The opposite of greed is generosity.
Those who are generous are willing to pay the worker his due, and give to the poor and needy expecting nothing in return. These are they who learn to bank their treasures in heaven and come to better understand God’s economic system, to trust in, rely upon and believe completely in the power of Almighty God. These are often they who learn that they can rest in the arms of their God and Savior, and that the value of gold or silver, Dollar, Drachma, Mark, Peso, Euro, or mammon by any other name is nothing stable. In fact they learn that you cannot serve both God and mammon, no matter what the man on the Christian radio says.
The Christian radio advertisement informs me that me that gold is the only thing to keep my family safe through the coming economic meltdown. The message: buy gold now. Funny, Jesus said something about buying gold from him.
The preacher on the big Christian TV network tells me that if I am broke it is not God's will for my life. God wants me to prosper. Not only that, but if I have debt on my credit card, that I am unable to pay--- then it is a good thing I turned the TV to this program today. One preacher said, "'Some of you are wrestling with debt that you cannot pay off. God told me this morning to tell you to … sow a seed on the credit card that you want God to pay off…. Get Jesus on that credit card! Make a pledge on that credit card!'" (See TBN's Promise: Send Money and See Riches... Los Angeles Times, September 20th 2004;William Lobel Times Staff Writer)
Strange voices lurk, even in what is called Christianity… apparently seeking whom they may devour. As a Christian, one must guard their heart from the deceitfulness of riches. But it's a battle. Our thinking is conditioned.
We will quickly hire the absolutely lowest possible bidder for a job that needs to be done, forgetting that other people need to feed their families too. We will walk into a bank and pay exuberant usury fees, or even charge such fees to others, thinking nothing of it, forgetting that God forbid usury and never intended us to deal with each other like that. We will even often flaunt the price tags, (both high and low,) to show what a lot or a little bit of money can buy. But, God's economy just doesn’t work or even add up the way man’s does.
No. In God’s economy, people are valued, not because of what they can and cannot do, but because they exist. In God’s economy you bring nothing to the table, and then he prepares a banquet before you. He even takes two small fish, if you happen to have them, and feeds thousands who have nothing with them. A flask of oil keeps pouring out when none should be left inside.. that’s God’s economy.
In mans economy, everyone must bring something to share with everyone else. If you have nothing, you get nothing, because after all you get what you deserve.In man’s, you are only of value as long as you have a purpose to serve others in the community, as long as tou areorth something... as long as you have...
You guessed it, money.
His blood bought us with a price, a price that was not paid with cash, a price that could never be paid in full any other way. I could never pay, not with money, not with works of righteousness, not even my own blood, but I can trust in God.
"In God We Trust."
No wonder the inscibed it on the American coin. It's a friendly reminder of where our hope is
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