Greed is idolatry
This week is on Colossians 3:5-6:
These verses are part of a larger lesson from Paul about focusing on the spiritual aspect of our lives. Here he lists a bunch of physical excesses. The interesting thing is that he refers to greed as idolatry. All of the previous excesses could probably be described as greed in one fashion or another. We become greedy for pleasure or for power, and our behaviour warps under the weight of it.
Greed is idolatry in the sense that it becomes something which draws our desire and our focus away from God. Our greed for pleasure outside of the constraints in which God designed it to be enjoyed causes us to be sexually immoral, or to have evil desires, or to lust after things. Lust was originally described as an inordinate desire for anything, not just sexual things. I met a guy once who had an inordinate desire for roasted peanuts and had to give them up so that he wouldn't overeat. You could say that the peanuts were an idol if his service to that desire pulled him outside of the bounds of healthy eating.
Our earthly nature pulls us towards excess. Sex gives us a place in the next generation's gene pool and ensures that our family or clan will have enough people to defend our village against others. Sweet fatty foods give us the calories we need to survive cold winters and hot summers. Power ensures that we can get rich foods, sex, and territory. Our bodies exert a pull on us to get us to do the things which give the body what it wants, but those things need to be balanced by the spirit. Just as a plough will skip all over if not weighted down, our physical side needs to be controlled if we are to be productive spiritually.
Paul says to put these things to death. Putting it to death means it no longer has a life of its own. If you're filled with greed, and always underpaying and overcharging, maybe it's time to force an honest accounting. Instead of serving your need to always come out ahead in a transaction, you choose to serve God in being honest and fair in each transaction. Instead of always choosing the richest or sweetest of foods, thereby serving your tongue and your stomach, you choose to stick to a healthy diet and take care of the body God gave you, thereby serving God instead. Putting your earthly nature to death means it no longer gets a vote when you're making plans.
This idolatry of serving your desires, of giving them free reign to control your life, brings the wrath of God. I don't think Paul means that in the sense that the guys in "John 3:16" sandwich board signs with megaphones mean it, where God has an itchy finger on the "go to hell" button and is scowling at you for going to the movies or not having perfect church attendance. The wrath that Paul is talking about comes because refusing to control ourselves causes us to do stupid things. And doing stupid things makes people angry.
So Paul's point is, if you're seeking a spiritual connection with God, it helps to try to avoid needlessly making him angry. Kind of like how you try not to overdrink at the company Christmas party because you want to impress your boss. Or how you don't put your feet up on the furniture at your rich relatives' house. God is our friend, but he is also our lord, and that demands respect and a sense of place.
The more "spiritual" people get, the less they seem to think about controlling their earthly nature. It's not bad to enjoy physical things. We're supposed to enjoy them. Pleasure and pain exist for a purpose. We just shouldn't be controlled by them. We're not dogs. And yet the 20th century church is full of stories of great Christian leaders who refused to control themselves and caused a lot of hurt and shame for themselves and those around them. There's no level of spirituality that licenses you to cheat on your wife, or embezzle money, or spend donations on lavish mansions, private jets, cosmetic surgery, and nepotism. Refusing to control yourself in those situations brings the wrath of God because it corrupts his church and suppresses the expression of love to indulge in selfishness.
Paul says to put that to death. Don't give it a vote. If the dead are voting, something is seriously wrong. Even with the promise of grace, why would you want to invite the wrath of God? When do we ever seek to make those we love angry? Putting it to death is a strong act. There is no compromise. It's either alive and ruining your life, or it is dead.
The world we live in says that greed is good, and that progress depends on greed. But Paul says that greed is idolatry, and that the wrath of God comes from greed. I would rather have progress come from love and devotion to God than from idolatry.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
These verses are part of a larger lesson from Paul about focusing on the spiritual aspect of our lives. Here he lists a bunch of physical excesses. The interesting thing is that he refers to greed as idolatry. All of the previous excesses could probably be described as greed in one fashion or another. We become greedy for pleasure or for power, and our behaviour warps under the weight of it.
Greed is idolatry in the sense that it becomes something which draws our desire and our focus away from God. Our greed for pleasure outside of the constraints in which God designed it to be enjoyed causes us to be sexually immoral, or to have evil desires, or to lust after things. Lust was originally described as an inordinate desire for anything, not just sexual things. I met a guy once who had an inordinate desire for roasted peanuts and had to give them up so that he wouldn't overeat. You could say that the peanuts were an idol if his service to that desire pulled him outside of the bounds of healthy eating.
Our earthly nature pulls us towards excess. Sex gives us a place in the next generation's gene pool and ensures that our family or clan will have enough people to defend our village against others. Sweet fatty foods give us the calories we need to survive cold winters and hot summers. Power ensures that we can get rich foods, sex, and territory. Our bodies exert a pull on us to get us to do the things which give the body what it wants, but those things need to be balanced by the spirit. Just as a plough will skip all over if not weighted down, our physical side needs to be controlled if we are to be productive spiritually.
Paul says to put these things to death. Putting it to death means it no longer has a life of its own. If you're filled with greed, and always underpaying and overcharging, maybe it's time to force an honest accounting. Instead of serving your need to always come out ahead in a transaction, you choose to serve God in being honest and fair in each transaction. Instead of always choosing the richest or sweetest of foods, thereby serving your tongue and your stomach, you choose to stick to a healthy diet and take care of the body God gave you, thereby serving God instead. Putting your earthly nature to death means it no longer gets a vote when you're making plans.
This idolatry of serving your desires, of giving them free reign to control your life, brings the wrath of God. I don't think Paul means that in the sense that the guys in "John 3:16" sandwich board signs with megaphones mean it, where God has an itchy finger on the "go to hell" button and is scowling at you for going to the movies or not having perfect church attendance. The wrath that Paul is talking about comes because refusing to control ourselves causes us to do stupid things. And doing stupid things makes people angry.
So Paul's point is, if you're seeking a spiritual connection with God, it helps to try to avoid needlessly making him angry. Kind of like how you try not to overdrink at the company Christmas party because you want to impress your boss. Or how you don't put your feet up on the furniture at your rich relatives' house. God is our friend, but he is also our lord, and that demands respect and a sense of place.
The more "spiritual" people get, the less they seem to think about controlling their earthly nature. It's not bad to enjoy physical things. We're supposed to enjoy them. Pleasure and pain exist for a purpose. We just shouldn't be controlled by them. We're not dogs. And yet the 20th century church is full of stories of great Christian leaders who refused to control themselves and caused a lot of hurt and shame for themselves and those around them. There's no level of spirituality that licenses you to cheat on your wife, or embezzle money, or spend donations on lavish mansions, private jets, cosmetic surgery, and nepotism. Refusing to control yourself in those situations brings the wrath of God because it corrupts his church and suppresses the expression of love to indulge in selfishness.
Paul says to put that to death. Don't give it a vote. If the dead are voting, something is seriously wrong. Even with the promise of grace, why would you want to invite the wrath of God? When do we ever seek to make those we love angry? Putting it to death is a strong act. There is no compromise. It's either alive and ruining your life, or it is dead.
The world we live in says that greed is good, and that progress depends on greed. But Paul says that greed is idolatry, and that the wrath of God comes from greed. I would rather have progress come from love and devotion to God than from idolatry.
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