Understanding the Sin of Greed

Colossians 3:5 "Therefore put to death... greed, which is idolatry."

The Bible uses strong language against greed.  It calls it idolatry -- the worship of possessions.  We are told that we must kill it.

What is the sin of greed?

Greed is a strong desire to acquire more and more material possessions that interferes with your love for God and others. 

The Greek word for greed is pleonexia, a thirst for having more.  The Louw-Nida Lexicon says that greed is "a strong desire to acquire more and more material possessions or to possess more things than other people have, all irrespective of need."  William Barclay said that the Greeks defined greed (pleonexia) as the accursed love of possessing.

“Solomon used two Hebrew words to describe greed. One means 'to deeply yearn or long for something'; the other implies wanting something so badly that you are willing to violate the rights of others to get it. Combining these two words gives us a fuller picture of what Solomon means. Greed is a deep longing for something that creates a willingness to do whatever it takes to acquire it. In other words, greed is not defined by what you want, but rather how badly you want it (Steven K. Scott, The Richest Man Who Ever Lived)."

The English word “Greed” comes from the Old English word graedig, which means “always hungry for more.”

Hebrews 13:5 calls it "the love of money."  1 Timothy 6:9 calls it "the desire to get rich." 

Greed is the pursuit of material possessions to make yourself happy, or to boost your self-esteem, or to win the admiration and applause of others.

Ed Young Jr. calls greed "the desire to acquire gone haywire."

John Eadie describes Greed as "the unconquerable love of appropriation; the morbid lust of acquisition."

Charles Swindoll said, “Practically speaking, greed is an inordinate desire for more, an excessive, unsatisfied hunger to possess. Like an untamed beast, greed grasps, claws, reaches, clutches, and clings—stubbornly refusing to surrender. The word enough is not in this beast's vocabulary….  Greed is forever discontented and, therefore, insatiably craving, longing, wanting, striving for more, more, more….”

Andy Stanley said, “Greed is the assumption that the extra is for my consumption.”  Most of us have more than we need.  Stanley calls this our "extra."  Greed is when you assume that the extra is for your own consumption rather than praying and considering about investing in kingdom work.