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00:00:01 Now, my theme is 00:00:03 “Guard Against Every Sort of Greed.” 00:00:07 Jehovah lovingly gave counsel 00:00:10 to Jeremiah’s secretary, Baruch, 00:00:13 to stop “seeking great things” for himself. 00:00:17 Now, what were those great things? 00:00:19 Well, we don’t know for sure, 00:00:21 perhaps prominence or material things or both. 00:00:26 But what bad quality was developing 00:00:30 in Baruch’s heart that Jehovah saw? 00:00:32 Greed. 00:00:35 And the Insight book defines greed 00:00:38 as “inordinate or rapacious desire.” 00:00:42 The dictionary says it’s “a selfish, . . . 00:00:46 “excessive desire for more of something 00:00:48 (such as money) than is needed.” 00:00:51 So, in effect, Jehovah was telling Baruch, 00:00:54 ‘Stop being greedy.’ 00:00:56 And in an extended application, 00:00:58 Jehovah tells us the same thing. 00:01:01 Now, echoing Jehovah’s counsel to Baruch 00:01:04 is what Jesus tells us. 00:01:07 If you’ll open up to Luke chapter 12, 00:01:10 and let’s read our theme scripture here. 00:01:12 Luke 12:15 00:01:14 —similar counsel from Jesus— 00:01:17 Luke 12:15: 00:01:20 “Then he [that is Jesus] said to them: 00:01:23 “‘Keep your eyes open and guard [now notice] 00:01:28 “‘against every sort of greed, 00:01:31 “‘because even when a person has an abundance, 00:01:35 “‘his life does not result 00:01:37 from the things he possesses.’” 00:01:40 Now, what makes it a challenge, though, 00:01:43 for us to “guard against every sort of greed,” as Jesus counseled? 00:01:47 Well, our three great enemies. 00:01:49 In fact, let’s discuss each of these 00:01:52 and how it makes it a challenge. 00:01:54 Now, first, our imperfect flesh. 00:01:56 At Genesis 8:21, Jehovah said: 00:01:59 “The inclination of the heart of man 00:02:01 is bad from his youth up.” 00:02:04 And one form of badness is greed. 00:02:07 This tendency toward greed becomes manifest very early. 00:02:12 For example, we see little toddlers 00:02:14 grab things and hold them tightly. 00:02:18 “Mine, mine, mine.” 00:02:22 That greed is starting to manifest, isn’t it? 00:02:25 When people look at a little toddler, 00:02:27 they may say, “What a cute little boy,” 00:02:30 or “He has his mother’s eyes and his father’s nose.” 00:02:35 But they never invariably say: 00:02:39 “Look at that little toddler. 00:02:41 What an unselfish little toddler!” 00:02:44 No, it takes a lot of effort —doesn’t it?— 00:02:46 to teach that little one to be unselfish like Jehovah. 00:02:50 But now, what about our second great enemy, Satan? 00:02:53 What was Satan’s downfall? 00:02:55 It was greed. 00:02:57 He allowed a greedy desire for something 00:03:00 that belonged to Jehovah alone to develop in his heart. 00:03:04 And what was that greed for? 00:03:06 Worship. 00:03:08 And he wants his downfall to be our downfall. 00:03:12 He wants to ensnare us in greed. 00:03:15 So he tries to magnify, intensify, 00:03:18 our wrong tendency to be greedy. 00:03:21 And if you think about it, how was Satan 00:03:24 able to entrap the perfect woman, Eve? 00:03:27 He entrapped her in greed. 00:03:29 He got her to crave, desire, 00:03:33 what belonged to God alone. 00:03:36 In effect, he said to her: 00:03:38 ‘Eating of all the trees of the garden minus one tree 00:03:43 ‘is not good enough. 00:03:45 ‘You should crave that one tree 00:03:47 that has not been given to you.’ 00:03:50 In fact, let me, please, illustrate 00:03:52 how greedy Satan made Adam and Eve 00:03:57 —how greedy they were. 00:03:59 I’d like for you to imagine that you have guests staying in your home, 00:04:02 and you say, “Now, I really want you 00:04:04 to make yourselves at home while you’re here.” 00:04:07 You take them into the kitchen; 00:04:09 you open the refrigerator and say: 00:04:11 “There are all kinds of food here 00:04:13 “in the cabinets —the pantry— 00:04:15 “everything you could imagine that you would want to eat. 00:04:18 “It’s yours. Help yourself. 00:04:20 Don’t even ask.” 00:04:22 But then you pull out one little drawer, and you say: 00:04:26 “Now, I’ve set aside some items for a later occasion. 00:04:30 “Please, this is very important. 00:04:32 “Do not eat from this one drawer. 00:04:34 “But you’ll find other items just like 00:04:36 “in this drawer in the pantry and the cabinets. 00:04:39 You’ll have everything you need.” 00:04:41 Now, would that be overly restrictive? 00:04:43 Would that be an unloving arrangement with your guests? 00:04:46 It’d be very generous, wouldn’t it? 00:04:49 And, in effect, that’s the arrangement Jehovah made with Adam and Eve. 00:04:52 But now, back to the illustration: If you came into the kitchen 00:04:55 and you found your guests eating 00:04:58 out of that one drawer that you had not given them, 00:05:02 you’d be very upset, wouldn’t you? 00:05:04 And you’d probably view it as stealing, 00:05:07 and you likely would put the thieves out of your house. 00:05:10 So that illustrates how Jehovah felt and how Jehovah reacted. 00:05:15 But what a protection being content 00:05:17 with what was rightfully hers would have been to Eve! 00:05:22 But now, what about our third great enemy—the world? 00:05:26 We are relentlessly surrounded 00:05:30 by Satan’s world and his spirit, called “the spirit of the world.” 00:05:35 We could say that Jehovah breathes holy spirit 00:05:39 to influence his people to act like him and to be unselfish. 00:05:43 But Satan, in effect, exhales 00:05:47 the stinky spirit of the world 00:05:50 that makes people act like him in being greedy. 00:05:55 And one way Satan’s world promotes greed for material things 00:05:59 is by relentless advertising. 00:06:03 People are constantly bombarded with advertisements. 00:06:07 For example, here’s just an example: 00:06:09 They may bring out a shiny, new car; 00:06:13 it has about 12 coats of wax on it. 00:06:16 They have all these spotlights shining on it. 00:06:19 They bring in a camera from all different angles 00:06:22 and, about this time, a scantily clothed woman 00:06:25 comes strolling out to that automobile. 00:06:28 And you don’t even notice it, but there’s 00:06:30 soft music playing in the background. 00:06:32 As she opens the door and gets in, 00:06:35 a crescendo is reached in the background music. 00:06:39 You’re made to feel like, 00:06:41 ‘You poor, poor loser 00:06:44 if you don’t have that car.’ 00:06:48 They don’t talk about the heavy payments you’re going to have to make 00:06:50 or how many meetings you’re going to have to miss to make those payments. 00:06:53 ‘You poor loser if you don’t have that car.’ 00:06:57 And similar advertising methods are used very often 00:07:02 in promoting many other gadgets and material things. 00:07:07 So, obviously, we have to fight hard against the spirit of the world 00:07:10 so that we don’t allow it 00:07:12 to nurture greed in our hearts. 00:07:16 In fact, if we’re not careful, our love for Jehovah 00:07:19 could be squeezed out 00:07:21 by love for money and love for material things. 00:07:24 And if this happens, 00:07:26 rather than conquering the world as Jesus did, 00:07:29 the world will have conquered us. 00:07:33 Now, it admittedly is a great challenge 00:07:37 to fight these three great enemies and avoid, 00:07:40 as Jesus counseled, “every sort of greed.” 00:07:43 But now, think of that—Jesus indicated 00:07:47 there’s not just one sort of greed, one kind of greed. 00:07:50 Greed can take on various faces, or manifestations, 00:07:54 but we’re to guard against all of them. 00:07:56 What would you say is the antidote 00:07:58 that can immunize us against the poison of greed? 00:08:02 Well, is it not contentment? 00:08:06 For example, one sort of greed we talked about, 00:08:10 greed for material things 00:08:12 —well, contentment will immunize us 00:08:15 against this terrible form of greed. 00:08:18 We’re familiar with 1 Timothy 6:8: 00:08:23 “So, having food and clothing, 00:08:26 “[and the footnote adds “shelter.”] 00:08:29 we will be content with these things.” 00:08:33 So contentment really protects us. 00:08:35 And, in effect, that’s what Jehovah was telling Baruch; 00:08:38 he was telling him: ‘You have what you need. 00:08:41 ‘Stop storing up great things, or seeking great things. 00:08:44 Be content with what you have and do more important things.’ 00:08:48 And then he gave a powerful reason why Baruch should do this. 00:08:52 Jehovah told him at Jeremiah 45:5: 00:08:55 “For I am about to bring a calamity on all flesh,” 00:09:00 so if “you get the mastery over” this, 00:09:02 “I will grant you your life as a spoil.” 00:09:07 Well, the same applies to us, doesn’t it? 00:09:10 Jehovah is soon going to bring a calamity on all flesh, 00:09:14 and so we need to be content with what we really need 00:09:17 and ‘seek first the Kingdom.’ 00:09:19 We’re just ‘temporary residents,’ aren’t we? 00:09:21 That’s what 1 Peter 1:17 says. 00:09:24 Now here’s an illustration about a temporary resident. 00:09:27 I’d like you to imagine 00:09:29 that we rent a venue for our regional convention. 00:09:33 Now, you may do a few things 00:09:35 to make the stay more comfortable in that venue. 00:09:39 For example, you may do thorough cleaning; 00:09:42 you might do some touch-up painting; 00:09:45 you might repair some broken toilets or light fixtures. 00:09:49 But you would never paint and plaster the entire stadium inside and out. 00:09:53 You wouldn’t rip up the seats and put all new seating in. 00:09:57 You wouldn’t tear out the parking lot and put in a new parking lot 00:10:01 because you know you’re just a temporary resident. 00:10:04 You’re going to vacate that place after the weekend. 00:10:06 Now, unlike the illustration, we don’t know exactly when we’re going to vacate, 00:10:11 but we know it’s soon. 00:10:12 So we keep it simple. 00:10:14 We’re just temporary residents. 00:10:16 Another sort of greed is greed for prominence. 00:10:19 But being content 00:10:21 with how generous Jehovah has been in giving us so many privileges 00:10:25 will protect us from this greed. 00:10:27 It would’ve protected Korah in Moses’ time. 00:10:31 Another sort of greed is greedy sexual desire. 00:10:34 If we’re single or married, 00:10:36 being content with what rightfully belongs to us 00:10:41 will really be a protection. 00:10:43 It would have protected David from his sin with Bath-sheba. 00:10:48 Or there are other sorts of greed, such as gluttony and drunkenness. 00:10:53 But the antidote for all of these is contentment 00:10:58 —contentment with what is rightfully ours 00:11:01 that Jehovah has given to us. 00:11:03 And if we are successful in guarding against every sort of greed, 00:11:07 then we’ll be on hand to enjoy the marvelous time 00:11:12 when Jehovah will open his hand 00:11:15 and satisfy every proper “desire of every living thing.”
00:00:01 Now, my theme is 00:00:03 “Guard Against Every Sort of Greed.” 00:00:07 Jehovah lovingly gave counsel 00:00:10 to Jeremiah’s secretary, Baruch, 00:00:13 to stop “seeking great things” for himself. 00:00:17 Now, what were those great things? 00:00:19 Well, we don’t know for sure, 00:00:21 perhaps prominence or material things or both. 00:00:26 But what bad quality was developing 00:00:30 in Baruch’s heart that Jehovah saw? 00:00:32 Greed. 00:00:35 And the Insight book defines greed 00:00:38 as “inordinate or rapacious desire.” 00:00:42 The dictionary says it’s “a selfish, . . . 00:00:46 “excessive desire for more of something 00:00:48 (such as money) than is needed.” 00:00:51 So, in effect, Jehovah was telling Baruch, 00:00:54 ‘Stop being greedy.’ 00:00:56 And in an extended application, 00:00:58 Jehovah tells us the same thing. 00:01:01 Now, echoing Jehovah’s counsel to Baruch 00:01:04 is what Jesus tells us. 00:01:07 If you’ll open up to Luke chapter 12, 00:01:10 and let’s read our theme scripture here. 00:01:12 Luke 12:15 00:01:14 —similar counsel from Jesus— 00:01:17 Luke 12:15: 00:01:20 “Then he [that is Jesus] said to them: 00:01:23 “‘Keep your eyes open and guard [now notice] 00:01:28 “‘against every sort of greed, 00:01:31 “‘because even when a person has an abundance, 00:01:35 “‘his life does not result 00:01:37 from the things he possesses.’” 00:01:40 Now, what makes it a challenge, though, 00:01:43 for us to “guard against every sort of greed,” as Jesus counseled? 00:01:47 Well, our three great enemies. 00:01:49 In fact, let’s discuss each of these 00:01:52 and how it makes it a challenge. 00:01:54 Now, first, our imperfect flesh. 00:01:56 At Genesis 8:21, Jehovah said: 00:01:59 “The inclination of the heart of man 00:02:01 is bad from his youth up.” 00:02:04 And one form of badness is greed. 00:02:07 This tendency toward greed becomes manifest very early. 00:02:12 For example, we see little toddlers 00:02:14 grab things and hold them tightly. 00:02:18 “Mine, mine, mine.” 00:02:22 That greed is starting to manifest, isn’t it? 00:02:25 When people look at a little toddler, 00:02:27 they may say, “What a cute little boy,” 00:02:30 or “He has his mother’s eyes and his father’s nose.” 00:02:35 But they never invariably say: 00:02:39 “Look at that little toddler. 00:02:41 What an unselfish little toddler!” 00:02:44 No, it takes a lot of effort —doesn’t it?— 00:02:46 to teach that little one to be unselfish like Jehovah. 00:02:50 But now, what about our second great enemy, Satan? 00:02:53 What was Satan’s downfall? 00:02:55 It was greed. 00:02:57 He allowed a greedy desire for something 00:03:00 that belonged to Jehovah alone to develop in his heart. 00:03:04 And what was that greed for? 00:03:06 Worship. 00:03:08 And he wants his downfall to be our downfall. 00:03:12 He wants to ensnare us in greed. 00:03:15 So he tries to magnify, intensify, 00:03:18 our wrong tendency to be greedy. 00:03:21 And if you think about it, how was Satan 00:03:24 able to entrap the perfect woman, Eve? 00:03:27 He entrapped her in greed. 00:03:29 He got her to crave, desire, 00:03:33 what belonged to God alone. 00:03:36 In effect, he said to her: 00:03:38 ‘Eating of all the trees of the garden minus one tree 00:03:43 ‘is not good enough. 00:03:45 ‘You should crave that one tree 00:03:47 that has not been given to you.’ 00:03:50 In fact, let me, please, illustrate 00:03:52 how greedy Satan made Adam and Eve 00:03:57 —how greedy they were. 00:03:59 I’d like for you to imagine that you have guests staying in your home, 00:04:02 and you say, “Now, I really want you 00:04:04 to make yourselves at home while you’re here.” 00:04:07 You take them into the kitchen; 00:04:09 you open the refrigerator and say: 00:04:11 “There are all kinds of food here 00:04:13 “in the cabinets —the pantry— 00:04:15 “everything you could imagine that you would want to eat. 00:04:18 “It’s yours. Help yourself. 00:04:20 Don’t even ask.” 00:04:22 But then you pull out one little drawer, and you say: 00:04:26 “Now, I’ve set aside some items for a later occasion. 00:04:30 “Please, this is very important. 00:04:32 “Do not eat from this one drawer. 00:04:34 “But you’ll find other items just like 00:04:36 “in this drawer in the pantry and the cabinets. 00:04:39 You’ll have everything you need.” 00:04:41 Now, would that be overly restrictive? 00:04:43 Would that be an unloving arrangement with your guests? 00:04:46 It’d be very generous, wouldn’t it? 00:04:49 And, in effect, that’s the arrangement Jehovah made with Adam and Eve. 00:04:52 But now, back to the illustration: If you came into the kitchen 00:04:55 and you found your guests eating 00:04:58 out of that one drawer that you had not given them, 00:05:02 you’d be very upset, wouldn’t you? 00:05:04 And you’d probably view it as stealing, 00:05:07 and you likely would put the thieves out of your house. 00:05:10 So that illustrates how Jehovah felt and how Jehovah reacted. 00:05:15 But what a protection being content 00:05:17 with what was rightfully hers would have been to Eve! 00:05:22 But now, what about our third great enemy—the world? 00:05:26 We are relentlessly surrounded 00:05:30 by Satan’s world and his spirit, called “the spirit of the world.” 00:05:35 We could say that Jehovah breathes holy spirit 00:05:39 to influence his people to act like him and to be unselfish. 00:05:43 But Satan, in effect, exhales 00:05:47 the stinky spirit of the world 00:05:50 that makes people act like him in being greedy. 00:05:55 And one way Satan’s world promotes greed for material things 00:05:59 is by relentless advertising. 00:06:03 People are constantly bombarded with advertisements. 00:06:07 For example, here’s just an example: 00:06:09 They may bring out a shiny, new car; 00:06:13 it has about 12 coats of wax on it. 00:06:16 They have all these spotlights shining on it. 00:06:19 They bring in a camera from all different angles 00:06:22 and, about this time, a scantily clothed woman 00:06:25 comes strolling out to that automobile. 00:06:28 And you don’t even notice it, but there’s 00:06:30 soft music playing in the background. 00:06:32 As she opens the door and gets in, 00:06:35 a crescendo is reached in the background music. 00:06:39 You’re made to feel like, 00:06:41 ‘You poor, poor loser 00:06:44 if you don’t have that car.’ 00:06:48 They don’t talk about the heavy payments you’re going to have to make 00:06:50 or how many meetings you’re going to have to miss to make those payments. 00:06:53 ‘You poor loser if you don’t have that car.’ 00:06:57 And similar advertising methods are used very often 00:07:02 in promoting many other gadgets and material things. 00:07:07 So, obviously, we have to fight hard against the spirit of the world 00:07:10 so that we don’t allow it 00:07:12 to nurture greed in our hearts. 00:07:16 In fact, if we’re not careful, our love for Jehovah 00:07:19 could be squeezed out 00:07:21 by love for money and love for material things. 00:07:24 And if this happens, 00:07:26 rather than conquering the world as Jesus did, 00:07:29 the world will have conquered us. 00:07:33 Now, it admittedly is a great challenge 00:07:37 to fight these three great enemies and avoid, 00:07:40 as Jesus counseled, “every sort of greed.” 00:07:43 But now, think of that—Jesus indicated 00:07:47 there’s not just one sort of greed, one kind of greed. 00:07:50 Greed can take on various faces, or manifestations, 00:07:54 but we’re to guard against all of them. 00:07:56 What would you say is the antidote 00:07:58 that can immunize us against the poison of greed? 00:08:02 Well, is it not contentment? 00:08:06 For example, one sort of greed we talked about, 00:08:10 greed for material things 00:08:12 —well, contentment will immunize us 00:08:15 against this terrible form of greed. 00:08:18 We’re familiar with 1 Timothy 6:8: 00:08:23 “So, having food and clothing, 00:08:26 “[and the footnote adds “shelter.”] 00:08:29 we will be content with these things.” 00:08:33 So contentment really protects us. 00:08:35 And, in effect, that’s what Jehovah was telling Baruch; 00:08:38 he was telling him: ‘You have what you need. 00:08:41 ‘Stop storing up great things, or seeking great things. 00:08:44 Be content with what you have and do more important things.’ 00:08:48 And then he gave a powerful reason why Baruch should do this. 00:08:52 Jehovah told him at Jeremiah 45:5: 00:08:55 “For I am about to bring a calamity on all flesh,” 00:09:00 so if “you get the mastery over” this, 00:09:02 “I will grant you your life as a spoil.” 00:09:07 Well, the same applies to us, doesn’t it? 00:09:10 Jehovah is soon going to bring a calamity on all flesh, 00:09:14 and so we need to be content with what we really need 00:09:17 and ‘seek first the Kingdom.’ 00:09:19 We’re just ‘temporary residents,’ aren’t we? 00:09:21 That’s what 1 Peter 1:17 says. 00:09:24 Now here’s an illustration about a temporary resident. 00:09:27 I’d like you to imagine 00:09:29 that we rent a venue for our regional convention. 00:09:33 Now, you may do a few things 00:09:35 to make the stay more comfortable in that venue. 00:09:39 For example, you may do thorough cleaning; 00:09:42 you might do some touch-up painting; 00:09:45 you might repair some broken toilets or light fixtures. 00:09:49 But you would never paint and plaster the entire stadium inside and out. 00:09:53 You wouldn’t rip up the seats and put all new seating in. 00:09:57 You wouldn’t tear out the parking lot and put in a new parking lot 00:10:01 because you know you’re just a temporary resident. 00:10:04 You’re going to vacate that place after the weekend. 00:10:06 Now, unlike the illustration, we don’t know exactly when we’re going to vacate, 00:10:11 but we know it’s soon. 00:10:12 So we keep it simple. 00:10:14 We’re just temporary residents. 00:10:16 Another sort of greed is greed for prominence. 00:10:19 But being content 00:10:21 with how generous Jehovah has been in giving us so many privileges 00:10:25 will protect us from this greed. 00:10:27 It would’ve protected Korah in Moses’ time. 00:10:31 Another sort of greed is greedy sexual desire. 00:10:34 If we’re single or married, 00:10:36 being content with what rightfully belongs to us 00:10:41 will really be a protection. 00:10:43 It would have protected David from his sin with Bath-sheba. 00:10:48 Or there are other sorts of greed, such as gluttony and drunkenness. 00:10:53 But the antidote for all of these is contentment 00:10:58 —contentment with what is rightfully ours 00:11:01 that Jehovah has given to us. 00:11:03 And if we are successful in guarding against every sort of greed, 00:11:07 then we’ll be on hand to enjoy the marvelous time 00:11:12 when Jehovah will open his hand 00:11:15 and satisfy every proper “desire of every living thing.”
