On Sunday night I was skimming through an article by Larry Moyer and I realized that I am guilty of a sort of greed that most people don’t think about.
In the article, Moyer lists several “roadside bombs” that detract from evangelism. He lists greed second. Since I don’t consider myself to be an ultra-frugal hoarder of Benjamins (or, perhaps more accurately, Washingtons), I might have been able to slide by this roadside bomb had it not been for this pesky statement: “Greed encompasses attitude, energy, time, resources—all of which are used to promote ourselves, rather than reach out to others.”
Wait a minute. Is Moyer saying, amongst other things, that we can be “time-greedy”? He is, absolutely. And unfortunately, my experience tells me that he’s right, absolutely. I have a virtual time savings account, and I make a lot of deposits into this account, but I don’t make many withdrawals.
Those of you who know me would not consider me to be lackadaisical about most things. I’m interested in being productive. Maybe too interested. Moyer’s challenge hits me, and perhaps some of you, right between the eyes.
It would be good to ask ourselves some questions. Do we hoard time? Do we subject everyone and everything to our task lists and calendars—which, of course, are valuable to us because they are our task lists and our calendars? Do we view unplanned encounters with people as divine appointments, or as interruptions? Has productivity become a sort of idol for us?
What are your thoughts on the non-financial forms of greed?
—Beau Stanley
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