When we first glance at the image above, we may think that Avarice looks like some fiendish imp of the devil's horde of evil spirits.  Notice, for example,  the oversized, clutching hands, and the wide open mouth, ready to consume yet more and more.  But the Lord Jesus tells us plainly in the 7th chapter of Mark's Gospel that avarice is a purely human trait, born and bred in the human heart.  Here is what the Lord has to say:

"It is what comes out of a person that defiles.  For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly.  All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."  (Mark 7:20-23, NRSV)

Both the King James and the New King James versions of the Bible call this particular sin "covetousness."  It is the sin of insatiable greed — always wanting or craving more than you have.  Now it is starting to sound a lot more familiar, isn't it?

Jesus never points out any sin just to make us feel bad about ourselves.  The purpose of God in the commandments and in all of the Message of God contained in Holy Scripture is to save us from our sins.  All of us have sinned (see Romans 3:10, and 3:23).  That is, we have all made bad choices at some point in our lives.  And we have probably already suffered some of the unhappy consequences of those bad choices.  But Jesus teaches us that sin is more than just the acting out of a wrong choice.  It is also in the desire that lives in our hearts.

Every human being is tempted to think evil thoughts and to do evil things.  We sometimes want what some else already has, or we want something that is simply beyond our reach at a given point in life.  When we allow that desire to linger and live in our minds and hearts, it may become a craving or a "coveting" that can lead us to wrong choices.  Just as adultery begins in the heart, so does greed itself.  And when greed is allowed to hang around, we will soon begin to think and feel and do the wrong things.

I have battled with sins like greed all my life.  Sometimes the day-to-day struggle to just stay afloat, to pay for the things I already have and expect (like food, shelter and lights and transportation, etc.) becomes a preoccupation with "getting more."  In America, we try to keep going, no matter what.  We work hard for what we have, and we try to get newer and better things, or simply to replace the older things that are now worn out.  Greed is always right there, and can be so mixed in with what we believe we must do each day, that it gets confused with real needs.

We live in a land of great opportunity — and arrogance.   Many of us have learned that we can accomplish just about anything is we work at it hard enough (or smart enough, as the "positive thinkers" try to teach us). 

God truly does bless honest hard work, and the Bible is very clear that we are supposed to work in order to provide for ourselves and for our loved ones.  We are also told in Scripture to work so that we can help others who are in need.  It is good for us to work, then, in order to be able to have what we need and to be a help to others (see, for example, Ecclesiastes 5:18, Ephesians 4:28, 1 Thessalonians 2:9, 4:11, 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12, 1 Timothy 5:8, and many comments in the book of the Proverbs).

But work for the needs of daily life is not the only work we are to be about.  God calls all of His people to also occupy themselves with the work of God.  No, we are not all pastors or full-time evangelists, or missionaries to far away places.  But we are all members of Christ's Body.  We are to be doing the work of God as we go about our daily lives.  And greed will certainly hinder and complicate that kind of work.

Charles Dickens' classic, "A Christmas Carol," has old, dead Farley warning Ebenezer Scrooge against gain for the mere sake of gain.  Scrooge was willing to work hard and long to gain another penny.  For Scrooge, business always came first and last.  But Farley pointed out the needs of the poor and others all around, saying, "Mankind is our business!"

If we can remind ourselves each day that everyone around us also has needs, and if we are willing to help in any way we can, to meet those needs, we may also help ourselves to avoid some of the greed that would otherwise destroy our own souls.  We do not need more clothes and more cars and more of anything than we can meaningfully use.  We need to share with others who have not.  We need to remember that the "extra" that God enables us to gather is meant for others.

May God help us all to grow in wisdom and in compassion, avoiding stupid and empty sins like avarice and envy and pointless ambition.  May the Lord teach us to share more and more as we go along.

Read the Bible for yourself.  You can read it online at http://www.biblegateway.com .  Audio versions are also available at Bible Gateway.  Or you can download Bible study software (free of charge) at http://www.onlinebible.net.  And of course, it is a very good idea to have your own printed copy of the Holy Scriptures, so that you can read and study God's Word any time, without using your computer.  One safe and reliable place to find good Bibles at discounted prices is Christianbook.com .

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