“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal.
But store up treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” (Mt 6:19-21)
Greed is a very powerful factor in our human nature. It pulls us off course. It makes us stray. It could prevent us from accepting the opportunity to live with God for eternity. For, after all, if God is not our treasure, our heart will be pledged to something — or someone — else and we will become lost.
In my twenty-nine years of priesthood, I have often seen greed at work.
It is horrible — worse than horrible — to see and hear people grasping for things that do not belong to them. The worst manifestation of greed that I have seen has taken place in nursing home rooms, in hospice rooms, or in the homes of people who are dying. While they are still alive, often conscious enough to be aware, these people hear their loved ones fighting over “who is going to get what”.
Could you imagine how you would feel if people you loved — and whom you believed loved you — were arguing at your side about who was going to get your effects and you were not even dead yet?!
If we can imagine that, we might begin to get an inkling of the hurt that God must experience when He sees this happening on a much grander scale where myriads of people, on a daily basis, fight for things that are not theirs, all the time losing sight of the only thing, the only person, important to them: God.
FAITH ACTION: Is there anything in your life that is keeping you from a closer relationship with God. Get rid of it. No possession should be more important than God.