A devout life does bring wealth, but it’s the rich simplicity of being yourself before God. Since we entered the world penniless and will leave it penniless, if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet, that’s enough.

‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭6‬:‭6‬-‭8‬ ‭MSG

I watched the new Wonka movie today. I loved it, but I’m a fan of heartwarming whimsical musicals. Plus it pricked my heart and stayed on my mind long after I watched it. 

See, there was this line one of the characters kept saying throughout the film, “The greedy beat the needy.” Unfortunately in reality, this line is very true. 

We can see it happening all around us. Just turn on the news. There’s wars, thievery, workers being mistreated, people being abused, and there’s constant cries for help. Then commercials come on and feed the want, desire, for more. Greed runs rampant in our world as needs suffocate people. 

Or at least that is what it seems…

What is greed?

Greed: (n.) excessive or rapacious desire, especially for possessions. 

What is need?

Need: (n.) a condition marked by the lack of something required.

Both of these words don’t state the status of the individual with greed or need. You can be rich and still be in need. You can be poor and have greed. Or vice-versa.  Either way, a person (rich or poor) in greed is willing to do anything to fulfill their desire. Even hurt or step on those in the same or worse place as them. Either way, people (rich or poor) can lack something. Whether they know it or not.

Now even though need and greed’s definitions don’t state the status of an individual, they do state a specific condition. 

Greed’s condition lies in POSSESSIONS and that’s very important. For how can greed possess us if it doesn’t have anything tangible and temporal for us to benefit from? Greed needs a shiny thing to distract us from our true desire or need. 

For example, if we’re sad, we start wanting chocolate (or some other type of food). Then for a moment, as we chew and savor our treat, it seems as if happiness is tangible. And that brief momentary happiness was much better than the sadness than before. So in trying to hold onto that happiness (which we can’t) we hold onto the chocolate, the possession, that we now relate to happiness. We now have a greed for chocolate because we can possess chocolate but cannot possess happiness. Which means we would have to go back to being with that sadness by ourselves, empty-handed. 

On the other hand, need’s condition is LACK. Need is a state of being that is defined by a lack of something. And if we’re honest, we all can think of something we lack and chances are, we don’t like that. We don’t like the fact that there’s this feeling that we are lacking something. So we fill it with these things or worse, people, just so we can finally feel complete. In our constant state of lack, of need, we let our uncomfortable state define us (needy, insecure, incompetent, imperfect) and control our reactions leading to us becoming greedy over something to fill that lack. 

Truth is, the greedy beat the needy because the greedy are in need but are too prideful, ashamed, and/or afraid to admit it.

Truth is, we ourselves can be and maybe are, both needy and greedy.

Truth is, the first person our greed had beaten down was our own selves.

Truth is, God is waiting to free us and fill us.

But we have to admit these truths. The more we try to battle the greed that possesses us, the more we try to fill a need that was not made for anything but God, we are going to fail. It may seem like we succeeded, but something changes and BAM! We’re right back where we started, struggling to hold onto something and fulfilling a consistent need.

All of our temporary solutions are not God’s edifying solutions. He made us. He knows your needs, temporal and consistent. He wants to heal the beatings you received from your own greed. He wants to love you as you are. 

So, will you continue to let greed beat need? Or will you go to God, be true and free for Him to see?