10 My son, if sinners entice you,
do not consent.
11 If they say, Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood;
let us ambush the innocent without reason;
12 like Sheol let us swallow them alive,
and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
13 we shall find all precious goods,
we shall fill our houses with plunder;
14 throw in your lot among us;
we will all have one purse—
15 my son, do not walk in the way with them;
hold back your foot from their paths,
16 for their feet run to evil,
and they make haste to shed blood.
17 For in vain is a net spread
in the sight of any bird,
18 but these men lie in wait for their own blood;
they set an ambush for their own lives.
19 Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain;
it takes away the life of its possessors.

Proverbs 1:10-19 (ESV)

The Bible is full of edifying paradoxes—one gains life by losing it; humility is the way of exaltation; the last shall be first. To match these, Scripture offers darker paradoxes, such as the truth that stranglers strangle themselves.

Greed makes men brutal. Solomon declares of those who crave worldly treasures, “Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood” (v. 16). Their willingness to harm others stems from their desire to obtain “precious goods” and sundry “plunder” (v. 13). But those who would do violence for unseemly gain soon discover a twist in their own tale of avarice—they ambush themselves (v. 18). Like Judas Iscariot who purchased his own “field of blood” by betraying Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (Acts 1:18-19), men who love money forfeit their own lives.

The Bible teaches that a righteous man must avoid those possessed by a voracious appetite for any illicit object, including unjust gain (v. 10). Like perceptive birds, the wise and their followers will fly above the nets set for them (v. 17). They will discover ways to achieve “just gain,” while constantly reminding themselves that salvation and true satisfaction cannot be bought. Cyprian once reminded and warned the early Church on this very issue, “You keep your money, which, when kept, does not keep you.” In other words, material things can entangle the soul. Christians must take care lest their possessions possess them.

Followers of Jesus Christ dare not wed their hearts with the servants of mammon (Matt. 6:24). God will not share His glory with products of human ingenuity. These will all pass away; there is nothing “Almighty” about the dollar.

Christians need to be reminded as they labor in the marketplace that greed is a deadly sin. Its infectious presence is everywhere, and they must protect their hearts from it.

Greed threatens the integrity of commerce, so companies must open their accounts for scrutiny. Business audits are important, but there is a more pressing audit for Christians, the audit of their souls. In their devotional lives, in Bible study, under the preaching of the Word, and at the prompting of the Holy Spirit, they must examine the expenditures of their hearts and deal frankly with their findings before God. Only then can they go about the Lord’s business with spiritual safety and joyful effect.

article adapted from Kairos Journal

First Baptist Church of Perryville is located across from the Principio Health Center on Rt. 40, one and a half miles east of Rt. 222.