IN this Sunday’s gospel (Luke 12:13-21), Jesus reminds us to guard ourselves against greed. He warns us not to fall into this trap, not because money or wealth is evil. Everyone wants to earn or save money, for without it, how can we buy the things that we need? Without it, how can we provide for our families, and if we always depend on others to satisfy our basic necessities, how can we win their respect? No, money by itself is not evil. Rather, it is the love of money that is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10).
Why is this so? Because the love of money pushes us to be greedy – to selfishly desire more of money, wealth, power, or anything we covet in excess of what we need. Greed motivates us to accumulate things without ever being satisfied, hence the endless pursuit to gain more and more. In the process, our priorities are displaced. Money, wealth, power, fame, or anything that becomes the object of our greed becomes most important to us, even more important than our relationship with God. And when that happens, what we are greedy of becomes our false god – our idol. Thus, St. Paul was right when he wrote that greed is a form of idolatry (Colossians 3:5).
Greed also makes us insensitive to the morality or immorality of our actions, just to attain what we desire. St. James’ writings are very timely for the modern world, “Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions that make war within your members? You covet but do not possess. You kill and envy but you cannot obtain; you fight and wage war. You do not possess because you do not ask. You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions” (James 4:1-3).
Likewise, greed makes us insensitive to the needs of others. The rich man in the story recorded in Luke 16:19-31 was thrown to hell, not because of any specific sin mentioned, but due to his life lived in pomp and extreme comfort while ignoring the needs of the beggar Lazarus on his doorstep. The rich man must be too greedy as to love his wealth and not to share his abundant blessings to the poor.
This Sunday and everyday, Jesus challenges us to dispel the temptation of greed and to focus instead on true riches. The character in the gospel (Luke 12:13-21) had goods stored in his barns in great quantities – so great that he can sustain his needs in the many years ahead. He felt so secured that he thought he can just rest, eat, drink, and be merry. Unknown to him, that very night was his appointed time to die. In verse 20, God poses a question, “The things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?”” For we brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it” (1 Timothy 6:7).
Jesus concludes, “Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God” (Luke 12:21). Elsewhere, he also says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be” (Matthew 6:19-31).