On August 6, 2012, a fire ripped through the Chevron refinery in Richmond. The fire would burn for several hours until the authorities were able to get the fire under control. Thankfully, no one was killed and there was few injuries. However, those who live in Richmond will be feeling the physical effects of this fire for years to come because of the toxins released in the air around the neighborhoods. This is event has already begun to cause major tremors in the Richmond community and the way Chevron has handled this refinery. However, my focus is on a much smaller scale. The morning after the fire, I rode my bike to work. As I rode by the four gas stations I pass on my way, all but one of them had raised their gas prices by over twenty cents per gallon. The other station wasn't opened when I rode by, but when I rode home, their price had also been raised by over twenty cents. It is now August 20th and gas prices in the Bay Area have gone up over 40 cents per gallon and close to 60 cents in many places. These high prices are being blamed on the lack of gasoline available since this fire. However, I was stunned to see how quickly these local dealers were willing to raise their prices after this calamity. I doubt if any of those gas stations had received shipments of gas during the night which were more expensive to produce. The pumps contained the same gas which they had in them eight hours earlier (Before the fire), yet the price had risen twenty cents. I have often heard "big oil" blamed for the high prices, but these prices were high because the owners of those stations wanted to make a little money while they could. Hey, if ALL of the stations are going to do it, why not make an extra buck for yourself also. You can read about the prices going up by reading the following article. http://hercules.patch.com/articles/gas-prices-rise-40-cents-per-gallon-in-one-month-ef9ee52e?ncid=newsltuspatc00000001
For the average consumer in the Bay Area, this is one more obstacle to overcome in just trying to survive. Gas prices had finally fallen to about $3.65 a gallon when this happened. Of course, I never have understood why we can have these refineries in our back yard and still have some of the highest gas prices in the country (But that is a rant best saved for another day). I digress, so let me get back on track. There is a heart condition of humanity that is evident on the price boards at gas stations: People are, by nature, greedy. We want to get what we can get for ourselves. Often times, it doesn't matter who gets hurt or how we get it. We just want to make sure we get ours, especially if others are getting some.
Melky Cabrera was having a career year with the San Francisco Giants. He was hitting almost 100 points above his batting average, was the catalyst to the Giants being in first place in the National League West and the MVP of the All-star game. All of that came crashing down last week when he has caught taking steroids to improve his performance. You see, he is in the final year of his contract (Which is only paying him $6 million this year) and could sign as a free agent with any team after this year. So he decided to juice up and make a huge pay day. Now, he is banned for fifty games and every general manager in baseball knows that he can't really be that productive. He will sign with a team, but he will carry this mark with him for the rest of his career. Since when did $6 million dollars per year to play a kids' game not be enough? He saw everyone else getting theirs and so he decided to get some for himself. Another two months and he would have had a guaranteed contract which would pay him close to $60 million. Now, he will be fortunate to stay in baseball after his suspension.
The problem: Greed. It's been a problem every Adam and Eve were told they couldn't eat the fruit from the tree of good and evil. They wanted to get theirs. Cain had the same problem when he saw Abel getting commended by God for his offering. David had the same problem when he saw Uriah's wife bathing. Judas had the same problem when he saw he could make some serious cash off Jesus. Ananias and Sapphire had the same problem when they saw others selling land and making an offering to the Lord. Simon the sorcerer saw the power of God working through Peter and John. The list in the Bible is almost endless.
We have the same problem: Greed. We see someone and want what they want. We see others utilizing shady methods to get some, so we want to get our share. We see others cut corners and figure we might as well do the same. We don't think about or even care about those we hurt. We just want to get some for ourselves since everyone else is doing it. In the heat of the moment, our base instincts kick in and we join the looting. We take what we know isn't ours. We reach for the proverbial second helping when the first was plenty.
Yet as followers of Christ, we have two big issues with greed: (1) We know that greed leads to destruction of our integrity and what we gained in our greed. We may lose our reputation, family and income. In the first chapter of Proverbs, this book of practical faith begins in verse 19 with a reminder about greed. "Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gains; it takes away the lives of those who get it." The temptation will always be there to to get some for ourselves, but we know that this will only yield pain in the future. (2) We aspire to a higher calling since we follow Jesus. According to Philippians 2, we are to be "blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe". If this generation sees us operating on the same plane with the same motivations they have, we will have no testimony. A greedy world is looking for those who have contentment. Our world of chaos is not looking for religion, they are looking for those who have peace and serenity in the midst of craziness. This only comes from total surrender. We surrender having worldly things for following Jesus. We surrender what we think is important for the priorities of Jesus. We become givers instead of takers. We become generous instead of being greedy. We allow the power of God to transform us so that we don't follow the pursuits of the crowd. We humble ourselves before God and allow His Holy Spirit to change our minds so that we focus on things above, not on things of this earth.
So how are you doing with greed? It's a part of our human nature and will never be removed from our lives totally. However, the Holy Spirit will give us fruit which overcomes this nature. May you drink from the cup of sacrifice and service alongside Jesus which never runs dry.
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