Greed can grow like either one of these cancers – aggressive and obvious from the start, or more subtly and unnoticed until it’s inflicted terrible loss. That is how greed crept into my life. I was persuaded to make three bad investment decisions due to my naiveté. However, the reason I was susceptible to the optimistic pitches of those who took my money was that I was greedy – I wanted to make a lot of money quickly. By the time I recognized my greed, it was too late; my life savings had vanished.

Do You Give Into Greed?

If I were to ask you if you had a problem with greed, you would probably answer no and pass a lie-detector test. Yet greed may be subtly taking root in your heart. The fact that it hasn’t yet produced an alarming symptom or a devastating consequence does not mean that it is absent or benign. If you don’t take preventative or corrective measures, sooner or later it may ultimately rob you of what you value most.

The Consequences of Greed

1. It can steal your life away. When I first saw Solomon’s warning in Proverbs 1:19, that greed could take away the life of the person who possesses it, I thought it was talking about life only figuratively. After all, I have known countless men and women whose lives were best characterized by greed, and in nearly every case, their lives were also characterized by things like emptiness, lack of purpose, unhappiness, turmoil, and conflict. I now realize that greed can take one’s life literally as well. One of my former partners left our company and made millions of dollars in a number of business pursuits. He had a beautiful wife and wonderful children, but his greed robbed him of all his joy and fulfillment. When his business collapsed and bankruptcy threatened, he went into his garage and took his life.

2. It can destroy your financial security. In Proverbs 28:22, Solomon tells us that the person who tries to hurriedly get rich will instead end up in poverty. “He that hastens to be rich has an evil eye, and considers not that poverty shall come upon him.” For those focused on getting rich, Solomon says, riches will “sprout wings and fly off like an eagle.”

3. It can affect your loved ones. If you’re like me, I’m sure there are plenty of times when you have thought to yourself, “What I’m doing is my business. It has nothing to do with my parents, my wife, or my kids.” But in Proverbs 15:27, Solomon warns, “”He that is greedy of gain brings trouble into his own house.” There is no such thing as your “own” business. What you do affects everyone you care about. And it doesn’t matter if that greed for gain is financial, material, or for an appetite or an addiction. In business, we may start out with good intentions. We simply want to make more money so we can provide a better life for our families. But, as the seeds of greed take root, we begin to pursue our careers with  such intensity that we neglect the very family we wanted to provide with that better life.