Finances & Giving | Greed (The Underlying Sickness): Strapped - Part 3

GREED (The Underlying Sickness)<br/>Strapped - Part 3<br/>Springcreek Church | Senior Pastor Keith Stewart<br/>August 6, 2023<br/><br/>https://www.springcreekchurch.org/<br/>#realspringcreekchurch  #strapped #greed #sickness #slave #whatkeepsusenslaved<br/><br/>We all do it but few of us admit it. We can be greedy for money, popularity, influence, Facebook likes, control, or even recognition. Every sinful behavior is rooted in the selfish desire to look out for one’s own welfare and disregard what’s in the best of others. That’s what it means to be greedy. But, there is a better way and Jesus taught us that way. Discover how.<br/><br/>DISCUSSION QUESTIONS<br/><br/>1. Why do some Christians define sin in terms of external observable acts alone? Why are we so reluctant to admit that our desires are the real problem? Why do we try to justify our greed or explain it away? Why do we only deal with the fruit instead of the root?<br/><br/>2. In the story in Luke 12, a man comes to Jesus asking him to make his brother divide the inheritance with him. This was an attempt at triangulation which Jesus absolutely refused to do. Have you known people like this - people who tell their side of a story to a friend in an attempt to get them on their side and build a coalition to confront another person? Besides it being the sign of a very unhealthy individual, the Bible says it’s foolish to decide on a matter after only hearing one side of the story. What is a better response to someone who tries to triangulate you into taking their side in a relationship breakdown?<br/><br/>3. The parable Jesus told the man gets to the heart of this man’s real issue – which was greed. Why are blessings not meant to be hoarded for ourselves? Can you think of a time when you were blessed and chose to share instead of hoarding it all for yourself? When and what was that? How did that impact you? What difference was made?<br/><br/>4.  God enters this parable and speaks to the man (the only time God appears as a character in a parable and speaks). He calls the man a fool and reminds him that his life was only on loan. How would our lives be different if we truly believed that everything we have and everything we are is only on loan? Much like the Monopoly game illustration, in the end, it all goes back in the box. The idea of stewardship is directly tied to the concept that none of what we have is our own but that we manage it on another’s behalf. If it’s not my money but God’s money, if it’s not my life but God’s life He lent to me, how does that shift our perspective? Attitude? Choices?<br/><br/>5. If vices are cured by their contrary - If, as Ephesians 4.22-32 teaches, lasting change is a two-factor process – putting off and putting on (Read Ephesians 4.22-32 out loud together as a group and note the examples Paul gives), then the only remedy for greediness is generosity. The way selfishness is reversed is by cultivating a more selfless, generous attitude. If you have ever struggled with greediness or stinginess, share with others that pathway that led you out of that darkness. Talk about ways to cultivate a spirit of generosity. How do you make sure you face this lesson regularly?