Bible Questions Answered:
“...I'm sick of reading everyday how politicians, banks and, companies have robbed people blind, what will happen in our country if all this goes on unchecked!”
Daliane/ Annecy, France
Bible Answer:
The Bible has much to say concerning the subject of greed.
And the list does not end there, individuals, churches, religious leaders, religious organizations etc. etc.
One of the most glaring sins in the church of Jesus Christ today, is out right hypocrisy.
When a religious leader gets up and tells people he is trusting God, and he has a portfolio of millions of dollars, he is nothing but a liar!
Is it any wonder why our government, our people, are in the sin of idolatry, when its very spiritual leaders, live for all the money they can shovel?
This old pastor has said it before and He will now say it again.
To be admired (not their theology), the Roman Catholic Church, when they (don't know if this is still true today) have priests, who have taken a “vow of poverty!”
You know where they are coming from! They're not in it for filthy lucre!
They are serving God, because that is what they have been called to do, and do it for free.
Want to know how spiritual you church is, your pastor, your denominational leader is, ask them what their salary is! OK read that again!
Is it exorbitant? Then it should be dealt with. (Then again if it is not sufficient, that too, should be dealt with.)
Don't take no for an answer, don't let anyone buffalo you by saying their salary is set by a certain board, etc. etc.. or that their salary is a part of their administrative office total (so that no one's salary may be known).
This is where “honesty,” meets the road! If your pastor, religious leader, organizational Bishop, Superintendent, etc. etc. can't answer this question......time to move on!
It is time for honesty to rule and reign from the House of the Lord!
Biblical References regarding Covetousness:
Exodus 18:21 KJV (The words of Moses to his people.)
Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:
Exodus 20:17 KJV (10th Commandment)
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
Job 31:24,25,28 KJV
24 If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence
25 If I rejoice because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much;
28 This also were an iniquity to be punished by the Judge: for I should have denied the God that is above.
Psalm 10:3 KJV
For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.
Proverbs 15:27 KJV
He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live.
Proverbs 21:26 KJV
He coveteth greedily all the day long: but the righteous giveth and spareth not.
Ecclesiastes 5:10 NLT
Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!
Isaiah 56:11 NLT
Like greedy dogs, they are never satisfied. They are ignorant shepherds, all following their own path and intent on personal gain.
Jeremiah 6:13-15 NLT (Judah's rebellion.)
13 “From the least to the greatest, their lives are ruled by greed. From prophets to priests, they are all frauds.
14 They offer superficial treatments for My people’s mortal wound.
They give assurances of peace when there is no peace.
15 Are they ashamed of their disgusting actions? Not at all—they don’t even know how to blush!
Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered. They will be brought down when I punish them,” says the Lord.
Jeremiah 8:8-10 NLT (Jeremiah's warnings to Judah.)
8 “‘How can you say, “We are wise because we have the word of the Lord,” when your teachers have twisted it by writing lies?
9 These wise teachers will fall into the trap of their own foolishness,
for they have rejected the word of the Lord. Are they so wise after all?
10 I will give their wives to others and their farms to strangers.
From the least to the greatest, their lives are ruled by greed.
Yes, even My prophets and priests are like that. They are all frauds.
Jeremiah 51:13 KJV (Babylon)
O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.
Micah 3:11,12 NLT
11 You rulers make decisions based on bribes; you priests teach God’s laws only for a price;
you prophets won’t prophesy unless you are paid. Yet all of you claim to depend on the Lord.
“No harm can come to us,” you say, “for the Lord is here among us.”
12 Because of you, Mount Zion will be plowed like an open field; Jerusalem will be reduced to ruins!
A thicket will grow on the heights where the Temple now stands.
Matthew 6:19-21,24,25,31-33 KVJ
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 13:22 KJV
He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
Matthew 16:26 KJV
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Matthew 19:23,24 KJV
23 Then said Jesus unto His disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Mark 7:21-23 KJV (People led by greed, are in league with...)
21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Luke 12:15,33,34 KJV
15 And He said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
33 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Acts 20:33 KJV (Apostle Paul)
I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel.
Romans 1:28-32 NLT (All in judgment together.)
28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, He abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.
29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, "greed", hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip.
30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents.
31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.
32 They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.
I Corinthians 5:10,11 KJV
10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.
11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or "covetous", or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
I Corinthians 6:9,10 NLT
9 Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols (money), or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality,
10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.
I Corinthians 10:14 KJV
Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
II Corinthians 6:16 KJV
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
Galatians 5:19-21 NLT
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures,
20 idolatry (love of money), sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
Ephesians 4:18,19 KJV
18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
Ephesians 5:3,5 KJV
3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or "covetousness", let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Colossians 3:2,5,6 NLT
2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.
5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.
6 Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming.
Philippians 3:18,19 KJV
18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)
I Thessalonians 2:4-6 NLT (Apostle Paul)
4 For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts.
5 Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you well know. And God is our witness that we were not pretending to be your friends just to get your money!
6 As for human praise, we have never sought it from you or anyone else.
I Timothy 3:3 NLT (Paul's qualifications for leaders in the church-verses 1-12.)
He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money.
I Timothy 6:5-11,17 NLT
5 These people always cause trouble. Their minds are corrupt, and they have turned their backs on the truth. To them, a show of godliness is just a way to become wealthy.
6 Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.
7 After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it.
8 So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.
9 But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.
10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
11 But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.
17 Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.
II Timothy 3:1,2 NLT
1 You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times.
2 For people will love only themselves and their money..."
Titus 1:7 KJV
For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not self willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre (money);
Hebrews 13:5 KJV
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
James 5:1-3 KJV
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
I Peter 5:2 KJV
Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre (money), but of a ready mind;
II Peter 2:3,14,15 NLT
3 In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.
14 They commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained in greed. They live under God’s curse.
15 They have wandered off the right road and followed the footsteps of Balaam son of Beor, who loved to earn money by doing wrong.
I John 2:15-17 KJV
15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
I John 5:21 KJV
Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
Jude 11 (False Teachers.)
What sorrow awaits them! For they follow in the footsteps of Cain, who killed his brother. Like Balaam, they deceive people for money. And like Korah, they perish in their rebellion.
Revelation 21:8 KJV
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Is it any wonder at all, why the beloved Apostle Paul warned...
I Timothy 6:10 KJV
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
I Peter 4:17 KJV
For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
Salvation Prayer
