Old Testament
Ecclesiastes 5:10-12
10 He who loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.
11 When goods increase, those who eat them are increased; and what advantage is there to its owner, except to feast on them with his eyes?
12 The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the abundance of the rich will not allow him to sleep.
New Testament
1 Timothy 6:6-10
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we certainly can’t carry anything out.
8 But having food and clothing, we will be content with that.
9 But those who are determined to be rich fall into a temptation, a snare, and many foolish and harmful lusts, such as drown men in ruin and destruction.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Ecclesiastes watches the love of money with clear eyes: it never satisfies. The hunger grows with the feast. Abundance, for the rich, can become sleeplessness, because the heart has learned to clutch rather than to receive. Wealth can keep the body awake even when it cannot keep the soul at peace.
Paul tells Timothy that godliness with contentment is great gain. The love of money is a root that feeds all kinds of evil; some, reaching for it, pierce themselves with many griefs. It is a spiritual diagnosis with public consequences, and it is merciful because it names the sickness.
Greed makes governance brittle. It bends procurement, distorts budgets, and treats citizens as revenue rather than neighbours. Dishonesty then becomes a kind of self-protection: the lie told to keep the idol standing, the cover-up that multiplies harm. The poor, as ever, pay first.
Lord, heal our loves. Give us contentment that does not need to cheat. Free those in positions of responsibility from secret appetites, and bring hidden wrongdoing into the light with mercy and firmness. Strengthen regulators, auditors, and judges to do their work without fear or favour. And teach your Church to live simply, so that our witness is not undermined by the very greed we denounce, but made credible.