Verse 15

Then he said to them,“Watch out and guard yourself from all types of greed, because one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Referenced Verses

  • 1 Tim 6:6-9 : 6 Now godliness combined with contentment brings great profit. 7 For we have brought nothing into this world and so we cannot take a single thing out either. 8 But if we have food and shelter, we will be satisfied with that. 9 Those who long to be rich, however, stumble into temptation and a trap and many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evils. Some people in reaching for it have strayed from the faith and stabbed themselves with many pains.
  • Heb 13:5 : 5 Your conduct must be free from the love of money and you must be content with what you have, for he has said,“I will never leave you and I will never abandon you.”
  • Prov 16:16 : 16 How much better it is to acquire wisdom than gold; to acquire understanding is more desirable than silver.
  • Jer 22:17-18 : 17 But you are always thinking and looking for ways to increase your wealth by dishonest means. Your eyes and your heart are set on killing some innocent person and committing fraud and oppression. 18 So the LORD has this to say about Josiah’s son, King Jehoiakim of Judah: People will not mourn for him, saying,“This makes me sad, my brother! This makes me sad, my sister!” They will not mourn for him, saying,“Poor, poor lord! Poor, poor majesty!”
  • Ps 62:10 : 10 Do not trust in what you can gain by oppression! Do not put false confidence in what you can gain by robbery! If wealth increases, do not become attached to it!
  • Ps 119:36-37 : 36 Give me a desire for your rules, rather than for wealth gained unjustly. 37 Turn my eyes away from what is worthless! Revive me with your word!
  • Prov 15:16 : 16 Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great wealth and turmoil with it.
  • 2 Tim 3:2 : 2 For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
  • 2 Pet 2:3 : 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their condemnation pronounced long ago is not sitting idly by; their destruction is not asleep.
  • Mic 2:2 : 2 They confiscate the fields they desire, and seize the houses they want. They defraud people of their homes, and deprive people of the land they have inherited.
  • Hab 2:9 : 9 The one who builds his house by unjust gain is as good as dead. He does this so he can build his nest way up high and escape the clutches of disaster.
  • Matt 6:25-26 : 25 Do Not Worry“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing? 26 Look at the birds in the sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you more valuable than they are?
  • Mark 7:22 : 22 adultery, greed, evil, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, and folly.
  • Luke 8:14 : 14 As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.
  • Luke 16:14 : 14 More Warnings about the Pharisees The Pharisees(who loved money) heard all this and ridiculed him.
  • Luke 21:34 : 34 Be Ready!“But be on your guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day close down upon you suddenly like a trap.
  • 1 Cor 5:10-11 : 10 In no way did I mean the immoral people of this world, or the greedy and swindlers and idolaters, since you would then have to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who calls himself a Christian who is sexually immoral, or greedy, or an idolater, or verbally abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person.
  • 1 Cor 6:10 : 10 thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God.
  • Eph 5:3-5 : 3 But among you there must not be either sexual immorality, impurity of any kind, or greed, as these are not fitting for the saints. 4 Neither should there be vulgar speech, foolish talk, or coarse jesting– all of which are out of character– but rather thanksgiving. 5 For you can be confident of this one thing: that no person who is immoral, impure, or greedy(such a person is an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
  • Col 3:5 : 5 So put to death whatever in your nature belongs to the earth: sexual immorality, impurity, shameful passion, evil desire, and greed which is idolatry.
  • Prov 23:4-5 : 4 Do not wear yourself out to become rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself. 5 When you gaze upon riches, they are gone, for they surely make wings for themselves, and fly off into the sky like an eagle!
  • Prov 28:16 : 16 The prince who is a great oppressor lacks wisdom, but the one who hates unjust gain will prolong his days.
  • Eccl 4:6-8 : 6 Better is one handful with some rest than two hands full of toil and chasing the wind. 7 Labor Motivated by Greed So I again considered another futile thing on earth: 8 A man who is all alone with no companion, he has no children nor siblings; yet there is no end to all his toil, and he is never satisfied with riches. He laments,“For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is futile and a burdensome task!
  • Eccl 5:10-16 : 10 Covetousness The one who loves money will never be satisfied with money, he who loves wealth will never be satisfied with his income. This also is futile. 11 When someone’s prosperity increases, those who consume it also increase; so what does its owner gain, except that he gets to see it with his eyes? 12 The sleep of the laborer is pleasant– whether he eats little or much– but the wealth of the rich will not allow him to sleep. 13 Materialism Thwarts Enjoyment of Life Here is a misfortune on earth that I have seen: Wealth hoarded by its owner to his own misery. 14 Then that wealth was lost through bad luck; although he fathered a son, he has nothing left to give him. 15 Just as he came forth from his mother’s womb, naked will he return as he came, and he will take nothing in his hand that he may carry away from his toil. 16 This is another misfortune: Just as he came, so will he go. What did he gain from toiling for the wind?
  • Jer 6:13 : 13 “That is because, from the least important to the most important of them, all of them are greedy for dishonest gain. Prophets and priests alike, all of them practice deceit.
  • Josh 7:21 : 21 I saw among the goods we seized a nice robe from Babylon, two hundred silver pieces, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels. I wanted them, so I took them. They are hidden in the ground right in the middle of my tent with the silver underneath.”
  • Job 2:4 : 4 But Satan answered the LORD,“Skin for skin! Indeed, a man will give up all that he has to save his life!
  • Job 31:24-25 : 24 “If I have put my confidence in gold or said to pure gold,‘You are my security!’ 25 if I have rejoiced because of the extent of my wealth, or because of the great wealth my hand had gained,
  • Ps 10:3 : 3 Yes, the wicked man boasts because he gets what he wants; the one who robs others curses and rejects the LORD.
  • Ps 37:16 : 16 The little bit that a godly man owns is better than the wealth of many evil men,
  • 2 Pet 2:14 : 14 Their eyes, full of adultery, never stop sinning; they entice unstable people. They have trained their hearts for greed, these cursed children!