This document discusses the topic of greed and corruption based on a passage from James 5:1-6. It makes several key points: 1. Greed and selfishness are at the root of corruption in people, as seen in examples like wealthy oppressors and Kim Jung Un. 2. The passage warns wealthy people who have stored up treasures only for themselves that their riches will rot and God will require their souls of them. 3. Greed is a common human disease characterized by an insatiable desire to have more. Riches can become toxic substitutes for God that give a false sense of security. 4. The antidote to greed is contentment with what God has provided

2. Corruption
and
Greed
James 5:1-6

3. Mine mine mine!!!
•You might recognize these
guys from “Finding Nemo”
•Story of the two greedy
misers that lived in the
same city, and were church
board members…
•Greed and Corruption– taints the
leadership of most places

4. A. Root of Corruption…
•The 4th and strongest warning
against rich oppressors
•Vs 1-6, the whole passage
addresses this idea
•Greed and Selfishness– these
are the root causes of corruption in man
•A current example, Kim Jung Un
•This passage is actually a continuation of
the idea from last week, vs 13-16

5. “13 Come now, you who say, “Today or
tomorrow we will go to such and such a city,
and spend a year there and engage in
business and make a profit.” 14Yet you do
not know what your life will be like
tomorrow.You are just a vapor that appears
for a little while and then vanishes away.
15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord
wills, we will live and also do this or that.”

6. “But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all
such boasting is evil. 17Therefore, to one
who knows the]right thing to do and does
not do it, to him it is sin.”
James 5:13-16, NASB

7. A. Root of Corruption…
•Vs 1-6, the whole passage
addresses this idea
•Greed and Selfishness– these
are the root causes of corruption in man
•A current example, Kim Jung Un
•This passage is actually a continuation of
the idea from last week, vs 13-16
•Pride, you see, still at the “root”

8. “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for
your miseries which are coming upon you.
2Your riches have rotted and your garments
have become moth-eaten. 3Your gold and
your silver have rusted; and their rust will be
a witness against you and will consume your
flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you
have stored up your treasure! 4 Behold, the
pay of the laborers who mowed your fields,
and which has been withheld by you, cries

9. out against you; and the outcry of those
who did the harvesting has reached the ears
of the Lord of Sabaoth. 5You have lived
luxuriously on the earth and led a life of
wanton pleasure; you have fattened your
hearts in a day of slaughter. 6You have
condemned and put to death the righteous
man; he does not resist you.”
James 5:1-6, NASB

10. out against you; and the outcry of those
who did the harvesting has reached the ears
of the Lord of Sabaoth. 5You have lived
luxuriously on the earth and led a life of
wanton pleasure; you have fattened your
hearts in a day of slaughter. 6You have
condemned and put to death the righteous
man; he does not resist you.”
James 5:1-6, NASB

11. A. Root of Corruption…
•Just like fat cows and pigs
headed to the slaughter house
•I saw this in an ad for a local
restaurant
•“You can rest assured that all the beef,
chicken, and pork served in our
establishment lived happy lives on open
lands before they were brought here for
your dining pleasure.”

12. B. Greed– Man’s common Disease
•Greed– the Greek word is
‘pleonexia’
•From the root words ‘pleon’,
meaning ‘more’ and ‘echo’, ‘to
have’
•It means “an insatiable desire to
have more”– a craving, if you will
•Stuff ($, etc) can become toxic

13. B. Greed– Man’s common Disease
•Toxic substitutes for the Living
Water of Jesus, and give a false
sense of security
•Check out these guys

14. “16 And He told them a parable, saying, “The
land of a rich man was very productive.
17 And he began reasoning to himself,
saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no
place to store my crops?’ 18Then he said,
‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my
barns and build larger ones, and there I will
store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will
say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods

15. laid up for many years to come; take your
ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ 20 But God
said to him, ‘You fool!This very night your
soul is required of you; and now who will
own what you have prepared?’”
Luke 12:16-20, NASB

16. B. Greed– Man’s common Disease
•Toxic substitutes for the Living
Water of Jesus, and give a false
sense of security
•The rich man’s problem was not
that he’d had a good year, nor
that he was wisely planning ahead
by building bigger barns
•Greed shows itself in his “why”

17. B. Greed– Man’s common Disease
•He was hoarding it for himself
•He made two fatal mistakes
1. He didn’t understand himself
•He knew everything about growing crops,
but nothing of his need for spiritual growth
2. He didn’t care about others
•In the Greek, “I’” and “My” appear 12x
•Greed in poverty…

18. C. Ownership of our wealth
•Everything we have belongs to God
•If we remember that and live
in it, we won’t be greedy
•What is the opposite of Greed?
•Contentment! (Phil 4:11-12)

19. “11 Not that I speak from want, for I have
learned to be content in whatever
circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get
along with humble means, and I also know
how to live in prosperity; in any and every
circumstance I have learned the secret of
being filled and going hungry, both of
having abundance and suffering need.”
Philippians 4:11-12, NASB

20. Take Home– 3 principles
1. When Blessed with much,
give generously

21. “Now concerning the collection for the
saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia,
so do you also. 2 On the first day of every
week each one of you is to put aside and
save, as he may prosper, so that no
collections be made when I come.”
1 Corinthians 6:1-2, NASB

22. Take Home– 3 principles
1. When Blessed with much,
give generously
2. When planning for the
future, think terminally
3. Whether you have much or
little, hold it loosely!