Ambition vs. Greed

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Mrs. Rastahomie and I are having a bit of a disagreement. You see, I want to be wealthy. I want to have a condo in Miami Beach; I want to have a Cessna; I want to drive a Lexus; I want to pilot my nimble schooner Felix off the coast of Kennebunkport (sorry; Veggie Tales reference); I want to go to work some day and tell my boss to buzz off.

Mrs. Rastahomie, is more or less content with what we have (which ain’t much).

Mrs. Rastahomie says, “Woe to you, O man of greed” (or words to that effect).

So last Sunday we’re in church, and the minister quotes Luke 12:15, where Jesus says:

As the minister is preaching, Mrs. Rastahomie is looking at me and nodding and agreeing.

Here’s the thing: I don’t think I’m greedy. A greedy person persues wealth at the expense of more important things; I, OTOH, maintain a reasonable balance. I prefer to think I’m ambitious. But Mrs. Rastahomie thinks that the very fact that I want wealth and all its trappings means that I’m greedy.

So, please save my marriage (well, not really). In light of this and other Scriptures, does my desire for wealth make me a greedy person?

2

Not necessarily.

Greed:An excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth

Ambition: *An eager or strong desire to achieve something, such as fame or power. *

However, ambition derives from the Middle English word ambicioun meaning *excessive desire for honor, power, or wealth .[sup][/sup]

In light of scripture? Do you love the idea of wealth more than anything else? If yes, then you are greedy. If not, then keep dreaming about having all those things.

[sup]my thanks to dictionary.com