Leadership Lessons from the Lesser Known
Would you trust a greedy, covetous person to be an employee in your business or ministry? Of course, you wouldn’t!
OR,
Do you think a greedy, covetous employee is a danger to your business or ministry? Of course, you do!
Well, if that’s the case, why do we seem to have them in just about every organization?
I think the answer is that the greedy, covetous employee tries very hard to hide their true nature. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing, hiding amongst the lambs.
Have you ever heard of a salesperson who lied about a product to make a commission? He/she was willing to lie to increase his/her income. Greed.
What about someone who wanted someone else’s job? So, they undermined that person by making them look bad to the boss, in hopes of being offered the position themselves. Covetous.
The list of greed-driven and covetous behavior is quite extensive in the business, ministry, and non-profit sectors. Wherever people gather, there will usually be someone who wants what someone else has and will do what they must, to get it.
Greedy versus Covetous
Some consider greedy and covetous as the same thing, and certainly there are overlaps in their meanings. However, there is an important difference between the two.
Greed is defined as “having or showing an intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth or power.”
Whereas, the definition of a covetous person is “having or showing a great desire to possess something belonging to someone else.”
So, greed is the desire to gather and hold on to wealth by any available means; whereas to be covetous means to desire someone else’s wealth.
The Bible has a lot to say about the dangers of greed and covetousness. Jesus himself warned the disciples by saying, “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).
Let’s look at some Biblical examples.
Biblical Examples
The Bible describes several men and women who fell to the temptation of greed and covetousness. A partial list includes:
- Balaam (Numbers 22) who accepted a bribe from Balak to prophecy against the people of Israel. Greed.
- David’s son Amnon (2 Samuel 13) who wanted sex with his sister, Tamar, and raped her. Covetous.
- Ahab and Jezebel (1 Kings 21) who wanted Naboth’s vineyard and killed to get it. Covetous.
- Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5) who lied and held back proceeds of the sale of land. Greed.
- Judas (Acts 26) who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Greed.
The Greedy, Covetous Servant
There’s one more Biblical character who was both greedy and covetous. His name was Gehazi, and we can learn from his story recounted in 2 Kings 5.
Gehazi was the personal assistant to Elisha, the prophet of Israel. Gehazi had seen Elisha perform miracles and saw his prophecies come true.
One day, a servant tells her master, Naaman, about a prophet in Samaria who could heal his leprosy. So, Naaman traveled to Samaria to search for Elisha in hopes of being healed. Elisha heals Naaman. In return, Naaman offers Elisha a substantial gift as payment for his services.
However, Elisha refuses the gift and says that he is simply God’s servant. So, with that, Naaman set out for home.
Greedy Gehazi
However, Gehazi did not like Naaman because he was Aramean, and he thought Elisha was too easy on Naaman. So Gehazi ran after Naaman. When Gehazi caught up with Naaman, he lied. Gehazi said Elisha had changed his mind about taking the payment because Elisha had just encountered two prophets from the hill country. Gehazi said Elisha asked Naaman for a talent of silver (about 75 pounds) and two changes of clothes to give to these two prophets.
As Naaman was so happy to be healed, he gave Gehazi two talents of silver, as well as the two changes of clothes. Naaman even had his servants carry it all back to where Gehazi lived with Elisha.
Then, when Gehazi was close to his home, he told Naaman’s servants to leave and go back to their master while he hid the silver and clothes in the house.
Once again, Gehazi lied when Elisha asked where he had been by replying with, “nowhere.” However, Elisha already knew where Gehazi had been and that he had taken payment from Naaman.
So, then Elisha cursed Gehazi with the same leprosy that had been on Naaman. Shortly after, Gehazi left Elisha’s presence and was never with him again.
Lessons from Gehazi’s Greed and Covetousness
There is much we can learn from the story of Gehazi’s greed and covetousness.
1) He didn’t respect the position he had. Gehazi displayed a remarkable disregard for the things of God and the incredible privilege of being at Elisha’s side.
2) He was disrespectful of others. Gehazi didn’t care what happened to Elisha as he misrepresented the ministry. He disrespected Naaman whom he considered an enemy. And, he disrespected God by attempting to profit from God’s grace to Naaman.
3) He was focused on personal gain. Gehazi ran after Naaman to catch up to him, with a plan to secure his payment already in mind.
4) He was a liar. Gehazi formulated a clever lie, which he told to secure payment from Naaman. Besides, he then lied to Elisha about where he had been and what he had been doing.
5) He lost everything. Elisha immediately held Gehazi accountable for his actions. Ultimately, Gehazi lost his job, his health, his honor, and his home.
Gehazi’s Amog Us!
Leaders, we must remember that there are Gehazi’s among us! In this world, there always seems to be men and women who will lie and deceive in a quest to gain wealth, power, and social status.
Moreover, the greedy and covetous employee will frequently show disrespect for others, they will be focused on personal gain, and they are often accomplished and proficient liars. In essence, one could say they are professional deceivers. Not only that, these deceptive people will risk everything to benefit their pursuits.
So, I urge you to continually monitor your organization to find these wolves in sheep’s clothing in your organization. Also, when you do find them, do not waste any time. Instead, work on getting them out of your organization before their influence has the opportunity to corrupt others.
Join the Conversation
As always, questions and comments are welcome. Have you dealt with greedy, covetous employees in your organization? What impact did they have on others?
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Category: Skills | Accountability
