What Does the Bible Say About Greed?

The Greek word that is used throughout the Bible to translate greed is the word pleonexia. Pleonexia is described as “the insatiable desire to have what rightfully belongs to others.”

William Barclay, a New Testament Greek scholar describes the word pleonexia when someone pursues their own interests with complete disregard for the rights of others and even for the considerations of common humanity. This seems a little intense and I know that when I read that I can almost certainly say that this definition does not describe me.

However, this word pleonexia is commonly translated throughout the Bible to the word covetousness as well. Greed and covetousness is often defined as “the desire for more (things), i.e. lusting for a greater number of temporal things that go beyond what God determines is eternally best“ according to Bible Hub.

Greed isn’t set aside only for those who are very wealthy. In fact, there are many examples of very goldy people who were wealthy throughout the Bible. When we focus on the definition of greed as ‘a desire for more things’ you can easily see how all of us struggle with at least some form of greed.

So what does the Bible say about greed? What are some of the consequences of green in the Bible? Let’s take a look now.

What does the Bible say about Greed? Greed isn’t set aside only for those who are very wealthy. In fact, there are many examples of very goldy people who were wealthy throughout the Bible. Greed and covetousness is often defined as “the desire for more (things). — PIN FOR LATER

Here’s the big list of money topics in the Bible, and here is a list of over 100 Bible verses about money.

Bible Verses About Greed

Luke 12:15

Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

Colossians 3:1-11

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.

Philippians 2:4

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

1 Timothy 6:6-10

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts 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 their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

1 John 2:16

For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.

Ecclesiastes 5:10

Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.

Hebrews 13:5

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Proverbs 15:27

The greedy bring ruin to their households, but the one who hates bribes will live.

Proverbs 28:25

The greedy stir up conflict, but those who trust in the LORD will prosper.

1 Timothy 6:6-7

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.

Examples of Greed In The Bible

Proverbs 30:15-16

The leech has two daughters, crying, “Give! Give!” There are three things that are never satisfied, four things never say, “It is enough!”: the grave, the barren womb, the earth that is not satisfied with water, and the fire that never says, “It is enough!”

In regards to this passage in Proverbs, John W. Ritenbaugh says, “Each of these illustrates what greed does to the life of a person suffering from impossible-to-be-fulfilled desires. The ache and the yearning never cease, and the restless pursuit goes on, resulting in unhappiness.

2 Samuel 13 is another example of someone who was very greedy. Amnon fell in love with his sister and he was so consumed with his “love” for her that he created a scheme to basically rape her. Once he did this he burned with hatred for her. This was no doubt an immediate consequence from giving in to his greed. 2 years later, his brother Absalom got revenge for this and killed Amnon.

James 4:1-3

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

War, God’s Word informs us, is a fruit of coveting. Wars among nations, among friends, among businesses, even among spouses. Each of these fights leads to destruction

There are a few parables that give us examples of people who were greedy. In Matthew 18:21–35 we have The Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor and in Luke 12:13-21 we have the Parable of the Rich Fool. Both of the men in these stories were very selfish when it came to their wealth and possessions. For example, the rich fool could have been considered wise for saving money because the Bible does encourage saving for the future. But the mistake he made was saving everything for himself and not taking time to consider the needs of others.

The Money Taboo a weekly faith and finance devotional with Katie Jones

Consequences of Greed in the Bible

Discontentment & Dissatisfaction

When your mind is so focused on obtaining what you rightfully have to claim to it is very hard to find satisfaction or contentment in anything less than what it is you desire.

I know this from personal experience after coveting things like motherhood, homeownership, and success within my business – all goals that, after many years, I realized I was holding much higher than my relationship with Christ. I was never content with where I was at and completely dissatisfied with my life. This overwhelming sense of desire for these goals was all I could think about and this led me to a place of pure discontetment with the things God had put in front of me at that time.

Just as Matthew 6:24 says, we cannot serve two masters – we will end up hating one and loving the other. Whatever takes over our minds will be the thing that we love.

Destroyed Relationships

This is made clear in Proverbs 15:27 as listed above. Whether it is before getting that thing we pine after, or after we receive it; greed can absolutely destroy the relationships we have with others. Take for example Amnon after he raped his sister all of the ways in which he harmed his family. 1) He destroyed Tamar’s virginity and the possibility of being married one day. 2) King David (his father) was very upset about this 4) it eventually led his brother to kill him.

Greed can harm your relationships even if you never get that thing you were lusting after. If it is all you think about and what you revolve your life around this can easily lead those around you to become frustrated. When I was struggling with my own greed I was almost wholly consumed by it. Because of my all consuming focus to achieve and getting the things I desired so badly, my marriage and friendships sufferred until a healthy sense of contentment was restored.

Sin

This one is probably a bit obvious, but the reason I add this here is because you do not need to be led into sin. We have a choice and God always provides a way out from our temptations (1 Corinthians 10:13). I would encourage you to try an recognize what your temptation triggers are so you can be prepared once they come up.

Acts 3:19: Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord

Regret

Oftentimes when we finally get that thing we so desired we may realize it wasn’t all that we cracked it out to be. Regret, shame, and guilt may result from our actions. Our regrets usually arise from one of two ways; either foolish choices or sin choices, and each requires a different response. Sin choices are when we clearly go against God’s guidelines laid out in the Bible. Foolish choices are simply choices that aren’t sinful, but made an impact on us that cause us to believe the other option may have been better.

Conclusion

The Bible has a lot to say about greed. It affects all of us in some way and we need to be aware of the choices we make that are led by our greedy desires.