In conversations about what idolatry is or isn't according to the Bible, I am occasionally told that the Bible says that 'greed is idolatry?' It is then assumed that idolatry is (more or less) synonymous with 'seeing things more important than God'. Recently I received this question again by mail from a brother and in the same period (coincidentally?) I read what some Christians have said or written about idolatry[1].
This interpretation (or application) of idolatry is very common, and I like it. But I do stick to my interpretation of idolatry, which always involves physical 'God experiences'. Two different views and therefore a good reason to go in search of the meaning of 'greed, which is idolatry'. We walk through the following questions:
- What is greed and what is said about it in the NT
- Which means 'greed, which is idolatry' (Colossians 5:3) of ‘covetous man, who is an idolater' (Ephesians 5:5)
- What is the most likely explanation of these expressions
- What is the concrete application in practice?
what is greed
There is no precise definition of greed. It is roughly understood as “an insatiable desire for more accompanied by dissatisfaction because it is never enough”.
- A constant desire for more that does not cease (see Ecclesiastes 5:9; "He who loves money is never satisfied with money")
- Discontent comes from greed (contentment comes from godliness; 1 Timothy 6:6)
- The desire for riches opens the way to other evils and to losing faith; it is a road to destruction and ruin (1 Timothy 6:9;10)
- Greed is one of the things that come from the sinful heart (Mark 7:21-23; Romans 1:29)
If you read the texts that (for example in the New Testament[2]) talk about 'greed' then it emerges that it is mainly – but not exclusively – about money and goods, so material things. That's what the longing is for.
Hopefully this gets us to the core of 'greed' and we need to ask ourselves what's going on with 'greed, which is idolatry'.
What can it mean?
There are two texts in the New Testament where greed is linked to idolatry.
- “ 3 But fornication and all uncleanness or greedby no means let them be named among you, as befits saints, 4 nor indecency, foolish talk, and frivolous speech, which are indecent; but much more is thanksgiving. 5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean, or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the children of disobedience.” (Ephesians 5:3-6)
- “ 5 Then kill your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and the greed, which is idolatry. 6 By these things the wrath of God comes upon the disobedient.” (Colossians 3:5,6)
The question is how do we'greed, that idolatry is’[3] have to read. What could it mean and what does it certainly not mean? We're going to sort some things out.
To begin with, we must state that idolatry and greed are not the same thing. They are not identical and you cannot put an = sign between them. This is because elsewhere in the Bible greed and idolatry are listed as two separate "evils" side by side. For example in 1 Corinthians 5:10 and 11 and 1 Corinthians 6:10. That indicates that greed and idolatry are not the same thing.
That is why there is apparently greed that you not as idolatry and there is greed that you can at least say is somehow connected with idolatry.
If we cannot say 'greed = idolatry', then the reverse is also not true. The two concepts are not identical and so you should not turn it around and say that idolatry equals greed or that idols are all things that can take the place of God in your heart and life.
Now the question remains how you'greed, which is idolatry' should you understand? When we say 'violence, which is terrorist', it means that this violence is an expression of terror or violence that belongs to terror. This is in contrast to violence that is self-defense or violence that is police. The expression 'which is idolatry' is, in my opinion, a species designation for greed.
I suspect the best and simplest reading of the text is 'greed, which [is] associated with idolatry of ‘greed [accompanied] by idolatry'. But maybe it's even simpler when we read 'greed , which is [also] idolatry'. In that case, we really only notice that there is greed that has to do with idolatry in one way or another.
But the question that then arises is of course what that means: what can idolatry have to do with greed? Because without the answer to that, we really don't know anything yet.
To answer this question we have to go back to man's relationship with the invisible world ("the gods").
- We have elsewhere (see for example here) has already described something about the human need to receive confirmation from the invisible world. People need to be 'confirmed and blessed' by the deity. One of the things that people can ask of the gods (or the deity) is material blessing and prosperity. People seek contact with the deity with the aim of prospering financially. The lust for wealth and possessions drives them to expect this from the invisible world. I think we should understand the expression "greed, which is idolatry" in this sense.
- The image is that man draws near to the deity ('serves him') so that the deity will satisfy the greed of man. Or put very simply, man serves the god of money so that he will make him rich and prosperous.
In the Old Testament
In the Old Testament, as far as I can see now, there are few concrete references to 'greed, which is idolatry'. There is, however, a special text in Isaiah 65:11 that reads:But you who forsake the LORD, you who forget My holy mountain, you who prepare the table for the god Gad, you who fill the cups with mixed drink for the god Meni…)”. This is the HSV translation and the Naarden Bible has: "who sets up a table for Good Luck, which fills the libation cup for Dear Fate" (also see here ). Many Bible expositors assume that Gad is the name of an (Aramaic) deity and 'fortune' means. Meni would then be the name of a deity whose name is 'lot’ of 'destination' means.
The context of Isaiah 65 makes it clear that it concerns the idolatry of the people of Israel. And in the 11and verse specifically mentions communion with the gods Gad and Meni, the gods of fortune and destiny. What you want (fortune) or what you want to be (your destiny) are things that kept many people busy then and for which they enlisted the help of the gods in the invisible world.
What you think becomes reality
We have already discovered what it means that 'people draw near to their godsand what that actually means. All kinds of techniques are used to reach a higher state of consciousness. In it one perceives reality differently and new ideas are imprinted in the feeling. Meditation techniques (meditation, mindfulness, hypnosis, etc.) are often used to get into this state.
Now when we go further and examine how people want to 'get rich', it turns out that this goes beyond what we have discovered to date and we come across the concept of 'visualization'. This is a central concept, about which a lot can be found on the internet. I'll try to get the gist of it and put it in my own words.
Visualizing is more and different than imagining and fantasizing things. Everyone does this to a greater or lesser extent. But visualization goes much further. You imagine a certain desired situation in your thinking (your head) in such a way that it becomes reality. The idea behind it is that 'thoughts are materialized'. In short, it is called 'what you think you become' and 'what you think you get'.
The idea with many is that what you visualize is communicated to the universe and that the universe gives you what you so intensely desire. This is also known as 'the law of attraction' (Law of Attraction, LoA); what I visualize I attract to me.
Incidentally, it is not the case that you only have to do this visualization once. If you want to be successful, you will have to work with it on a daily basis. I get the impression that it takes 'hard work' to 'achieve your goals'.
Founding Promise has 2 pages with an article about visualization in which, for example, the following is written. I have a few keywords in it blue colored.
“Visualization includes deliberate manipulation of the brain, individually or in conjunction with a helper, to to change consciousness, to a specific goal, usually the quest for some form of secret knowledge or power. Perhaps the most authoritative opinion on this subject can be found in “Seeing with the minds eye, the history, techniques en practices of visualisation“, stating: “If there are two important 'new' concepts to be found in the 20/21st century in the west, it is meditation and visualization.” We also read in this book: 'The increasing interest in visualization since 1960 is part of the new climate in the western world. This is reflected in an increasing interest in all kinds of imagination, in the revival of Eastern religions and philosophies, in hypnosis and the use of hallucinatory drugs, actually in a altered state of consciousness.” (Source: Promise Foundation)
“Until recently, the use of visualization techniques belonged only to the field of occultists and shamans. Now, however, doctors, athletes, educators, artists, businessmen, and even ministers of ministry use all kinds of "modern" visualization. Unfortunately, many doctors, psychologists and others have little understanding of how spiritual deception works. They have unknowingly become pawns in a battle whose players are invisible to them.” (Source: Promise Foundation)
Elsewhere there is another interesting thing to read.
“One of the best-known self-help books is Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. This 1937 classic is one of the first books to proclaim the nothing less than revolutionary idea that people can get what they want if they really believe it. In his book, Hill claims you are poor because you never learned to think like the millionaire. Thinking and feeling that you are rich makes you rich. (…) You may know this idea from that other popular self-help book: The Secret by Rhonda Byrne.
The adopted explanation for the successes of visualization goes way beyond the self-fulfilling prophecy (which explains that when you think positively and have faith in a good outcome, you consciously and unconsciously set everything in motion to make it so). Because trusting only your own mind is somewhat limited, many self-help gurus propose a grander and more spiritual mechanism: the mercy of the universe yourself. The universe, they say, will give you everything you want if you know how to ask for it. Literal. Hill called it 'infinite intelligence', Byrne 'the Law of Attraction'. According to Byrne, many historical figures knew 'the secret' before she wrote her book. Jesus, Plato, Galileo, Newton, Beethoven, Edison, and Einstein, she said, were some of the geniuses who used it.
The central idea is that thoughts not only shape our behavior, but actually send a message out into the universe that the universe then understands and responds to.”
As an illustration below a few more quotes.
"To a what a leap towards the realization of your goals in life there is a wonderful tool that can help you immensely. It is the power of visualization. Especially for realizing what you want and what you want to do (…) visualization is an absolute winner.” (Source: here)
“One of the people who has elevated visualization to a true art form is the American writer Shakti Gawain. She says: 'Creative visualization is the technique of using your imagination to to actually accomplish what you want. There is nothing new, strange, or unusual about creative visualization at all. You already use it every day, every minute. It's your natural imagination, which you use all the time.” On the same website/page: “Napoleon Hill puts it this way: 'Through creative imagination the finite mind of man has direct contact with the Infinite Intelligence. With that ability we can receive hunches or inspirations. All fundamental or new ideas find their way to humans through creative imagination.” (Source: here)
Of course you will also find the view on the internet that this whole story of visualization cannot be true. But that does not alter the fact that entire tribes do believe in it and practice it. The belief that “what you visualize also becomes reality in physical reality” beats his thousands, making no secret of the fact that 'the universe' or 'infinite intelligence' makes a significant contribution.
In Christendom
These kinds of practices bring people under the influence of demons (the invisible world). That should be enough for a Christian to say 'no' to this. But unfortunately you find the same things increasingly among Christians.
The idea that our thinking determines reality has also crept into the Christian world. It goes too far for me to analyze and describe all kinds of things of the 'prosperity gospel' and the 'Word of Faith' movement. In any case, it is closely allied to the Charismatic movement, appears in many mega-churches in the US and elsewhere. Examples can also be found in the Netherlands, of which we will mention a few below.
Jos Hobé writes about the 'prosperity gospel' (prosperity gospel). his site among other:
Positive imaging or visualization is an ancient technique common to shamans and other occultists. The well-known occult psychiatrist Carl Jung also made use of this technique. Norman V. Peale called visualization a further development of positive thinking. Visualizing things in your mind will do this in the natural.
Kenneth Copeland has this to say about this: 'If you are lame and cannot walk normally, then you should sit in a quiet place. Get into your mind and see yourself completely healed. You can walk and your legs are completely healthy. This image will be formed in the Holy of Holies and in the natural it will become reality.” (The Laws of Prosperity K. Copeland Publications, Dec 1995).
This form of visualization is a technique that occurs in the New Age. The contemplative movement also makes use of these kinds of techniques and Leanne Payne's listening prayer course stems from this teaching.
The 'prosperity gospel' is, as far as I can see, closely linked to the 'Word of Faith' teaching. A biblical critique of the prosperity gospel states here for example the following.
“A favored term within the Word of Faith movement is 'positive confession'. This refers to the teaching that words themselves have creative power. According to Word of Faith teachers, what you say determines what happens to you in all cases.”
Does it also occur in the Netherlands?
It seems impossible to me to find out where these views occur in the Netherlands. But a short search at least yielded a few clear examples.
Bee LifeConnexion in Amersfoort they already learned that meditation is really something for Christians, but now they go a step further and teach that visualization is biblical.
I will not discuss it further here. What you will be told is top notch inlay science, which is even blasphemous at times. If you want to investigate it yourself, here's the link.
The next video – about the 'law of attraction' – I don't discuss either; I think the title alone is enough. One of Robert van Mierlo's videos reads:God's Love Is Bigger Than Your Problem - De law of attraction explained” (for the video see here).
Tom de Wal of Frontrunners talks about the 'prosperity gospel'. God promises abundant prosperity to Abraham and therefore also to us, is his view. According to him, everywhere in the Bible you can read that God gives prosperity to those who obey Him.
We may fear that this is just the tip of the iceberg and that more and more Christian congregations will embrace this prosperity gospel with accompanying pagan practices.
Brief summary
What is the meaning of the expression 'greed, that idolatry is'. That was the initial question. We have argued that this is really just what it says and you could understand it as "greed, which is related to idolatry." This is in contrast to 'ordinary' greed, which cannot be said to have to do with idolatry.
We then saw that it practically means a desire for wealth, asking the invisible world to provide it. The latter is clearly the aspect of idolatry. Moreover, we can observe that this is indeed something that is being practiced more and more in the world.
In addition, the sad observation that even in Christendom this phenomenon is also becoming more and more practiced. Christians who believe that God wants to give them a good and rich ('successful') life. That He will do the same if they keep asking Him seriously (that is, in a certain way, with certain 'techniques'). So you have to 'really believe' it. Without them noticing that this puts them under the influence of demons.
The clear lesson for a believer who wants to follow the Lord Jesus is: stay away from these kinds of beliefs and practices, for the Bible clearly states that it is disobedience to God and His wrath will come upon you. (Colossians 3:5,6).
Latest comments
Someone might comment that this is all very far fetched. How can a person manipulate his brain (consciousness) in such a way that the invisible world (the demons) is set in motion, as it were, to fulfill that person's wish? How can demons influence the physical world?
It is a valid question, the answer to which may not be so easy. After all, how the demons do that is not very clear to me. But that they can do it is certain. Just think of the offer that Satan himself made to the Lord Jesus: All the kingdoms of the world, with their glory he could give Him, if the Lord Jesus would kneel before Satan and worship him (Matthew 4:8,9) . I don't think there is any more extreme and it shows how greatly powerful Satan is. He has so much influence (power) that he is able to bring all world leaders under Christ's dominion. The Lord Jesus calls him several times”the ruler of this world.” (John 12:31;14:30;Telos 16:11) How does he do that? No idea, but he can do it! That's how powerful Satan is.
Fortunately, the Lord Jesus was able to resist this temptation. But how bizarre is it then that soon Satan will give "his strength, his throne and his might" to that other human being who says of himself that he is god (Revelation 13:2ff; 2 Thessalonians 2:4). That is Satan's man, the antichrist, possessed of satanic power, who thinks he is god. What a stark contrast to the Man of God, who rejected Satan's power because "His kingdom was not of this world" (John 18:36).
What a grace that God the Father”has delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love” (Colossians 1:12,13).
We may already enjoy the blessings of that kingdom here and now and will soon – and before long – see God establish another kingdom here on earth.”that will crush and destroy all those other kingdoms, but will itself stand forever” (Daniel 2:44).
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sake He became poor while He was rich, that through His poverty you might become rich.”
2 Corinthians 8:9
[1] Quote from W.Wiersbe – “Chapter by chapter through the Bible” page 264. Incidentally, you find this view in most Bible commentaries.
[2] Mark 7:21-23 21; Luke 12:13-15 15; Romans 1:28-29; 1 Corinthians 5:10,11; 1 Corinthians 6:10; 2 Corinthians 9:5 (stinginess); Ephesians 4:19 (desire); Ephesians 5:3-6; Col.3:5.6; 1 Thessalonians 2:5; 2 Peter 2:3,14
[3] We'll just take this expression as a handle and assume that we have covered the expression in Eph.5:5.
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