Voices of Greed

So the wall was completed on the twenty fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.
-Nehemiah 6:15-16

Nehemiah and the builders completed the wall in record time.
 

But voices of opposition don’t stop when the work is finished.

The enemy continued efforts to tear the people down.

When Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls, hundreds of Jews who had been living in Susa returned with him. Soon it became evident that there wasn’t enough food to go around. Many of the Jews who had been living in Jerusalem had plenty of food but were not willing to share. The prices they put on grain amounted to extortion. Husbands and wives came to Nehemiah and “raised a great outcry against their Jewish brothers” (Nehemiah 5:1). Forget the enemy. This was brother versus brother.

The great outcry came from three groups. The first group consisted of parents with large families. If their children were going to stay alive they needed grain. Landowners comprised the second group. They were mortgaging everything they owned in order to buy food (Nehemiah 5:3). Because of the difficult times, a third group had to take out loans to pay the king’s taxes on their fields and vineyards. Debt rendered them powerless. And, in the extreme cases, the creditors had enslaved sons and daughters (Nehemiah 5:4-5).

Nehemiah was a great leader. He inspired and motivated and set the vision. The rebuilding effort was getting done. But now, Nehemiah had to give attention to this internal conflict of greed. The strong leader dealt with the issue decisively.

I and my brothers and my men are also lending people money and grain. But let the exacting of usury stop! Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves and houses, and also the usury you are charging them—the hundredth part of the money, grain, new wine and oil.
– Nehemiah 5:10-11

Greed must be confronted. First, we must deal with it in our life. Jesus said, For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
- Matthew 6:21, 24

Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
- Luke 12:15

Confront the voice of greed in your heart.