Theme: GREED
Text: “Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.” – Hebrews 12:16, 17.
Comment: People who are greedy are immoderately desirous of acquiring more and more of something. They are obsessed with food, money, drink, fame, etc. In the case of Esau he was so greedy for food, he sold his birthright.(Genesis 25:29-34) The loss his greed cost him is of course incalculable, hence St. Paul used it to charge Christians as in the text for today. See also Genesis 27:36. Judas was greedy for money as he used to steal from the purse and eventually sold his master for 30 pieces of silver, said to be about $15. – John 12:6; Matthew 26:47-57; 27:3-6; Acts 1:16-20.
There are those who, because of greed, just derive pleasure from seeing their savings accumulate but would not even spend it to take care of themselves. Some years ago, the media carried stories of a Britisher, Joseph Leek, who lived as a pauper whereas he had millions in his account. According to his daughters, he watched television at a neighbor’s house to save on electricity, put off home repairs, and bought secondhand clothes.” But he actually left nearly $1.8 million to an organization that provides guide dogs for the blind. Solomon stated, “There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. …And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?…” – Ecclesiastes 5:13-17.