“Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction” (I Tim. 6:9).

His face lit with excitement as he sat listening intently to his college friends talk about their country’s economic prospects. On a visit from the USA after four years, he was reminiscing with his friends who seemed to have made it in his home country. The prospects of big houses, businesses, and cars incited our returnee friend from the United States.

“If a person fails to take advantage of these promising years in the country, posterity will not be kind to them,” one of the friends said.

 You know how a statement can grab you by the throat and squeeze the life out of you. That was it! The seed of covetousness was sown. Greed was stirred in his heart, and the love of money danced flirtatiously before him. “Wealth and recognition. Here I come!”

Our friend returned to his foreign home, closed the door to every opportunity, quit graduate school, and bundled his wife and children on a flight back to his home country. With no specific plan but only his own foolish shadow drawn in the sand by one casual statement from a friend to chase, he was doomed to a failure he would never recover from.

Paul wrote to counsel Timothy, his young protégé, these insightful words. “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1Tim. 6:9-10).

Have you chased a mirage in the desert before? Ask our foolish friend and take wisdom with you. He will tell you about one thing he cherishes the most in life now – the grace of God! That’s why Easter means so much to your pastor and communicator of this grace, who writes to you now.

You see, greed is in the bowels of all mankind. It’s what brought Adam and Eve to their knees before Satan in the Garden of Eden. It’s what rules the hearts of kings and commoners alike, when not submitted to the authority and rule of Christ. Kingdoms and vast empires have imploded against its power. But, don’t suggest to today’s Pastors, Bishops, and Archbishops that they have the same problem.

Could it be that you’re living under the camouflage of greed? Wouldn’t it help if you stopped attributing the cause of your woes to something else and recognize its treachery? You can only uncover it when you allow the Spirit of God to shed light on it. Look for its symptoms in covetousness, discontentment, hoarding, ungenerosity, unbridled desire for power, the constant struggle for recognition, and a vengeful heart. By the way, it has no racial or gender predisposition.

Look out for it and be wise! Get under the umbrella of “godliness with contentment” (1Tim. 6:6) and see how fast it’ll retreat with its cruelty and ugliness.

The grace of God be with you!

[Adopted and revised from “Through the Eyes of the Spirit” – Westbow Press, 2014]