Unfortunately, it is not an uncommon thing these days to see greed in ministry. Immediately we get images of the PTL scandal from years ago and others in our minds when we think of greedy ministers.
Before going any further, the bible supports the idea of the Church financially taking care of the pastor, and most churches do this. Sometimes however this itself is enough to attract greedy people, or make a pastor greedy if they are not careful.
Many times too a good ministry will attract greedy people, and although the minister may not be greedy him or herself, the people that assist in the ministry may be. This is a major problem, for it not only reflects badly on the minister and the ministry as a whole, but it ultimately reflects poorly on Christ!
Many times the minister can become so accustomed to the Church picking up the bill that they develop a sense of entitlement. They come to expect the other person to pick up the tab at the restaurant. They feel like the people of God owe them something as they are a minister of God.
Greed has no place in ministry, but sadly it is there sometimes. Does God's word say anything about it? Has God ever judged anyone for being greedy while working in the name of God? Thankfully He has, and I believe still does! In the Book of Acts, Ananias and Saphira certainly were judged when they lied about how much profit they received from the sale of some land they owned and they dropped dead. however we see another, more detailed story as we read about the prophet Elisha and his ministry.
2 Kings 5:1-3 says,
2 Kings 5:4-8 says,
2 Kings 5:9-14 says,
2 Kings 5:15-19 says,
Sadly though just because the man of God shows integrity, it doesn't always mean that everyone in his ministry is. How many times have we seen embezzlement take place because someone got greedy within the company or ministry? Greed isn't a new sin, and it even in Elisha's day it was present as we are about to see.
2 Kings 5:20-27 says,
Sadly, Gehazi allowed greed to creep into his heart and from this point on he was on a downward spiral filled with lies and cover ups. Something significant too is found in verse twenty. Gehazi even has the audacity to say, "...as the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him." This was a common expression in this day, but within this context it is like saying, "as the Lord lives, I'm going to go commit this sin." You can't get much more determined to do something than this, and Gehazi had let greed take him this far. He cared nothing about Elisha's reputation, and most of all, nothing about God's reputation. He was going to get his reward.
Often when people allow greed to take over it involves a cluster of sins being committed to achieve it's desired result. In verse 22 we see Gehazi creates a very elaborate story as he lies to Naaman to get the reward that Elisha had turned away from. Gehazi, by doing this, used the miracle that God had done to bring himself personal wealth. When he is later confronted by Elisha, instead of coming clean with repentance for what he had done, Gehazi chooses one more time to lie. As prophets of the Old Testament were used as God's mouthpiece to the people, when you lied to them you were in essence lying to God. This action brought immediate judgment upon Gehazi, it brought judgment in the New Testament upon Ananias and Saphira, for they lied to the Holy Spirit. Greed is just as much a sin today as it was in Elisha's day, and it is present in many modern ministries too.
I once heard of a minister who was so greedy that he went to a car lot and asked the owner if they would be interested in donating a car to the work of the Lord. This same man while preaching at a church told the congregation that his electricity had been cut off. A deacon of the Church went to his house the next day with a love offering check from the Church to help him, but nobody was home. He did notice however that the power was on before he left.
I once heard about another minister who went into a Church and from behind the pulpit as he was preaching asked the congregation, "Does anyone here feel led to donate or sell an acre of land to me for the sake of my ministry?"
Of course I'm not disclosing any names or time frames of these occurrences, but these are just a few out of many examples I could give where I've heard of greed rearing it's ugly head in ministry.
When we turn the television to a Christian channel we often see preachers requesting donations, and there is nothing wrong with this. When they start crossing the lines however by twisting scripture and manipulating people, then this where we start seeing greed rear it's ugly head again.
Whether you are a minister, a helper in a ministry, or a recipient of a ministry, you need to be on the look out for greed. Sometimes it can creep into our hearts by allowing covetousness to come in. Sometimes all we need is the temptation of an easy opportunity just as Gehazi had laid out in front of him.
I believe being held accountable to those around you is a great way to ward off the temptation to be greedy. Also, being thankful and content with what God has given us is a key factor. Most of all, if we seek to see God glorified more than ourselves we won't have this sense of entitlement that many around us in ministry seem to have.
We would then realize like Elisha did, that the people receiving from God don't owe us anything. Instead, we are to have a servant's heart like Jesus. This means that out of God's blessings to us, we owe it to those in need to help them connect with God. This way we see Him glorified and not ourselves. We are also blessed to see God working in other people as well. Look out for greed, and don't allow it into your own heart, nor into your ministry through another.
Before going any further, the bible supports the idea of the Church financially taking care of the pastor, and most churches do this. Sometimes however this itself is enough to attract greedy people, or make a pastor greedy if they are not careful.
Many times too a good ministry will attract greedy people, and although the minister may not be greedy him or herself, the people that assist in the ministry may be. This is a major problem, for it not only reflects badly on the minister and the ministry as a whole, but it ultimately reflects poorly on Christ!
Many times the minister can become so accustomed to the Church picking up the bill that they develop a sense of entitlement. They come to expect the other person to pick up the tab at the restaurant. They feel like the people of God owe them something as they are a minister of God.
Greed has no place in ministry, but sadly it is there sometimes. Does God's word say anything about it? Has God ever judged anyone for being greedy while working in the name of God? Thankfully He has, and I believe still does! In the Book of Acts, Ananias and Saphira certainly were judged when they lied about how much profit they received from the sale of some land they owned and they dropped dead. however we see another, more detailed story as we read about the prophet Elisha and his ministry.
2 Kings 5:1-3 says,
1 Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper. 2 And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman’s wife. 3 Then she said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.”When you are doing the work of the Lord, and God is receiving the glory He is due, it is not an uncommon thing for the news of it to go out far and wide for people of all backgrounds hear. In the above passage we see Naaman, a Commander in the Syrian Army, his wife, and a servant girl all 3 know now of Elisha and his ministry as a Prophet of God. People who are in need hear of the great things God has done for people, but also greedy people who are looking for opportunities to exploit for money are hearing of the ministry, as you will see.
2 Kings 5:4-8 says,
4 And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel.”5 Then the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekelsof gold, and ten changes of clothing. 6 Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said, Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy. 7 And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me.” 8 So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.”Naaman's reputation is evident as even the King of Israel tore his clothes upon reading the letter. Often times we read in Jewish culture of people tearing their clothes when they are angry, grieving, or upset about something. So when the news of the king tearing his clothes reached Elisha, he immediately knew something was wrong. Here we see a great example of Elisha's faith, for he himself took the burden that was too big for a king to handle, knowing that his God could handle anything.
2 Kings 5:9-14 says,
9 Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” 11 But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’ 12 Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. 13 And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” 14 So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.Because of Naaman's popularity he was no doubt a celebrity of his day, and for him to receive healing from God through the prophet Elisha, it is safe to say that God was glorified greatly as news of this spread. Often we see the glory not going to God where it belongs, but instead to a greedy minister, who wants to build his own reputation instead of giving God the glory. Elisha, however is not like this or he wasn't even present when Naaman was healed. He instead instructed him to go dip in the Jordan river seven times to be cleansed. Of course Naaman knew there was nothing powerful about the river itself, but that following the word from the prophet of God was what he needed to do for his healing.
2 Kings 5:15-19 says,
15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, “Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take a gift from your servant.” 16 But he said, “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused.17 So Naaman said, “Then, if not, please let your servant be given two mule-loads of earth; for your servant will no longer offer either burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods, but to the Lord. 18 Yet in this thing may the Lord pardon your servant: when my master goes into the temple of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow down in the temple of Rimmon—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord please pardon your servant in this thing.”We see in verse 15 that the glory is going to it's proper place, that is, to God for healing Naaman of his leprosy. Naaman knows this and praises God by saying, "Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take a gift from your servant.” Naaman refers to himself as a servant before Elisha and offers him a gift, but we see no greed here as Elisha doesn't accept the gift. He instead tells Naaman to go in peace.
Sadly though just because the man of God shows integrity, it doesn't always mean that everyone in his ministry is. How many times have we seen embezzlement take place because someone got greedy within the company or ministry? Greed isn't a new sin, and it even in Elisha's day it was present as we are about to see.
2 Kings 5:20-27 says,
20 But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Look, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian, while not receiving from his hands what he brought; but as the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him.” 21 So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw him running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him, and said, “Is all well?” 22 And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Indeed, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the mountains of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments.’” 23 So Naaman said, “Please, take two talents.” And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and handed them to two of his servants; and they carried them on ahead of him. 24 When he came to the citadel, he took them from their hand, and stored them away in the house; then he let the men go, and they departed. 25 Now he went in and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, “Where did you go, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant did not go anywhere.” 26 Then he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it time to receive money and to receive clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants? 27 Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever.” And he went out from his presence leprous, as white as snow.
Sadly, Gehazi allowed greed to creep into his heart and from this point on he was on a downward spiral filled with lies and cover ups. Something significant too is found in verse twenty. Gehazi even has the audacity to say, "...as the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him." This was a common expression in this day, but within this context it is like saying, "as the Lord lives, I'm going to go commit this sin." You can't get much more determined to do something than this, and Gehazi had let greed take him this far. He cared nothing about Elisha's reputation, and most of all, nothing about God's reputation. He was going to get his reward.
Often when people allow greed to take over it involves a cluster of sins being committed to achieve it's desired result. In verse 22 we see Gehazi creates a very elaborate story as he lies to Naaman to get the reward that Elisha had turned away from. Gehazi, by doing this, used the miracle that God had done to bring himself personal wealth. When he is later confronted by Elisha, instead of coming clean with repentance for what he had done, Gehazi chooses one more time to lie. As prophets of the Old Testament were used as God's mouthpiece to the people, when you lied to them you were in essence lying to God. This action brought immediate judgment upon Gehazi, it brought judgment in the New Testament upon Ananias and Saphira, for they lied to the Holy Spirit. Greed is just as much a sin today as it was in Elisha's day, and it is present in many modern ministries too.
I once heard of a minister who was so greedy that he went to a car lot and asked the owner if they would be interested in donating a car to the work of the Lord. This same man while preaching at a church told the congregation that his electricity had been cut off. A deacon of the Church went to his house the next day with a love offering check from the Church to help him, but nobody was home. He did notice however that the power was on before he left.
I once heard about another minister who went into a Church and from behind the pulpit as he was preaching asked the congregation, "Does anyone here feel led to donate or sell an acre of land to me for the sake of my ministry?"
Of course I'm not disclosing any names or time frames of these occurrences, but these are just a few out of many examples I could give where I've heard of greed rearing it's ugly head in ministry.
When we turn the television to a Christian channel we often see preachers requesting donations, and there is nothing wrong with this. When they start crossing the lines however by twisting scripture and manipulating people, then this where we start seeing greed rear it's ugly head again.
Whether you are a minister, a helper in a ministry, or a recipient of a ministry, you need to be on the look out for greed. Sometimes it can creep into our hearts by allowing covetousness to come in. Sometimes all we need is the temptation of an easy opportunity just as Gehazi had laid out in front of him.
I believe being held accountable to those around you is a great way to ward off the temptation to be greedy. Also, being thankful and content with what God has given us is a key factor. Most of all, if we seek to see God glorified more than ourselves we won't have this sense of entitlement that many around us in ministry seem to have.
We would then realize like Elisha did, that the people receiving from God don't owe us anything. Instead, we are to have a servant's heart like Jesus. This means that out of God's blessings to us, we owe it to those in need to help them connect with God. This way we see Him glorified and not ourselves. We are also blessed to see God working in other people as well. Look out for greed, and don't allow it into your own heart, nor into your ministry through another.
