A lady wants Scripture to share with her brother who from her perspective has rejected God and his siblings over a love of money and the sin of greed. The siblings in the family are all mostly in their retired years and have inherited the family farm. They rent the farm out to others to work and they make very little from this rent. Four of the siblings want to keep the farm in the family, but the one greedy brother who has made a large chunk of financial gain from another property sell wants to sell the farm. His desire to sell versus the desire of his other siblings has driven a great wedge in the family. The brother has increasingly become hostile towards the others and is even working deals with nephews and nieces behind the scenes looking forward to a future opportunity to make more money. This man is already in his 70s. It appears as if he is not attending Church anywhere now. His sister literally thinks he has rejected God for his love of money. The following are the verses and commentary I provided her to consider sharing:
Ecclesiastes 5:10 – “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.”
Your brother needs to realize that he will never be satisfied with the amount of wealth he has. Even if he sold the farm, it wouldn’t be enough.
What is he saving for? What are his goals? What is the point? To give a large chunk of change to his kids? What would be the meaning in that? What would give value to that? What would give such a gift to his kids eternal value? How will they responsibly use the money if they do not know the Lord, because he has not taught them the Lord and his ways?
Hebrews 13:5 – “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
He’s not content with what he has… he’s not content with you, his family! He has in fact lost his family due to his love of money that will never be satisfied.
Luke 12:15 – “Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
What is most valuable in this life? Is stuff your life? Is money your life? If it is… that’s a very sad and empty life.
Matthew 6:24 – ““No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Is he serving Jesus with his money? Or is he serving himself? Who does he love?
Proverbs 13:11 – “Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.”
If the farm is sold it wouldn’t be dishonest, but to coerce and continue to badger and to cut off family members because he alone desires to sell the farm to get a big chunk of change is selfish and self-serving and self-seeking. That large stash he gains will little by little fade to nothing.
Proverbs 15:27 – “The greedy bring ruin to their households, but the one who hates bribes will live.”
What has he brought to his household through his love of money? What has he lost because of his greed? In his time of dying, who will be by his side? What has he cut off from his family by his greed?
Proverbs 28:25 – “The greedy stir up conflict, but those who trust in the LORD will prosper.”
He has stirred up much conflict within your family by his greed. Is he trusting in the money and not the Lord? What is he seeking after? If it’s not the Lord, he will whither and die!
Matthew 6:19-21 – ““Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
What he is storing up for himself will be stolen from him. What he has stored up will be destroyed. It will wear out. It is of this world which is destined for fire! Instead, he needs to seek the things of God of eternal merit and heaven. That is where his heart needs to be set.
Luther said that anything we love, trust, or fear above all else is our god, our idol! We all commit idolatry in some form or fashion. All sin is ultimately rooted in a falling short of trust in God, love in God, or fear in God. Some idolatry however is rejection of faith, a rejection of God! All idolatry if unrepented leads to death – eternal death – as the rejection of faith (a state of unbelief and unrepentance) is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, the unforgivable sin.
He must repent, turn from his love of money and greed and turn to Jesus for forgiveness of his sins!
Matthew 16:26 – “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”
2 Peter 3:8-18 – “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. 15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”
Andy Wrasman 
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