Greed

Greed (Hebrew betsa, unjust gain; Greek pleonexia, wanting more) is the excessive desire for material wealth or possessions, condemned in Scripture as spiritual idolatry and social destructiveness. The prophets connect it directly with oppression: Micah denounces those who covet fields and violently take them (Mic. 2:2); Ezekiel charges Jerusalem's leaders with shedding blood for dishonest gain (Ezek. 22:12–13); Isaiah pronounces woe on those who add house to house and field to field (Isa. 5:8). The wisdom literature warns: "A greedy man stirs up strife, but the one who trusts in the LORD will be enriched" (Prov. 28:25). In the NT, Jesus identifies greed as a deadly spiritual danger: "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions" (Luke 12:15). The rich young ruler's departure in grief reveals how greed can block entry into the kingdom (Matt. 19:22). Paul names greed as idolatry (Col. 3:5; Eph. 5:5) — placing money in the position of God — and requires that elders be free from love of money (1 Tim. 3:3; Tit. 1:7). The love of money, rather than money itself, is identified as "a root of all kinds of evils" (1 Tim. 6:10).