Joyce Meyer’s daily sermon for today: Generosity Is the Answer to Greed

Topic:Generosity Is the Answer to Greed

Greed has become a huge problem in our society today. I am  sure it has always been a problem, but the abundance of things
that are available today makes it even more of a problem.

Greed causes a person to never be satisfied or appreciative for very long no matter how much they have. The apostle Paul tells us that he had learned how to be content whether he had a lot or a little (Philippians 4:12). That lesson would be a
valuable one for all people today.

Greed steals the life of the greedy person, because he can never be satisfied. Greedy people cannot enjoy what they do have because they are never genuinely content. It is not wrong to want things. God has either created or given us the ability to
create many beautiful and needful things, and I believe He wants His children to enjoy them.

But He wants us to enjoy them with a proper attitude. That attitude should be one of gratitude, contentment, and a willingness to be generous to
others.

We must fight against greed, and the best way I know to do that is to develop the habit of generosity. Greed is such a
huge problem that God’s Word instructs us to not even associate with anyone who is known to be guilty of greed.

Why would He say that? I believe it is because greed is a  wicked  spirit, and God doesn’t want us to be affected by it.
God wants us to grow in generosity, not in greed.

We can easily be affected by the people we are around, especially if we have close association with them. If you want to be a
generous person, make friends with other generous people.

Watch how they live and learn from their example.
I am thinking of some people I often eat with who are always very friendly, encouraging, and kind to all the workers
in the restaurant. They have a good attitude even if their meal isn’t exactly what they expected, and they tip generously.

Their entire attitude is one of generosity. Being with them helps make a meal very pleasant, and I am challenged by their behavior to always keep growing in generosity. Choose friends who make you a better person. Of course, we want to always reach out to people who need us to be an example to them, too, but it isn’t good if those are the only kind of people we are around.