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The wanting has a different intensity if you have to save up, or go without (or worse still have to buy an inferior phone). On this basis we could think that wealth reduces greed because it reduces the power of desire.

But that would be a deception because in both cases the desire is focussed on what wealth can buy.

The deception has to do with what makes for a good life. And it has to do with what is the best use of wealth. Life doesn’t consist in the abundance of things we possess according to Jesus. Which is a difficult idea in a world where the abundance of things seems necessary to make the world go round (or at least the economy).

If life does not consist in what we possess, what does that tell us about what we possess? Probably that they are not very important to life. But they may be blessings nevertheless. God has given us all things to enjoy richly. The problem arises when we mistake the blessings for life itself.

If life does not consist in what we possess, what does it consist in? Something to do with God seems to be the answer. Desiring God rather than what we can possess. Seeking him. Looking for his presence. Wanting to be part of what he is doing.

And this helps us understand the great use of wealth. Not to featherbed a life made comfortable by possessions, but to apply it to God’s great purposes. To use it bountifully as God does.  To care for the needy, to see his great gospel spread to the ends of the earth. Those who share their wealth generously, as God does, find that he continues to supply enough to bless them and enough to keep on sharing with those in need.

Dale

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