Is Greed Good?

IS GREED GOOD??

I recently watched the Oliver Stone film “Wall Street…” again. There is an iconic speech from the antagonist of the film, Gordon Gecko (pictured above, and played by Michael Douglas). Gecko is a Wall Street financier who will do anything for a buck- even if it is illegal or unethical or harmful for people who get in his way. Gecko says, in a key scene in the movie in which he gives a shareholder speech:

“The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind.”

 But is greed really good? Is greed in accordance with who we really are as followers of Christ?

 Greed is the hoarding of resources that we all do out of fear of not having enough (or needing more). What lies at the heart of greed is fear and anxiety. Greed happens when we are afraid of losing what we have!

I should know, because right now, I am sitting in the living room of a huge, luxurious house we built about 8 years ago. One evening, Patricia and I were talking, and we figured out that we only really use about 1/3 of the space we have in our house! We determined that one of our goals in the next year is to move to a smaller, more manageable house.  Why do we want so much space that we cannot possibly ever use? We are greedy for space!

Also, owning a big house means that we often have felt compelled to fill it with “stuff.” So, we have been gradually emptying out unneeded “stuff” and are trying to be more conscious of what we buy and bring in to our home. We have spent hours disposing of all the “stuff” that has collected in our too-big house by giving it away and (in a couple of weeks) having a yard sale, and will have to spend many more hours until we get it down to manageable levels. Greed for space and “stuff” has resulted in our spending many hours we will never get back dealing with all our "stuff."

With God's help, however, we are offered liberation from greed.

 In Mark 10 a “rich young man” asks Jesus what he must do to enter God’s kingdom. Jesus says, “ … Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor. Then you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow me. ”  Jesus later says that it is “easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle” than for a rich man to go to heaven (and by the standards he was using back then, we are all rich!) If we stop there this spells doom for us all. However, there is grace and mercy aplenty, because Jesus  says, in verse 27, that “it is impossible [to be saved] with human beings; but not with God. All things are possible for God.”(CEB)

Our challenge, especially as Christians who live in a place as wealthy as the USA, is to be grateful for what we have while being conscious of how much we have. As we cut down on our consumption, it frees up more of our resources to spend on building God’s kingdom. When we get God to help free us from the bondage of  having “too much stuff” we have more time, energy and money to share with those who have very little.  The gospel offers us hope and a way out of the greed that we all struggle with in our lives.

Oh, and by the way, Mr. Gecko, greed is definitely not good.  However, God is!

Shalom

Father Tim+