“A greedy man stirs up dissension.” A simple statement made in the Old Testament book of Proverbs 28:25 and yet when you delve into the six word sentence there is a great deal more to be recognised. For a start why would a greedy man stir up dissension if he seemingly has everything he wants…or does he? And how does that apply to use in our daily lives? A lot of people covet things…..mostly money and what they can use the money to get but in the end it becomes almost a relentless pursuit of never having enough. Let me give you modern day examples. There have been so many people who have won lotteries, lotto games etc and become overnight millionaires. Sadly having that much money makes them greedy for things and not just tangible things they can touch and see but those things that might be illicit, dangerous, and lead to a downhill battle of their mind and overall health but to a place where they just wish they had never had the money at all. And when people see the outpouring of lust for things they begin to argue with the person that all they are doing is showing greed, that they have forgotten who their friends are or were when they did not have money. Greedy people also want to be better than others and much of the time this is a battle they wage in their minds. If they see someone for instance who has a collection of artefacts they have to go one better and then too that person to come and see their collection. Another word for greed is want…and sometimes covet. Even within a marriage greed can bring dissension. A husband who thinks watching sport on television all the time can displease his wife who wants to be able to have quality time with him…and communication. It can be the husband wanting to spend more time with his friends than his family. And sometimes greed can even take the form of judgement. Again as an example there are so many who claim that their church is the only church, their Pastor is the only Pastor, their worship is the only worship…..in other words they make people feel as if they are second rate where they are and that is a recipe for dissension. It may be silent dissension at first but if the person who wants to blow their trumpet continues sooner or later the dissension becomes public. We do well to be content with what we have. By worldly standards it may not be much but if you are happy with what you have, if you show that happiness outwardly there will be no dissent…on the contrary people will say “I want what they have.” Dennis Booth-
Posted on: Wed, 10 Jul 2013 02:13:12 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015