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I want to offer you some specific wisdom for the workplace. And in fact, I want to you to have a set of cards with these nuggets of wisdom which you can take to your job, use them for yourself, or even give to others as an encouraging word. You’ll find those at christianworkingwoman.org.
Wisdom for the workplace from Luke 12:15: Jesus said, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.”
So, this greed problem is nothing new. And we certainly must watch out for the many different kinds of greed. There’s greed for power, the drive to have authority and influence over other people. And greed for prestige and fame. Of course, greed for material possessions is very commonplace. Almost daily we hear of another scandal where greed for money has driven people to destroy their whole lives. And sadly, we’ve seen greed rise to the surface during this coronavirus pandemic.
When you think about it, greed is pride. It is that desire within us to show the world who we are by our status in life, by our possessions, by our fame. Greed is a direct result of the pride of life.
And greed is contagious. If you’re around people who have lots of things and who focus their life on getting more and more things, you’ll discover that it’s very difficult not to be swept right along into that greedy mindset for things.
And greed is cancerous. It grows fast, and it consumes and destroys everything it touches. No wonder Jesus said we must be on our guard against all kinds of greed.
Jesus went on to say that a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (Luke 12:15). Greed can overtake us quickly and completely distort our priorities and our commitment to the Lord. I wonder if what we’re going through—what we’ve been through in the last months—has helped many of us Christ-followers to see that the abundance of things is not important. That would be a big plus to take from this pandemic.
Jesus said life is more than food or clothes; life is peace and contentment. Those can’t be bought; they are found only in Jesus.
Our wisdom for the workplace today is: Be on your guard today against all that greed that surrounds you, especially in the working world. It wants to drag you right into its currents, but by God’s grace, you can be victorious.
Visit christianworkingwoman.org for your set of these ten cards with Wisdom for the Workplace.