A few months ago, I was out of town with my wife, and we had gone to a restaurant for dinner. While we looked over the menu for the smaller portioned, healthier entrees, we were both aware that we were rather hungry after an active day. Afraid that the healthier options might leave us still hungry, we were both tempted to order larger, less healthy items. While the waiter waited patiently nearby, we debated for a moment whether we should order an appetizer or larger entrees to make sure we would have enough to fill us up.
In that moment, we were greedy for something larger even though we knew it wouldn't be what was best for us. Greed is rooted in the fear of not having or not being enough. We fear not having enough money, status, power, friends, material items, time, or calories on our plates, and we reach out to take more than we need just in case.
It is easy for us to look at the rich and famous and call them greedy. We all know that they have more than they really need. It is harder for us to look at ourselves and see our own greed. But how often do we feel like we do not have enough, that we have not done enough, or that we are not enough? Although for the most part we have enough of what we need, we have grown desensitized to what "enough" is. We live in a culture that glorifies the bigger, the better, the more. We have little idea what "enough" truly is in our lives. We no longer know "enough" even when we see it.
Whether it's at the table where we desire more than enough food, in our bank accounts where we desire more than enough money, or in our schedules where we desire more than enough time, the problem is the same. When we are afraid that we will not have enough, we fall into the sin of greed. It is fundamentally a spiritual issue that we do not trust God to ensure we have enough.
Thoughts to ponder: What are you afraid that you do not have enough of? What does "enough" look like for you? Do you trust God to give you enough? How might sharing what you have with others help you to keep in perspective what "enough" is?
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