AIG: An Incessant Greed
Pastor Marc Peña
Trinity LIfe Church of San Diego
AIG… three little letters.
Just enough to make your stomach turn.
But let’s be honest, did the whole AIG thing really surprise you?
Probably not.
As a culture (by and large) we’ve been promoting greed under the guise of “the right to prosper” for decades… and the American family has the bills to prove it (the average credit card debt per family in our country has now surpassed 8,000.00).
Sadly, this excessive obsession with financial “prosperity” has found itself at home in many churches and sermons across our country. Many believers have turned giving from an act of worship and faith into some kind of “contract” where God becomes financially obligated to respond. Too many have been told that giving “sacrificially” is the way of obtaining unusual financial blessing from God as well as remarkable deliverance from debt. Biblical stewardship is reduced to a “give a lot and give it often” mentality. In many churches, receiving the weekly tithes and offerings has become an art which employs a unique blend of guilt, manipulation and begging. In short, many believers have been deceived into thinking that biblical giving is about “getting.” Nothing could be farther from the truth…
Don’t get me wrong… I have no doubt that God’s desire is to bless people (yes, that means financially too). I am also convinced that God is moved when we generously give of our time, talent and treasure for the building of His kingdom (remember the widow in Mark 12:41-44?). There are even times when He blesses in such unusual and extraordinary ways that it leaves us worshipfully breathless! (and grateful!). God has been and continues to be a faithful Provider.
But this should in no way be a license to ignore the teachings of Scripture which warn us about becoming overly preoccupied with wealth…
Proverbs 28:20 (ESV): “A faithful man will abound with blessings, but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.”
1 Timothy 6:6-9 (ESV): “Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction."
Matthew 19:24 (ESV): “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”Mark 4:19 (ESV): “…but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful."
James 1:11 (ESV): “For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits”
Let us strive to honor God by being a people of both discipline and devotion. Let our pursuit of prosperity be for the honor, glory and kingdom of God as we help those in need. Let us devote ourselves to cultivating worshipful generosity and discipline ourselves to be content in all things. Let our tithes and offerings reflect of our faith in God and not our facination with wealth.
Remember that greed, in all of its forms, will ultimately pierce the heart with shame and sorrow. Let’s forsake the bankrupt legacies of greed left to us by companies like AIG. Let’s seek a better way…
Hebrews 13:5 (ESV): “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
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