hungry day and night.

Greed cannot quiet the grumbling stomach.

Greed does not come from God.

Perhaps the first sin in the Garden of Eden

was ultimately the first sin of greed.

The temptation of greed was disguised in a luscious

 piece of sweet juicy fruit.

No matter how much we desire or what we 

acquire in our lifetime

none of it gets you into the gates of heaven.

We must find a way to accumulate the intangible.

We must become 

 '...rich in what matters to God.'

It is only God that can

 satisfy the greed of our heart.

He can only do that if we keep 

our tendencies toward greed under control.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

Greed is not the path to heaven.

Greed holds one on the race track 

with no finish line in sight.

Christ is all and in all.

There is no room for greed.

None of our earthly possessions

 will make it into eternity with our soul.

Blessings...

greed cannot be the way.

~~~Peace~~~

Selfless or Selfish: Which One?

~~~ Daniel 3: 25, 34-43 ~~~ Psalm 25 ~~~ Matthew 18: 21-35 ~~~

"...with a contrite heart and humble spirit let us be received...let our sacrifice be in your presence today...as we follow unreservedly...we follow you with our whole heart..." (Daniel)

Fire consumes and purifies. Fire consumes things that are flammable like fibers, paper, and cardboard. Fire purifies silver and precious metals, but does not consume in the process.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the white hot furnace for refusing to worship the golden statue made for King Nebuchadnezzar. As the three prayed and praised God for his faithfulness, they proclaimed, 'Deliver us by your wonders, and bring glory to your name, O Lord.'

They asked God to intervene on their behalf.
Later, after Jesus' baptism, Satan uses a similar argument attempting to manipulate Jesus to respond to his requests. Jesus rebukes the devil, saying, 'You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.' 

Here we have a stark contrast in motivation. Satan is tempting Jesus and the three men in the fiery furnace are surrendering in their supplication to God.  Both incidents use a similar approach in their choice of words.

We can be guilty of the same in our prayer. Do our words always reflect our true motivation? Are we simply using the same words we have used as a child; only now with different motivation?

Jesus was obedient to the will of the Father securing salvation for us. Our salvation was his motivation. What is your motivation in prayer? Are your prayers a reflection of selfishness or selflessness?

God sent an angel to save the three from the fire because their prayer was honest and sincere. They are examples of complete trust in God.

They model for us praying in humility; knowing you have nothing to offer to God for his love.
We have "...no way of paying (it) back..." to the Lord for being spared from the consuming fire. Instead we humbly beseige God to "...be patient with me...". (Matthew)

All that we can give back to God is to be available for him to use...
to be willing to do his will...
to come before him with open palms and a humble heart.

To follow him unreservedly, with our whole heart
is the best we can offer for repayment.

"May the Lord, our God, bless us in all our works and undertakings."
(Dt. 15:10)