Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“But fornication and impurity of any kind, or greed, must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints.”
NL Daily Devotion for Wednesday, July 28, 2021
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
The movie Wall Street came out my senior year of high school. I knew people in my first-year dorm at college who had posters of Gordon Gekko’s “Greed is good” speech and could recite it. And they did so without any subtle understanding of the movie’s statement that such a speech was purely evil rhetoric. They spoke his words in all 80’s neo-conservative earnestness. Meanwhile, Geckko has been rated by the American Film Institute as #24 on its list of the top 50 movie villains of all time. Greed, ladies and gentlemen, is not good.
Paul knew this. He puts greed on the same level as fornication, which, for him, was the worst of the worst. (I don’t agree with him, but that’s neither here nor there at the moment). As Christians we are called to turn away from greed and embrace generosity, yet greed continues to be a major driving force behind most western societal systems. I think it’s worth being honest with ourselves about how greed plays a role in our daily decisions, and make a commitment to putting it aside, as is “proper among saints.”
Do I ever find myself motivated by greed? When? How could I practice generosity instead?
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