I have heard the expression in the past “God will supply your need but not your greed”.

This sounds great on the surface, but really it is confusing because need is closer to an amount, but greed is really an attitude. By putting need and greed together in the same sentence, it makes greed appear to be an amount, but it is not an amount.  It is an attitude.

By putting need and greed together, it seems to say that anything above “need” falls into the category of “greed.” So that if you have more than what someone sets as the bare necessity of “need,” you are a greedy person. Remember, greed is actually an attitude of the mind.  It is a heart issue not an amount.

So, let’s separate the two biblically.

Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

1Timothy 3:8 Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;

The Working Translation, “A Journey through the Acts and Epistles,” translates this phrase “greedy of filthy lucre” as “avaricious” which means: having or showing an extreme greed for wealth or material gain – Oxford Languages.  God refers to greed as an attitude.

Therefore, need is an amount so to speak whereas greed is an attitude of the heart. You might say it is an attitude of covetousness.

God makes no promise to supply greed – your over desire for wealth or material gain.  That would make sense.

But because we see greed as an amount above and beyond need, then the questions begin. Notice, all of the following questions have to do with amounts and not attitudes.

Do you really need a three-bedroom home; could you get by with a two-bedroom home?     In other words, is a three-bedroom home greed or a need?

Perhaps you don’t need a house at all, but could you suffice with an apartment? Maybe owning a home is greedy?

So, do you need a three-bedroom apartment? Could you not put the kids in bunk beds and get along with two bedrooms?

Could you choose an apartment in a cheaper part of town to live in? Do you really “need” that? On and on and on.

Do you really need two cars? ….  You could both take the bus.

Do you really need that many clothes if you washed more often?

If you compare yourself with Christians that live in third world countries, then you could think about this:  Some live in mud huts, and you can’t do with an apartment and think you need a house—with how many bedrooms?  And look at the size of that kitchen!!

Maybe the homeless that live on the side of the road in a tent are the ones without greed and are truly walking with God!

There is no end to this kind of questioning. You could literally pare yourself down to living in a cave with only a loincloth.

This is because we associate greed with an amount rather than an attitude of an over desire for money – wealth – affluence, etc.

My wife was once was riding with a group of Christians through an expensive neighborhood.  The houses were probably in the range of $7-800,000 twenty years ago.  Someone in the car said: “That has to be nothing but pure greed to live in a house like that.” Really?

If it is greed to own an $800,000 home, is $500,000 OK? $200,000?  Where is the line drawn? Who gets to decide whether a certain purchase or item is greed or need? There is no answer to this line of thinking.

“Greedy” people are generally ones that have more than you do because people generally associate greed with an amount not an attitude. God has not called us to decide whether our brothers and sisters are greedy.  We could just be thankful that God has blessed them so much.  In the case of the $800.000 house, many people earned a good living building the house and more are provided with some income in taking care of it. Be thankful!

It is possible that those that have more are better stewards of what God gave them!!

Consider this: once you have done what God says to do according to His Word as regards to giving and saving, then the rest is yours to do with as you please.  You have done your duty, so to speak.  Then if you want to build an $800,000 house, go for it.  Remember, Solomon in the Old Testament?  God gave him great wisdom and riches. The Bible says that in Solomon’s days, gold and silver were as plentiful as stones in Jerusalem.

Apparently, he did not save ALL the riches God gave him. He was not like the king sitting in his counting-house counting all his money! He built many great works and paid the craftsmen and prospered them in the process as well.  So, by believing the promises of God and prospering, we could help to prosper those around us.

Let’s look at some of the great men in the Old Testament that walked with God, but first this:

Romans 15:4 Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us. Those things were written so that we could have hope. That hope comes from the patience and encouragement that the Scriptures give us. (ERV)

God, our Father, had these records written down to teach us about Himself.  What He is like. What He is willing to do to bless the lives of those that love Him with all their heart. In the case of the men we are about to read about, pay attention to the idea of where their wealth came from.

Job 1:3 His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

Job 42:12 So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.

Job 42:15 And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren.

You must ask yourself a question.  Did he “need” six thousand camels? You can only ride one at a time.  God gave them to him. How does “need” vs “greed” fit with this record?  Greed is not an amount.  It is an attitude.  When you read the record of Job and these other men that follow here, you will see that they loved God with all their heart.  God came first and because of their love for Him, God blessed their lives.

If you believe that greed is an amount, instead of opening your hands to receive the blessing of God which you may consider greed, you really have your hands closed and are not able to receive.  You have closed off the blessings of God by your misunderstanding – by your believing.

Genesis 24:34-35 And he said, I am Abraham’s servant. And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.

Genesis 14:14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.

Does anyone really “need” a personal army of 318 trained servants?  If you could count their wives and children and servants not born in his house that would be a great number of people that Abraham was responsible to feed and care for each day.  Perhaps a thousand?  Did he “need” that many people?

Could he not walk with God living in a cave with a loincloth, just him and his wife and kids?  Apparently, because he loved God, God wanted to bless his life and He did. Abraham received the blessings of God like the dry earth is open to receive the rain.

Genesis 26:12-14 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.

Here Isaac was so blessed a nation envied him! These men were servants and not sons born again of God’s spirit.  We are sons and daughters of this great God that blessed Isaac.  Is God looking to bless your life? As one of my friends said, “We only allow in our lives what we think we are worthy of.  Accept His abundance.” Open your hands!

2 Chronicles 32:27-29 And Hezekiah had exceeding much riches and honour: and he made himself treasuries for silver, and for gold, and for precious stones, and for spices, and for shields, and for all manner of pleasant jewels; Storehouses also for the increase of corn, and wine, and oil; and stalls for all manner of beasts, and cotes for flocks. Moreover, he provided him cities, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance: for God had given him substance very much.

Was all this abundance greed on Hezekiah’s part or was this all the blessing of God?  God said of Hezekiah that Hezekiah trusted God greatly.

2 Chronicles 17:1-5 And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead, and strengthened himself against Israel. And he placed forces in all the fenced cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken. And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim; But sought to the LORD God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel. Therefore the LORD stablished the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents; and he had riches and honour in abundance.

God is showing us what he is willing and able to do for those of His children that trust Him and keep Him first in their lives.  He is willing to open the windows of heaven and bless us exceedingly abundantly above all we could ask or think.

There is another great record in the book of 2 Kings that we ought to consider.  This is about a woman with no name in contrast with the great men we have been reading about.

2Kings 4:1-7 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out. And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.

What was the woman’s real need?  To be able to pay the creditor so her sons were not sold into slavery.  Did God provide her with just enough or did he do exceedingly abundantly above all she thought to ask for?  God is good all the time and will bless those that love him with all their heart. Selah

What do you really need?

Enough substance to provide:

    Your family’s daily needs
A retirement for you and your wife
To be able to give to the church and to him that needeth and to every good work
Replacement funds for things that wear out like clothes, cars, etc.
An emergency fund for slow economic times or times of disaster
An inheritance for your children’s children.  Remember Job and the inheritance he gave his children?

You might want to sit down with a calculator and some numbers and see how much that would be on a weekly basis that you would need to provide for all those things.

That is a lot more than a loincloth in a cave! Sometimes what you need is a better-paying job. Some may need to send their children to a private school.  As I heard someone say, “You need to get your needs up!” Your needs should be on par with the promises of God’s Word. You may need to get some more education so you can bring more value to the marketplace. We are paid for the value we bring to the market.

Greed is an attitude, not an amount.

Greed doesn’t have anything to do with wealth. A person could be as destitute as Job but have their heart in the wrong place by having an over desire for wealth. But as the above men did, you could love God with all your heart, keep God first in your life, and be blessed with great wealth that comes from God.

God will supply our needs and His Word says He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.

If your attitude is an over desire for money or material things, greed, you will never be satisfied with what you have.

If your attitude is to love God first and foremost while being content with what you have and striving to steward it properly and see it grow, you will see wonderful things.

Learning is an exciting adventure and is part of The Prosperous Life.