Φιλαργυρία (avarice) and Πλεονεξία (greed)

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

Φιλαργυρία (avarice) and Πλεονεξία (greed)

"…who, being past feeling, have given themselves
over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with
greediness…" (Ephesians 4:19).

Jesus said:
"No one can serve two masters; for either he will
hate the one and love the other, or else he will be
loyal to the one and despise the other. YOU
CANNOT SERVE GOD AND MAMMON" [Matthew 6:24).

In our Orthodox Christian faith GREED is one of the seven grievous sins: Pride, Greed, Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Envy and Sloth. "Mammon" is not a historical deity but a personification of greed, a deceptive "master" that competes with God for the heart. It represents the obsessive love of money, wealth, and material possessions, which are seen as leading people away from God and into a life of self-interest and insatiable desire. Greed is a spiritual danger that can blind people to their true purpose and cause them to value material gain over spiritual wealth, with the antidote being faith, humility, compassion, philanthropy and generosity.

Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ clearly saw "mammon" as an obstacle to salvation. As slaves serving "two masters", people attempt to maintain an attachment both to earthly and to heavenly things. But this is impossible, for both demand full allegiance. Jesus calls "mammon" a master, not because it is by nature evil, but because of the absolute and wretched servility it exacts.

The Holy Apostle Paul in his letter to Timothy specified that one of the qualifications of one becoming a bishop of the Church was that "a bishop must be blameless and "not greedy for money…" (1 Timothy 3:2-3). And Saint Paul explains further, "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 Timothy 6:10).

"Mammon" is an Aramaic word for "wealth" or "riches," but the New Testament uses it to represent the concept of serving wealth instead of God. It was later personified as a demon, a "master of the heart" that, through greed, aims to enslave man and to take the place of God. There is no question that greed is a grave sin that leads to consumerism, workaholism, and a materialistic mindset where value is based on what can be bought and sold. This focus on material wealth distracts from the spiritual life and the concern of the soul. Our Lord Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God" (Matthew 19:23-24). Our Lord’s statement indicates the difficulty or impossibility of salvation for those who are attached to riches.

Greediness is not a contemporary phenomenon but as we see from Our Lord’s words but an ancient one. Greed makes it difficult to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, as it encourages hoarding earthly treasures that are corruptible and can be stolen, instead of laying up treasures in heaven, which are spiritual and secure. Our Divine Master and God Jesus Christ tells us clearly, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:19-21). By attaching ourselves to "treasures on earth" people cut themselves off from heavenly treasures. People become willing slaves, not free in Christ. The heart of discipleship lies in (1) disentangling ourselves from the chains of earthly things, and (2) attaching ourselves to God, the TRUE TREASURE. There is no doubt that we have need for certain material things, but we use them according to God’s will and purposes. We must not allow our possessions to possess us or entrap us.

Greed is a deadly passion. Passions are human appetites, desires or urges–such as hunger, the desire for pleasure, and sexual drives–which become a source of sin when not controlled or directed by submission to the will of God (Romans 1:26; 7:5; Galatians 5:24); Colossians 3:5). As we died with Christ, so we must will to experience death daily by "killing" old sinful and disintegrating passions. As we were raised with Christ, so we must will to experience life daily by the virtuous and unifying desires of the "new man" which we all are in the body of Christ. The "new man" grows one stage of perfection to another, becoming "the image of Jesus Christ and throughout eternity remaining THE IMAGE of Him "who created him." Saint Paul exhorts us, "put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire.." (Colossians 3:5).

"Jesus said to him, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me" (Matthew 19:21). Material wealth is not to be hoarded by us but to be shared with the poor and destitute. The Orthodox Christian belief is that wealth is a gift from God that believers are called to be good stewards of, not hoard for themselves. Wealth is not inherently evil, but those who have it are called to use it responsibly to care for their families and the less fortunate, through acts of diakonia (service or ministry). Saint John Chrysostom teaches that wealth is meant to be distributed to those in need, and hoarding it is a form of "theft" because it deprives others of the necessities of life. Alms giving and caring for the poor are not just moral obligations but are essential for one’s own salvation, as we are called to love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus says, "Sell what you have and give alms…" (Luke 12:33).

__________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George