It has been said that greed is good, but God's word says differently. God tells us to, "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry." (Colossians 3:5; emphasis added).
Furthermore, God tells us that while idols are nothing but mere objects, the worship of idols (idolatry) is demonic (1 Corinthians 10:19-21). So greed is idolatry, and idolatry is demonic. Wow! That's pretty intense! But it's God's honest truth!
Greed is definitely not good. It is a grievous sin. And sadly it is a sin of which probably most of us are guilty. I'm guilty. God's word tells us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). And it is only through faith in Jesus Christ that we can be forgiven and reconciled to God (John 14:6, Acts 4:10-12, Romans 5:1-2, Ephesians 2:8-9). And every person who trusts in Christ is a work in progress till (s)he stands before the Lord in heaven (Philippians 1:6, 3:12-14, 1 John 3:2).
In America, people have the right to be greedy. As a great American poet, Robert Frost, once said, "I hold it to be the inalienable right of anybody to go to hell in his own way." But if we are followers of Jesus Christ, we have a higher calling. "Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ." (Philippians 3:20).
We are supposed to be eagerly anticipating the heavenly country, of which we are told in Hebrews 11:13-16. America is not the heavenly country. Nor can it be. No earthly country will ever compare with that kingdom of perfection - ever. But Christians are called to be Christ's ambassadors, representing the heavenly country, in the midst of every earthly nation (2 Corinthians 5:20). And so we ought to be striving to live in accordance with the principles of the heavenly country; which are not politically correct concepts. They are biblically correct precepts.
Among those principles are selfless love and compassion; the polar opposite of greed and materialism. It is our Lord's desire that we should be for each other, and not each of us for ourselves (Philippians 2:3-4). In this "dog eat dog" world, we are called to be His sheep, and His doves.
There's a lesson to be learned from the Christians described in Acts 2:44-46 & 4:32-37. They lived out the principles of the heavenly country like few have since; not because some despot forced them against their will, but because they had the heavenly country in their hearts. And so they acted from their hearts.
"And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity" (Acts 2:44-46).
"All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.
For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means 'Son of Encouragement'). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles." (Acts 4:32-37).
