By Chris McCurley
There is a parable called The Parable of the Spoons in which a gentleman has a conversation with the Lord and asks Him, “Lord, I would like know what Heaven and Hell are like. Could you show me?” The Lord led the man to two doors. He opened the first door and allowed the man to look in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. Sitting in the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the man’s mouth water. The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared malnourished and famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles, and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful. However, because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back to their mouths. The man shuddered at the sight of these pitiful people. The Lord said to the man, “You have seen Hell.” They had the delicious pot of stew right in front of them, but suffered in misery because they could not devour it. Then the Lord took the man to the next door and opened it. The scene was exactly like the first. There was a large round table with a large pot of delicious stew, which made the man’s mouth water. The people sitting around the table were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but they were well fed. The people were plump and jolly. They laughed and carried on as they enjoyed one another’s company. The man said, “I don’t understand. It is the same scene except this time the people are joyous and nourished.” The Lord said, “The difference is simple. These people have learned to feed each other, while the greedy only think of themselves.”1  
What is greed? Simply stated, greed is “excessive or rapacious desire, especially for wealth or possessions.” Greed is synonymous with covetousness. The common Greek verb for covet is epithumeo, and it means “to fix the desire upon, whether things good or bad; hence, to long for, or lust after.”2 Certainly, there are things that we desire or delight in that are right and good, but covetousness is often associated with sinful or evil desires. It is longing for or panting after that which belongs to another. Greed is an insatiable and unhealthy longing or desire for stuff, namely money. One of the nasty by-products of greed is how it affects other people. Greed causes one to seek things for self at the expense of others. Greed is doing with while others do without. Greed feeds a selfish appetite. It causes one to spare no expense when it comes to attaining stuff.  
We live in a culture consumed with greed. People sacrifice their marriages and their families in pursuit of the almighty dollar. Marriages are torn apart because one spouse cannot be satisfied with monogamy. Advertising is saturated with greed. Television ads glorify greed and encourage consumers to stop at nothing in order to get what they want and what they deserve. We see it in our entertainment. Some of the more popular television shows in the last decade have been game shows. “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” and “Deal or No Deal,” are entertaining because they exploit a person’s greediness. Why stop at $10,000 when you can risk it all for $25,000, 50,000, 100,000 or even a million? One person’s greed is our entertainment. The world fosters materialism and, as a result, has little time for anything spiritual.  
Why is greed and covetousness such a problem for people? One reason is because, with money and possessions, comes status. Money equals power in our culture. Affluence is a drug for many people. They will go into to debt up to their eyeballs and mortgage their entire lives just so they can rub elbows with the elite of society. Because we covet status, we covet things, and the only way to really gain status is through selfishly seeking more. We make it our ambition to pursue stuff so that we can be considered more important by those around us. 
Another reason why greed is so infectious is because money and possessions bring security. Like a child who clings to a blanket or a teddy bear, adults find security in their wealth. Having is okay, but hoarding is not. When we begin to place our trust in our money, we have begun bowing down to the almighty dollar rather than the Almighty God. At that point, we are no longer honoring God with our possessions. We are honoring our possessions with a heart of greed. It is ridiculously easy to trust more in our possessions than in the Provider. This makes it extremely difficult to give. As a rule, we do not get excited about turning loose of our money, unless of course it is something we really want. Otherwise, we would rather keep a tight grip on our cash. We are not always cheerful givers. We are not as willing to help others because we do not like to share the money we worked so hard to earn. By giving away some of our money, we are giving away a piece of our security. We will exchange it for something we really want, but that is only because what we are getting in return gives us the same security. Whether we are talking about money or stuff, we are talking about placing our security in the material. 
Another reason why greed and covetousness are so prevalent in our world is due to the fact that so many in our culture have invested everything in the temporal. They do not think long term. They do not think eternally. They are so tied to earthly things that heavenly things are not even on their radar screen. When you invest everything in this life, then life becomes an endless pursuit of stuff. When there is no concern for the spiritual, then all efforts are geared toward making the physical the best it can be. Contentment and happiness are the goal, and what is the source of contentment and happiness? Stuff!  
Matthew 6:19-20 reads, “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.” In Matthew 16:26 Jesus states, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” The Bible gives us numerous warnings concerning how we acquire our wealth, what we do with it after we have it, and what it can do to us after it has us. The bottom line is this—no matter how big an empire we may build for ourselves here on earth, it is still an empire of dirt. In the end it will all be ash along with everything else (2 Peter 3:10). Therefore, we had better make certain that we are not exchanging our souls for things that are perishing. 
God owns everything (Psalm 24:1; Psalm 50:10-12). Just because something is in one’s possession does not mean that it is his possession. Granted, this is a difficult truth for many in our world to acknowledge. We garner the mentality: “I worked hard for it, I earned it; therefore, it is mine. All mine.” However, even the ability to work and make a living to “earn” stuff is a God-given ability. Whatever talents and abilities one may have, they are a gift from God. How we use our talents and abilities will either bring honor or dishonor to God. When we talk about possessions, we are not just talking about money or things. We are talking about everything one has—talents, abilities, skills, a husband or wife, children, time, etc. God has entrusted us with all of it. How will we take care of it? Will we honor Him or dishonor Him? 
I am not an owner; I am a steward. Before I can truly grasp the meaning of stewardship, I must grasp the reality that nothing I have belongs to me. It is not mine to begin with. In the grand scheme of things, relative to eternity, stewardship is not just about money or possessions. Stewardship is about life. Who is in charge of it?