When I picture a greedy person, the image of Ebenezer Scrooge comes to mind. He counts his money repeatedly and refuses to give to the needy around him. Despite his abundant wealth, he always wants more.

When I picture a greedy person, I’ll tell you who doesn’t come to my mind: me.
Me? Greedy? Certainly not! After all, I’m a pastor’s wife. How could a pastor’s wife have the label of greed put on them? (I jest. Obviously.)

But through a recent experience, the loving Holy Spirit shined a light into a dark corner of my heart and revealed the ugliness of greed lurking back there, permeating my every thought without my realization.

In this way, his conviction is like a diagnosis. Once you hear the correct diagnosis, all your previous symptoms begin to make sense.
“Oh, so that’s why I struggle to be thankful.”
“That’s why I’m never satisfied with the things my husband does.”
“This why nothing is ever quite good enough for me.”

I don’t like to think of myself as greedy. But it wasn’t until I realized my sin that I was able to repent and cry out to God for forgiveness and deliverance. Through the power of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit’s work, here are five ways I am seeking to root out the sin of greed in my life:

1. Repent.

This was my first step. Repentance can happen anywhere and at anytime. Personally, mine happened after my Bible reading and prayer time while I was getting ready for the day. Smack in the middle of my morning routine, God revealed the sin of greed in my heart. It was such a startling realization for me that it brought me to tears and made me feel absolutely full of sin. I repented of my sin of greed and asked God to forgive me for my propensity to always want more.

2. Accept God’s forgiveness.

Because of the blood of Jesus Christ shed for me on the cross, I am forgiven. I’m not forgiven because I’m a good person (see above for proof). I’m forgiven because God has promised that if I confess my sins, “he is faithful and just to forgive” me of my sins (1 John 1:9). What freedom!

3. Pray for deliverance.

Because of Jesus’s work on the cross, I am not a slave to the sin of greed. But the battle rages on, doesn’t it? I cannot win the war over greed on my own; I must have the power of God to fight and overcome this sin. “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” (Ephesians 6:10; emphasis mine). I’m not strong enough to fight the sin of greed on my own. But God makes his strength available to weak people like me. “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

4. Replace the lies with truth.

For years, my mind has been permeated with greedy thoughts. Lies like:

“I don’t have enough.”
“I need more.”
“This is fine, but this would have been better.”
“Why do they have that when I don’t?”

If I want my heart to change from greed to thankfulness, I must fill my mind with different thoughts than the ones I’ve been thinking. Simply stated, I must fill my mind with truth instead of lies.

Here are the truths I’m filling my mind with that combat the sin of greed:

“Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions”
(Luke 12:15).

“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”
(Mark 8:36).

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal”
(Matthew 6:19-20).

“Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain”
(Psalm 119:36).

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry”
(Colossians 3:1-5).

5. Tell another believer.

Yikes, are you still with me?

After the Holy Spirit lovingly convicted my heart, I told my husband. (I mean…as if it was even a surprise. He’s been intimately acquainted with my sin for 11+ years now.) It was painful to tell him. I also told a few believers at my church. (Yes, it was slightly scary.) But I know they will pray for me. And now they have the knowledge to ask me about it in the future. It’s a good thing to practice openness and vulnerability with the church family God has placed around you.

Because of the deceitful nature of our hearts, we have the ability to constantly wish for more even while the whole world is at our fingertips. Let’s be alert to the sin of greed and quick to run to our loving Father in repentance. He alone can turn a greedy heart into a grateful one.

I’m doing a challenge for myself on Instagram right now
in an effort to practice gratefulness for daily things.
Want to join?
Use this tag: #PracticeDailyThanks
and check out the posts here.