The Cure for Cupidity

Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Luke 12:15 NIV

Have you ever made the mistake of defining your life by the many things you possess? Thinking you are what you have? A greedy person assumes that is how it works. The more he possesses the more he thinks of himself as important, valuable, successful, and a notch above others. Jesus makes it very clear that possessions do not define us and they should not be what we use to define others.

There are a couple of reasons for this. Possessions are external and temporary. They tell very little of what the person is like on the inside. Possessions cannot satisfy the deepest desires of our heart. Have you ever noticed how something can excite you for a time but all too quickly your attention is drawn toward the next thing you want? Greed causes people to live in a constant state of dissatisfaction, ingratitude, and discontentment. It tells them the answer is found in accumulating more, but the truth of the matter is obtaining more to find satisfaction is like pouring water into a bucket with many holes. God did not create us with the ability to be satisfied or defined by the things we have.

If I am looking to anything or anyone to satisfy me or define me other than God and my relationship with Him, I am in danger and headed for disappointment. How do I know if this is the case? My days will be spent looking at what others have and wanting it for myself. There will be a sense of restlessness. My happiness will be contingent on possessing it for myself. I will live with an overall feeling of dissatisfaction.

So what is the cure for the excessive desire to get more? Cultivating a heart of gratitude for what I presently have. Reviewing the truth that God defines me….not possessions or relationships. Setting my heart on those things which have eternal value. Coming against the spirit of greed with prayer and Scripture. Asking God to show me where I am presently living my life out of greed and repenting of it. In Christ there is a cure for cupidity.

Father, there are many things I long for. Change me! Amen.