THE DANGERS OF GREED

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The stingy are eager to get rich and are unaware that poverty awaits them.

The greedy stir up conflict, but those who trust in the Lord will prosper.

Proverbs 28:22, 25

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

WRITER’S NOTE: After today, I will be on a ship and heading back to the United States. I will try and post while away as much as possible but if for some reason connectivity does not allow it, I will be posting daily again once I arrive home.

Do you remember the Charles Dicken’s novel, “A Christmas Carol?”

Maybe you don’t remember the book but I bet you remember the main character of the book, a man by the name of Ebenezer Scrooge.

Ebenezer was a money lender and was quite prosperous. He was also quite greedy, so much so that anyone who was stingy with their money in life after Dicken’s published his book would be referred to as a “Scrooge.” Not really the way one would want to be remembered, right?

Scrooge had an employee named Bob Cratchit who worked as a clerk but lived in adverse poverty because his wages were a pittance although he was made to work long hours. Mr. Cratchit had a large family to provide for, a wife and six children. And if his challenges weren’t already great enough, his youngest child, Tiny Tim, had been crippled since birth.

The miserly Scrooge had a deep distaste for many things but perhaps none more than the Christmas season. When encouraged to get into the spirit, he would utter one of his most famous, enduring responses, “Bah Humbug!” Even on Christmas Eve, he refused to allow the charitable air penetrate his hardened heart, refusing an invitation to dinner from his nephew and rebutting two people seeking donations for the poor.

Yes, Ebenezer Scrooge was miserly but he was also miserable. Rich in money, he was absolutely bankrupt in joy, kindness, compassion, and benevolence toward others, showing us the dangers that can come with an attitude of greed.

How could a man become this way, so unhappy in life that he became wretched to the very depths of his soul?

Well, something supernatural was about to happen to Ebenezer Scrooge, something that not only convicted him to the wrongs of his ways and changed his world forever but also opened the doors of his life to the readers of Dicken’s book so that one could understand why Ebenezer became the man that he was.

For that Christmas Eve, Scrooge was visited by four ghosts: the ghost of Jacob Marley, his former business associate, the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Future.

Jacob Marley’s apparition would appear first, warning Ebenezer against making the same mistakes that he had made. Like Scrooge, Marley had hoarded his wealth and ignored the needs of the poor, actions that condemned him to have to walk the earth for eternity shackled in the chains of his own greed. He tells Scrooge to expect three other ghostly visitors as he had one last chance for redemption. 

The Ghost of Christmas Past took Ebenezer back to his days of youth, days where he revisited the following events:

- His mother dying after she gave birth to him.

- His cold hearted father eventually sending him away to a boarding school.

- His sister Fan begging her father to allow Ebenezer to return home, an encouraging that led to her father’s agreement.

- His sister giving birth to a son Fred before dying, just like Ebenezer’s mother had.

- A Christmas party given by Ebenezer’s kind employer who he worked for in his youth.

- His girlfriend, Belle, leaving him as his love for money became stronger than his love for her. Ebenezer would be shown a scene several years later where Belle had happily married someone else. 

So much tragedy. So much loss. So much pain. And the beginning signs of the dangerous impact that greed was having on Ebenezer.

Next was the Ghost of Christmas Present. Scrooge is shown a scene of all of London celebrating, even the Cratchit family despite their poverty. When Ebenezer asks about Tiny Tim, he is told that the boy would die unless there was some form of intervention to help the family.

Finally, the Ghost of Christmas Future reveals what’s ahead for Ebenezer if he continued to live his life as he was living it. Tiny Tim dies because his father could not afford treatment on his meager salary. Several people remark sarcastically of how the man who died was wretched and would not be missed, relived he was dead. The ghost reveals the man they were talking about was none other than Scrooge himself. This experience leaves Ebenezer weeping at his own grave until he awakens to realize it is Christmas Day and he has a chance to make amends for all the wrongs he committed.

Repenting of those mistakes, Ebenezer sets out to make things right. He pays a visit to his nephew Fred, gives Bob Crachit a raise, and takes a special interest in Bob’s son Tiny Tim, ensuring that he would get the care he needed. Ebenezer Scrooge was a changed man and the world was a better place because of it.

This story was brought to mind after I read the scripture for today, drawn from the 22nd and 25th verses of Proverbs, Chapter 28:

The stingy are eager to get rich and are unaware that poverty awaits them.

The greedy stir up conflict, but those who trust in the Lord will prosper.

There are a lot of Ebenezer Scrooges in the world today, people so self consumed that they never consider the needs of others. Selfish and greedy, they look out for only themselves and never take advantage of opportunities to use what they have to make a difference.

The problem with this mindset is that it is not even close to being Christ-like in nature and will result in trouble for anyone who adopts it. For worldly wealth too often leads to spiritual poverty as people worship their money more than the Lord who provided it to them. And like Ebenezer Scrooge, they find themselves stirring up conflict and despised by the people who resent their selfish egoism and basic disregard for humanity.

Conversely, the word of God tells us that those who trust in the Lord are the ones who really prosper. In other words, when it comes to spiritual affluence, the measuring stick is found in the treasures from heaven that we seek to amass, treasures the Lord is ready to provide in abundance to anyone who places their full faith, hope, and trust in Him.

This is good news for all who have been walking the wrong path in life. Like Ebenezer Scrooge, a person can turn their life around with a new attitude of love, caring, and compassion for others, a chance to let the world see just how much we can love self sacrificially when we put our hearts and minds to it.

Want to avoid being miserly and miserable as a result?

Avoid the dangers of greed by acquiring true prosperity in life, the prosperity in Christ that provides us with plenty as we live for Him now with an even more prosperous life ahead when we receive our salvation promise and get to live with Jesus and God the Father forever.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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