If you ever need a reminder how low humanity can sink at times, you might wish to look at these Black Friday video clips: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/28/walmart-fight-black-friday_n_4357939.html
For any reader blissfully unaware of this phenomenon, it is a shopping day, the first Friday after the American celebration of Thanksgiving. Stores in America will have lots of special offers and sales and it results in stampedes, fights and even deaths.
Let's be clear, this is not a problem with America. The American consumer culture just happens to be the context for this expression of humanity's darker side.
Paul, in an often misquoted passage of the Bible says that the greedy will not inherit God's kingdom (1 Cor 6:10). It would be entirely inconsistent with the rest of the New Testament if we read this at face value to mean that any expression of greed bans you from Heaven, like a list of misdemeanours that God and his angels are on lookout for (we are saved by faith in Jesus and the deposit of the Holy Spirit in our lives begins a process of renewal and transformation in us). What I think Paul is saying is that a life far from God shows itself in its fruit. The fruit of humanity without a relationship with God can be ugly indeed.
Don't get me wrong, there are some wonderful atheists out there also, kind and good people who strive to live a moral life of integrity with their personal values.
Yet Paul is speaking to a Christian audience in his letter and he reminds us to keep an eye out for the symptoms of sin in our lives. When we find ourselves hurting others for our own personal gain we spectacularly fail to model the life of Christ to others. The life that loved others, served others, healed, helped and listened to others and made real personal sacrifice for others.
The solution is not to try hard not to be greedy (we can tiptoe towards salvation by works if we are not careful), but to reconnect with the life of Jesus whom we are following and fill ourselves with the awareness of God and allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. The fruit of that Spirit is good indeed.
Then we can see the black Fridays in our lives transform into glorious Resurrection Sundays.
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