Beware the Snare of Greed

The title of today's sermon is, Beware the Snare of Greed.

I'll say it again. Beware the Snare of Greed.

Some of you, I'm sure, know what a snare is. Have you ever been caught in a trap?

I remember as a kid, I got too curious about a mouse trap and what was on it. Next thing I know, my finger became a mouse and it was not very good. Memorable, but not good. Of course, if you've ever been caught in a trap, you know that, like my experience, it's not always a... well, it's usually not a pleasant experience, is it? Now, there are all sorts of traps, nets, and snares used to capture animals, either dead or alive. Some of you know all about that, I know. And so we have coyote traps. That's how we pronounce it, where I come from, Nebraska. Coyotes. We have coyote traps, fish traps, mouse traps, and I think it's fair to say bug zappers should be part of a trap as well. And once caught in a trap, the creature is at the mercy of its captor. It's at the mercy of its captor. Now, Scripture also uses the imagery of traps, nets, and snares to describe how the wicked oppress the poor and the innocent.

And traps, nets, and snares are also used to describe how the righteous can be tempted and ensnared by sin. And so, kind of different aspects of those same images. Today, we will consider God's warning to avoid a particular trap of covetousness. Specifically, we are told in Scripture that we must guard ourselves from the snare of greed. Hence today's topic, title. Again, the title is, Beware the Snare of Greed. Now, Scripture tells us a sad fact about life in this world that we know, and that is the wicked and greedy. Wicked and greedy people exist. Wicked and greedy people exist. Motivated by greed, the wicked entrap and oppress the poor, the innocent, and yes, the righteous. We find this oppression described rather colorfully. Let's turn to Psalm chapter 10. Let's begin today by turning to Psalm chapter 10. Psalm chapter 10, where we will find references to traps and the attitudes and motivations of the wicked and greedy. And so the psalm opens, if there I am, Psalm chapter 10, it opens with the psalmist prayerful lament. Psalms, of course, are hymns. We sing them, but they are also prayers. They're individual prayers. They can also become communal prayers, community prayers. Here in Psalm 10, the psalmist opens with a prayerful lament. He asks the question of God, verse 1, he says, why? Why do you, why do you stand afar off, O Lord? Why do you hide in times of trouble? Now, of course, sometimes it feels that way when we're in trouble. But we also know, if we turn to other scriptures, we know that God is watching. God is there. He is very much aware of what is going on. He's allowing us to have this opportunity to build character, very much like we heard in today's sermonette. Why do you stand afar off, O Lord? Why do you hide in times of trouble? And then verse 2, continuing, the psalmist describes what the wicked do, and he also includes, immediately, a request for God's judgment upon them. All in verse 2. It reads, the wicked in his pride persecutes the poor. That's the problem. And then he asks God, let them be caught in the plots which they have devised. In other words, he's praying that God would allow the wicked to be caught in their own traps, be caught in their own schemes.

Now, as he continues, he goes more detail about what a wicked person is like. And so what we find in verses 3 through 7 are traits of the wicked person. And what we're going to see, summarizing it here for you, the wicked person is proud, he's greedy, he's deceitful, and he's also defiant of God in his ways. Let's read about that in verses 3 through 7. Psalmist says, for the wicked boast of his heart's desire, he blesses the greedy and renounces or rejects the Lord. Verse 4, the wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God. God is in none of his thoughts. And his ways are always prospering. That means to thrive, and he's always secure. Of course, that question gets asked a lot in Scripture. Why do the wicked prosper? Well, it's not always going to be that way. Continuing, he says, your judgments, your judgments are far above out of his sight. As for all his enemies, he sneers at them. He has said in his heart, I shall not be moved, I shall never be an adversity. And his mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression. Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity.

And so there we see again, as I say, the key traits of oppressors. Their arrogance, their insolence, deceitfulness, and their greed. Now notice as we continue on verses 8 through 10 how the psalmist now is going to take time to highlight the very nature of the wicked person. He's going to highlight what we can call the predatory nature of the wicked person in ensnaring and trapping his victims. And it is a predatory nature. Let's read. Verse 8, he says, he the wicked, he sits in the lurking places of the villages. In the secret places he murders the innocent. His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless. Does that sound like a predator? Those of you who love cats, do you have a cat? A cat's just a little lion.

They're predators. You've seen them do something similar. Verse 9, he the wicked, he lies in wait secretly as a lion in his den. He lies in wait to catch the poor. He catches the poor when he draws him into his net. He's trapped. And so he crouches. He lies low that the helpless may fall by his strength. He has said in his heart, God has forgotten. He hides his face. He will never see.

That's the mindset and the attitude of the wicked. And so the wicked thinks God does not care. He doesn't care, but the psalmist assures us otherwise. God sees, in God will, exact vengeance. We see this verse 14-15. The psalmist tells God, but you have seen, you have seen. For you observe trouble and grief to repay it by your hand. The helpless commits himself to you. You are the helper of the fatherless and break the arm of the wicked and the evil man. Seek out, we might say, hunt his wickedness until you find none. And so the wicked person is a predator. He's a predator. He's greedy, cunning, and yet foolishly arrogant. Foolishly arrogant. And he will be vanquished in his sin because God is just to deliver his victims. Now Psalm 10 was written some 3,000 years ago, quite possibly during the time of King David. It was written some 3,000 years ago.

And sadly, the wicked and greedy are among us still. In fact, in my research, I did not know this. I discovered something new, and maybe you didn't know this either. In fact, in our current legal system, our current legal system calls certain crimes, predatory crimes. They're called predatory crimes. According to LegalClarity.org, predatory crimes are crimes of, quote, exploiting or victimizing individuals through deceit, manipulation, and abuse. These crimes include human trafficking, which I think we've heard a lot about in recent months, human trafficking, identity theft, and fraud of all sorts for lucrative reasons. They're trying to get money. Perhaps you've been a victim of predatory crimes, or almost a victim. Maybe someone's stolen your credit card number. Maybe someone's tried to steal your Social Security number. Wouldn't that be frightening? Maybe they've taken a password to your computer or to bank account. Perhaps someone's tried to scam you with a phone call and pretending to be your grandson in trouble and needing money. Apparently, there's some man that's tried that on my mother, who's now almost 92 years old next week. He's tried that on her five times. She knows him so well she recognizes his voice when he calls. She goes, are you going to try to trick me again? Give it up. Click. Good old mom.

Maybe you're getting emergency emails. I've been getting them this week. The last few weeks, I'm getting a lot of them. So called emergency emails or text messages, supposedly from your bank, maybe amazon.com, maybe someplace, right? And they're urging you quickly to give them your private information. It's called phishing. P-H-I-S-H-I-N-G. And you better be careful. You better be careful. There's a predator, you see, trying to take your very special and important information. Now, of course, the poor and the elderly are the predominant victims, aren't they? And interestingly enough, I found out another thing I did not know. It hadn't occurred to me.

These are predatory crimes. Interestingly enough, a synonym for greedy is predatory. I did not know that. As much as I read, I did not know that. A synonym for predatory. Excuse me, a synonym for greedy is predatory. And so, brethren, Scripture warns us that we must beware of the snares of the greedy, of the wicked, and not fall victim to their scams, their ploys. And that is true. And that is good advice. I hope we do what we can to take advantage of that advice and act on it. But there's another aspect about our need to beware the snare of greed. There's something else. You see, the Scripture also warns us that we ourselves must not become greedy. That is a snare for us, you and me. As hard to believe as that may be, some of you would say, but that's what Scripture tells us. Not only must we beware of greedy traps meant to ensnare us, but we ourselves must not become greedy. And Scripture gives us some information, some instruction on what to do to avoid, for you and me, to avoid being greedy. And it really comes down to the things we're going to look at here with regard to that. It comes down to two things. To avoid being greedy, we should choose our companions. Number one, I'm going to develop that idea here in just a minute. And secondly, we need to resist greed's temptation. So let's first talk about our need to choose our companions. Scripture warns us not to become like the wicked and greedy. We just read the description Psalm 10. I really don't want to be like that, and I don't think you do either. And so, it would be helpful then, Scripture tells us, if we choose our companions. Now this warning, this advice, comes to us in Proverbs chapter 1 verses 10 through 19. So let's turn there. Let's turn there and read Proverbs chapter 1 and 10 through 19.

And this warning appears here in these verses, and it occurs in a father's instruction to his son, a father's instruction to his child, his son. Now this wise and loving father warns his inexperienced son. His son's about ready to strike out on his own in life. He's been under his parents' care. He's ready to begin his own life, and the father is giving him wisdom, God's wisdom and advice. And he warns his inexperienced son to avoid friendship with those, as we're going to see here, those who prey on the innocent in order to rob and kill them. So let's read it. Verse 10. Proverbs 1, 10.

Let's share and share a like in our crime. The father says, verse 15, he says, Now do you notice any repetition of imagery and ideas here with what we read earlier in Psalm 10? Again, we see the wicked described as ravenous and greedy predators. The father knows that his inexperienced son could fall in with such criminals, sinners, and adopt their evil, I guess we could call it, get-rich-quick schemes. Now when you read those verses, 10 through 14 especially, we might think the father's warning to his son is a little bit over the top. It's a little bit bizarre. Do you really think your son would fall in with murderers and that sort of thing? Well, what son would ever do that? Well, somewhere right now someone's young son or sons are shoplifting. Someone's son somewhere are mugging someone at knife point. Someone's son somewhere are carjacking. Perhaps you heard earlier this week in Washington, D.C. a group of teenagers, I had a hard time finding out how many, but it was a large group of teenagers. They beat up a man in an attempted carjacking. He was trying to protect a woman he was accompanying, and he did protect her, although he got beat up pretty bad. Now two of those teenagers were arrested so far, two of them. One was a 15-year-old boy and the other was a 15-year-old girl. They were arrested. And so is the father's warning to his son over the top?

Well, today some young people do fall in with the wicked and greet him, and we need to make sure it's none of our children, none of our families, none of us. Now with this warning not to join the wicked, the father assures his son of something else. He assures his son, and this also could be a warning, he assures his son of God's justice, of God's justice. Continuing verse 17 through 19, the father says, surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.

I'm going to stop there. People are wondering, what does that mean? In vain, to no good use is the net spread in the sight of any bird. The point seems to be that birds are pretty smart. If they see a trap being set, a net being set, they see the net, a smart bird is not going to fly into it. It's going to stay away.

It's going to stay away. If a father's point is, but that's not what these, the wicked and greedy do. They don't, these may say it, they don't care. You see verse 18, he goes on, it's in vain for a bird in sight of any bird, but they, the wicked, lie in wait for their own blood. They lurk secretly for their own lives, and so are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain. Who is greedy for gain, it takes away the life of its owners. And so again, we see this idea about God's justice.

The wicked will be entrapped by their own greed and destroyed. Unless, unless what? Unless they repent. Unless they repent. But it's best not to join in, become a companion with the wicked and greedy. Now the second thing instruction, second instruction scripture gives to us is that we must resist greed's temptations, resist the temptation to be greedy. The love of money is a powerful temptation, and it's also a trap, though, which even the righteous can stumble into.

Is that right? Could the righteous stumble into the temptation? Could the righteous stumble into greediness? Yep. Let's turn to Psalm 73. Let's look at Psalm 73. We might think, well, I'd never do that. I hope you don't. I hope I don't either. Psalm 73 warns us about doing, about stumbling into temptation, and it also tells us how to avoid it. Now Psalm 73, according to subtitle, is the Psalm of Asaph. Asaph was one of the directors of music that David established, and Asaph was also known as a seer, as a wise man. Here we find Psalm 73, the Psalmist's confession. It begins as a confession.

In fact, the whole piece really is a confession. It's a confession of how he was nearly ensnared by greed. Why? Because we're going to read, because he became envious of the prosperity of the wicked. Verse 1. Psalm 73. Truly God is good to Israel, to such as are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled. My steps had nearly slipped. He'd almost been caught. For I was envious of the boastful when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

Now, if you think when you read these Psalms, ask yourselves questions. How could the Psalmist be envious of the wealth of the wicked? He's a righteous man. How could that be? Well, as he explains, verse 4 through 5, it's because the wealth of the wicked seemed to free them from so much worry. Wealth can free us from so much suffering. That's what he says. Verse 4. For there are no pangs in their death. That's why he's envious. There are no pangs in their death, but their strength is firm.

They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like other men. On the other hand, he sees how their prosperity, what nice things it does for them. On the other hand, we're looking at verse 6 through 9 as he continues. He could also see that the prosperity of the wicked had a moral cost. The prosperity of the wicked had a moral cost. He says, verse 6, therefore pride serves as their necklace. So he saw their moral failures.

What does that mean? Pride serves as their necklace. It's like their accessory. It's what their show-off piece. They're proud in what they do. Violence covers them like a garment, like rich clothing.

Their eyes bulge with abundance. They have more than heart could wish. They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression. They speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens. Of course, the heavens is where God's throne is. And their tongue — this is the New King James version — and their tongue walks through the earth. What does that mean? Yeah, I didn't know either. I couldn't quite figure that out. The amplified translation puts it this way, and their tongue swaggers through the earth. Ah, they're boastful. They're braggards.

The wicked, again, we see, are arrogant, and they're greed. Now the psalmist recognized the sinfulness of the wicked even as we would recognize it. He recognizes that they're liars, they're cheats, they're thieves, they steal. Yet their ill-gained prosperity still tempted him. Verse 12. So we're reading about this man's inner struggle, and I suggest it's very much like the inner struggle we have at times. Verse 12. Behold, these are the ungodly who are always at ease. They increase in riches. Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain. It's been useless, and I've washed my hands in innocence. Why, for all day long, I have been plagued and chastened every morning.

In other words, he's saying, compared to the life of ease of the wicked, his own life as a righteous man has brought difficulties, not a life of ease.

And it's not easy being righteous, is it? It takes hard work, and that is as it should be. So how did the psalmist restore his wavering conviction? Do we see how he's at a crossroads? He's chosen to follow God in his righteousness, but he's being tempted to go the way of the wicked, to practice the greediness, to become a sort of predatory beast himself. And so again, he's looking at the options that life gave him and gives us. Which way will I take? The way of life, the way of death. He's struggling. He's struggling.

How did this psalmist restore his wavering conviction? Well, the same way that we should whenever we're tempted. He turned his mind to God, and he sought out God's instruction. Verse 16.

He says, when I thought how to understand this, how to understand this dilemma, how to understand this choice before me, what do I do? When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me. It was too hard to make a choice. Until, verse 17 says, until I went into the sanctuary of God, then I understood their end. Whose end? Whose conclusion of life? The end of the wicked.

The end of the wicked.

The truth he learned, what truth did he learn when he entered the holy place of God? That's what I expressed. There are only two ways of life.

Two ways to live, unto life or unto death. And the fate of the wicked is death.

We study that quite a bit as the fall holy days come around. We talk about the second death, which is the final death, the death of the unrepentant. They will perish. They'll not even be remembered. In fact, it seems to be what's being referenced here. Let's continue. The fate of the wicked is death, verse 18. This is what he learned. He tells the Lord, he tells God, surely you set them in slippery places. You cast them down to destruction. Verse 19, oh, how they are brought to desolation. And as in a moment, they are utterly consumed with terrors as they dream when one awakes. So, Lord, when you awake, you shall despise their image.

You see, the psalmist understands, one day God is going to act upon their wickedness. And unless they repent when he acts, well, it's as if God will wake up from a bad dream, and they're the bad dream, and the bad dream will no longer be. They will no longer exist. The wicked will be gone like a bad dream. Verse 21, 22, the psalmist then freely confesses, it admits his temptation, with greed. Verse 21, he says, thus my heart was grieved, and I was vexed, frustrated in my mind. I was so foolish and ignorant, I was like a beast before you.

I found that interesting. Maybe you do, too. He says, I was like a beast before you. He was foolish like a beast. It's an interesting statement to make. Could it be, and it seems to be, could it be that this righteous man had felt that predatory lust of greed? Had he felt that greediness start to overtake him? I think he probably did. And then he closes the psalm by affirming his total trust in God. Verse 23 and 26. It's rather a full and exuberant affirmation of his total trust in God. Verse 23, he says, nevertheless I am continually with you. He's made his choice. You hold me by my right hand, like a father does his child. You will guide me with your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Interesting. Verse 25, the psalmist says, whom have I in heaven but you? And there is none upon the earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart fail. But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Powerful statements of faith, aren't they? But why does he make such powerful statements of faith? Why here? It's because when we think about this experience he's confessing, it's because he had nearly lost his faith. He had nearly lost his faith. He had nearly been snared by greed and covetousness. But in turning back to God, seeking God, drawing near to him, God had saved him. And so, brethren, what we can see in Psalm 73, Psalm 73 gives us an example for us to heed, to learn from, and to follow. You see, whenever we feel in our hearts that predatory lust, that predatory desire, and covetousness for riches and things, we need to stop. We need to stop and analyze, why am I feeling so greedy? Why do I want that so bad? Is it for a good reason? Is it not so good reason? If we find it's for a greedy reason, a covetous reason, then we need to repent, and we need to draw near to God. Follow the example of the Psalmist in Psalm 73. Now, sometimes a question will come up. The question may arise. Is it a sin, then, to be rich? Wouldn't it be better if we were just all poor? And then we wouldn't worry about prosperity of the wicked, and maybe we wouldn't have such problems with greed. Is it wrong to be rich? Is it a sin to be rich? The quick answer is no. It's not. It's not. Many of God's servants were wealthy, and you know that. Remember Abraham or Abram?

Genesis 13 too tells us that Abram was very rich in livestock and silver and in gold. We heard reference to Job in today's sermonette. Job had great possessions of sheep, camels, oxen, and donkeys. Job 13 says he was the greatest of all the people of the east. And King David— oh, King David, he was rich.

King David gave for the temple his own special treasure. He gave his own special treasure, his own personal money. 3,000 talents of gold. That's 101 tons of gold. Yeah, 101 tons.

I get that number for the New English translation. It's 1 Chronicles 29, 3 through 4. 3,000 talents of gold. That's 101 tons. And 7,000 talents of silver. That's 235 tons of silver. And my understanding from this source is that this is a rather conservative weight for a talent. They took the lesser amount. And so these righteous men, these righteous men, they obeyed God. They weren't pursuing the riches. They were pursuing obedience to God, and they didn't trust in their riches, nor did they seek their own blessings. But they were blessed. Let's be turning Matthew 6, 19 through 21. Matthew 6. It is not a sin to be rich.

Matthew 6, 19 through 21. And I say that not because—well, let's put it this way. All of us sitting here are pretty much—to most people, other people in our world today, we would all be considered rich. We would be considered rich. Americans, even statistics indicate that even among the very poor of our country, they're rich compared to the standards of people in other nations around the globe. So yes, we could argue that we too are rich. But it's not a sin to be rich. What is a sin? It's a sin to lust after riches instead of concentrating on living a godly life and seeking first God's righteousness. That's where we can get off track into greed. Here's what Jesus said in Matthew 6, 19. He said, Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven and where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. And that's good advice from Jesus Christ. Our heart's desire should be God, not the temporary riches of this world. Jesus further emphasized that point in verse 24. Same chapter, verse 24. Jesus then said, No one can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. You can't serve both. Mammon is the Greek word for riches or wealth.

We can only have one master. And, brethren, for us, that must be God.

Now, let's also turn to Matthew 19. There's a little bit more Jesus said about the rich while we're here. Matthew 19, 22, 24. Matthew 19, 22, 24. Jesus also said that it is difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom of God. Now, if you look at the context of those verses, Matthew 19, 22, 24, at the end of verse 22, his comment was he's referring to the rich young man who had just turned down an opportunity to become Jesus Christ's disciple. Why did he turn down that opportunity? Well, at the end of verse 22 tells us, because he had great possessions. He had a lot of wealth. He wasn't willing to let go of it. And then continuing verse 23, here's what else Jesus said. Jesus said to his disciples, assuredly I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again, I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

And just so you understand what he's saying, it's impossible. It's impossible.

When his disciples heard it, continuing on verse 25, they were greatly astonished, saying, well then who then can be saved? Of course, they're looking at themselves. They're just, they're, they're among the poor. They're the little guys in society. If the most important, powerful, rich people can't get into heaven, excuse me, can't get into the kingdom of heaven, on earth. I'm correcting my slip of tongue. If they cannot get into the kingdom, then how could they possibly hope to enter in? Because they, in their estimate, in the world's estimate, they're the nobodies. They're the nobodies. How could they do it then? Verse 26, Jesus gives them an answer. But Jesus looked at them and said to them, with men this is impossible. It's impossible. But with God, all things are possible.

And so yes, the disciples were shocked by what he said.

And of course, it's physically impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. But Jesus also explained over and over again, and we know it through Scripture, it's only through faith. It's only through faith in God's miraculous help that a rich man, a poor man, or anyone can enter God's kingdom. One must repent and have faith in Christ's sacrifice, because it's Christ that makes reconciliation with God and entering the kingdom of God possible.

In 1 Timothy 6, 9 through 10, let's turn to 1 Timothy 6, 9 through 10, Paul elaborates a little more. Paul elaborates how greed and lust for riches is what causes the difficulty for people, a difficulty for people to enter to receive salvation. 1 Timothy 6 verse 9. Paul says, But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare. Notice, who desire to be rich, that's what they're aiming for. Those who desire who aim to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts, desires or cravings, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in the greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. And that's true. We just read about it in Psalm 73, the righteous psalmist. He almost did it himself. He's so grateful. God helped him to pull back. And notice again, and here in 1st Timothy 6, Paul uses the same greedy predatory mindset imagery that we found in Psalm 10 and Proverbs 1 and Psalm 73. They're stitching it. It's all knitted together.

Those who long to be rich fall into temptation and a snare. They fall into a predatory lust for riches. Their minds are concentrated more on getting riches in this life than in receiving God's gift of salvation. And then, therefore, they fail to heed Christ's warning. This is from Luke 12.15. I'll read it to you. They fail to heed Christ's warning. Luke 12.15. Jesus said, Take heed and beware of covetousness, for life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses. And so, no, it is not a sin to be rich. But if we don't guard our hearts and minds, we can stray from the faith, and we will be snared, can be snared, by greed. We're human. We're not perfect yet. And so now, with all this background, let's get a little more specific. What do we do? What can we do? What can we do? How to avoid? What can we do to avoid the snare of greed? Let me give you some tips. From Scripture. How to avoid the snare of greed. Tip number one. Believe the outcome of the wicked. Believe the outcome of the wicked. Like the psalmist of Psalm 73, we must believe God in what his Scripture tells us, especially about the fate of the wicked and greedy man. Now, I'm going to tell you this because I need to do it, too. Leave a bookmark here in 1st Timothy 6. We're going to come back there a couple more times yet. So bookmark 1st Timothy 6. Let's turn back now to Proverbs 11, verse 4-6.

Here's what Scripture tells us about the fate of the wicked and greedy man. Perhaps this is some things that Aesaph, Psalm 73, was aware of. Psalm 11, verse 4. We're told that riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way of right, but the wicked will fall by his own wickedness. Verse 6, Let's also read Psalm 49. Psalm 49, verse 16-17.

Psalm 49, verse 16-17.

And this helps give us some comfort that gives us perspective about even what we see today in our time, how the powerful just seem to become more powerful and the rich become more rich and not in a good way. Psalm 49, 16-17 tells us, it says, And that makes good sense.

And he can't descend after him. He can't take anything with him, not even his power, his reputation, his name, his fame. He can't take that with him either. And then verse 20. Let's look at that too here. Verse 20.

Well, the understanding what? The spiritual understanding. An understanding about God, his way of life, salvation, what's truly important.

And so this repeats some truths we know.

I heard it in a country song, so it must be true.

There's no hearse with a trailer hitch.

There's no hearse with a trailer hitch, right? Can't take it with you. Yeah, I'm laughing too. It's a good point. There's no ATM in the graveyard.

It's not there. It's not what life's about.

Riches will not keep us from death, nor earn us salvation. So we must envy the prosperity of the wicked. We must believe and obey God.

Only God offers us salvation and the true eternal riches. And by the way, from what the Bible tells me, God has enough for everyone. Enough for everyone in the kingdom.

Number two, tip number two, be diligent in our labor.

Be diligent in our labor.

Now we know God provides for our needs. That's His promise. Our needs. Not our wants, necessarily, but He does bless us with our wants too, and we appreciate that. But our needs especially. And He also expects us, though, to be diligent in doing our part. He expects us to be diligent in doing whatever it is we are able to do. Notice how I said that. He expects us to be diligent in doing whatever it is we are able to do. You see, I realize some of us can't work 40 hours a week anymore. Some of us can't chop down trees and chase after cattle on the farm, although some of you do pretty good at it still.

But whatever it is we are able to do, we should do it. We will then, if you follow through, for diligent in doing our part, we will likely surely have not only what we need, but then more. Whatever we are able to do, God expects us to work and produce something, whether it is a paycheck or whether it is a prayer. Let's look at Proverbs 10, verse 4. Go back to Proverbs. Proverbs 10, verse 4. Go back to Proverbs. Proverbs 10, verse 4.

If you don't spend much time in Proverbs, you might want to think it through again. There is great wisdom. Just read a couple of lines, and you can think on them all day, those two lines, and you'll get a lot of wisdom. We need to live Proverbs 10, verse 4.

It reads, He who has a slack hand becomes poor. But the hand of the diligent, the hardworking, makes rich.

Let's also look at, let's remember the exhortation. You probably know this one pretty well. I'm going to turn there. Ecclesiastes 9-10. Ecclesiastes 9-10.

It's a very important exhortation. Ecclesiastes 9-10. It reads this way. Solomon wrote, Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with...

Well, you don't have to work hard on it. Is that what he says? No, because you know it. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might. For there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going. You see, we only have a very short window of time to do God's business, to do good work. To serve God, to serve our brethren, to become more like Christ.

Now, being diligent in our physical labors, well, that should help us to earn money. Or it should help us to save money. Some of us are really good at spending money, some of us are really good at saving money. I have trouble doing both sometimes.

But we can earn money if we're diligent. We could save money if we're diligent. In doing that, that can help us avoid the snare of greed. We won't be so greedy about worried about what other people have. And being diligent spiritually, look at the spiritual ramifications of these verses, being diligent spiritually will keep us closer to God and strong in faith. Better able, then, to resist temptation that greed may cause for us. And so, even if all we're able to do is to pray—and I've always argued with you, that is probably one of the most important things we can do—even if all we're able to do is to pray, then we should do it with our might, with all of our might.

Third tip. Again, we're looking, we're considering how to avoid the snare of greed. A third tip, to avoid the snare of greed, be generous in heart and deeds. Be generous in heart and deeds.

It's a fact of God's way of love that the more one gives, the more one receives in return.

The more one gives, the more one receives in return. Look at Proverbs 11.24. Again, book of Proverbs. Proverbs 11.24 gives us this bit of wisdom as an aspect of God's economy. Proverbs 11.24. It reads, there is one who scatters—in other words, he gives, he gives different places, he gives all sorts of people, perhaps, right? There is one who scatters, yet increases more. And there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty.

And so what we find here, God tells us in Scripture that giving leads to increase. Giving leads to increase, but greedily withholding leads to poverty. I don't think that's how economists look at things. I'm not the economist. Some of you are in this room, but that seems illogical, humanly speaking, doesn't it? But that's God's law of economy. That is God's law of economy, to be generous. Now, if you find your bookmark and go back to 1 Timothy, let's go again to 1 Timothy 6, this time verse 17 through 19. Keep your bookmark there, because we're going to come back again. 1 Timothy 6, 17 through 19.

God urges us, the words of Paul, God urges us to use our riches with an attitude of humility, not arrogance, and for good works, to God's glory. To God's glory, not for glorifying ourselves or himself. And so Paul states here, verse 17, he says, command, he's telling Timothy, command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty. Don't be all filled up with their own pride and big-headed. Nor to trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. Be generous. You can be generous if you think yourself poor. You can be generous. Don't forget the widow's mite. The widow's mite.

So hold your place here. Let's turn to 2 Corinthians 9. 2 Corinthians 9, 6 through 8. 2 Corinthians 9, 6 through 8. And again, also here, Paul urges us to be generous, not stingy, not miserly, and not greedy. 2 Corinthians 9, 6 through 8. Paul here says, But this I say, He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, notice it says, We will be giving. And not give, not grudgingly, or of necessity. For God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. And so, brethren, when we live God's way generously, when we're truly rich, and we're truly, excuse me, when we live life, God's way of life generously, then we become truly, truly rich, truly rich in God in His way. And that's when greed will have little hold on us. Nothing we have or own is really ours anyway. Let's not forget that. Even our lives, even our lives are a gift from God. And as we have often heard, it is true, we cannot out give God. Never can. Never will. But when we cheerfully give, we shall reap even more of God's bounteous blessings now, and especially in the kingdom. So we need to be generous in heart and deeds. And for the final tip, this one's tough. This one's tough. We must choose to be content. We must choose to be content.

Contentment is like gratitude. Contentment is a state of mind. It's a condition that we must choose. Contentment is not a temporary feeling. Happiness is a feeling that goes away. Contentment need never go away. To be content is a choice. So we can be content, because to be content is a choice, we can be content even when we are suffering, even when our lives are in difficulties.

Now, of course, I freely admit, it's hard to be content, isn't it, when we're being constantly bombarded with reasons for not being content. What am I talking about? You ever pay attention to advertisements and social media?

Advertisements and social media are always doing what? They're always telling us about something new, right? There's something better. If you don't know what's new or better out there, ask some of our young people. They know. They'll tell you. That's interesting. When you do ask them. There are advertisements and media that tell us something new or better we just got to have. Why do we need them? Why do we need these new things? Well, obviously, so we be content. Right? That doesn't work that way, does it? And then sometimes knowing that others have what we don't have, that can make us feel discontented and a little bit covetous and hungry with greed. The lion and wolf in us, the greediness can come out at times.

Jesus teaches us not to worry about our physical needs. God provides us those things. You can look at Matthew 6, 25. But more importantly, Jesus said, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And choosing then, choosing to hold fast to God's perspective, seeking righteousness in the kingdom, and holding on to our purpose that God has given to us, well, those things are critical to our being content. 1 Timothy 6, 6-8. Last time today, we're going to 1 Timothy 6. 1 Timothy 6, 6-8. Paul urges us to hold God's perspective and to choose contentment. 1 Timothy 6, 6. He says, Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it's certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing with these, we shall be content. It's a choice. We should choose to be grateful and content and to share what we have. Let's turn to Philippians 4 verse 11. Philippians 4 verse 11. You know, Paul suffered, when you read the account of Paul's life and the book of Acts and elsewhere what he says, Paul suffered more hardship and service to God and to the church than most people ever have. And yet in Philippians 4, 11 through 13, Philippians 4, 11 through 13, he tells us he learned and chose to be content. Verse 11. He says, Not that I speak in regard to need. And here he gets a point. For I have learned in whatever state I am to be content. And so I know how to be a based. And I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. He learned to be content in all any situation. And why? He gets back to God, verse 13. Because I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Because God will help him. And God will help us to be content if we really want to be and if we ask him. You see, God has the big picture in mind. He's focused on our salvation. God knows exactly what we can experience and endure. God knows exactly what we need to learn. And why? So that we'll be ready to receive salvation. So we must learn to be content. Learn to be content with God's will in our lives. Stop fighting God. Stop resisting his way.

And when we do that, we'll not be sneered by greed. We won't be worried because others have something we don't. God, brethren, has given us the opportunity now for eternal life. You want to talk about something we have that other people don't? Yeah. God has given us, you and me now, the opportunity for eternal life. How many people out there have that? Not that we're going to be cocky about it because it's a big responsibility. We must be very humble. Shouldn't that be enough for us to help us be content? I think so. So that's the fourth tip we must choose to be content. So, brethren, our great and loving God has given us so many true riches, more than we're probably aware of. Most of them come right here from the Bible and through His Holy Spirit with us and in us.

God has called us now to receive eternal life, salvation, the kingdom of God, and to be co-heirs of all things with Jesus Christ. And so, yes, we must resist the sneer of greed. We may have little right now in our reckoning of things, but, brethren, we are more rich than we can possibly imagine. Do we think about that? And so, I'd encourage us all, including me. I'm going to be doing this too. I encourage all of us to put to heart what we've learned from Scripture today. With God's help, we can and must control our lust, our desires, our greed. We must remain faithful to God in our calling. And so, I encourage us, let us do seek first God's kingdom and His righteousness. And, brethren, be aware the sneer of greed.