Colossians 3:5 - On killing the More monster

"Therefore put to death the members the [ones] upon the earth, sexual immorality, uncleanness, passion, lust, evil, and the greed, which is idolatry..." 

-’The greed’ is literally to have much, to have a lot, to have more.  The Greeks called it pleonexia.   It is a little monster, the ‘more’ monster, which dwells within every person.  It is the infinite abyss, the native impulse of fallen man - an insatiable appetite, craving, hunger, thirst, longing for more, for something bigger or better, for what you don’t have, and usually for something other than God, which is why it could be considered idolatry.  Indeed, greed is intense or selfiish desire for something, esp wealth, power or perhaps just something to put on or in my body, and really, ANYTHING besides God.  Thus Paul calls it idolatry, and sets it apart from the others on this list of things to kill.  The good news is that God Himself killed it - or at least paved the way for us to kill it - by first killing His own Son. 

-Pleonexia/greed has different forms.  Ours is the culture of excess, where we give ourselves to the pursuit of more when we already have plenty of it - money, cars, rooms, square footage, clothes, shoes, technology, knowledge, collectibles, consumables, comfort and fitness, pleasures and pastimes.  But we can be consumed with acquiring more of something even when we have none of it.  There is nothing inherently wrong with having money or clothes or gadgets or knowledge, but when we put the acquisition of these things before God in our hearts, it becomes idolatry.

-The antithesis of this ‘more’ monster is ‘enough’.  I have enough.  Contentment.  Learning to live with what you have and satisfied with it.  ‘Cuz the ‘more’ monster is never satisfied.  That’s why it must be killed.  Kill it with gratitude.  Kill it by saying no to things you do not need.  Kill it with kindness and generosity.  Kill it by getting a real taste of how good is the Lord.  Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord (Ephesians 5.10), focus on what He wants (Ephesians 5.17), and be filled with His Spirit (Ephesians 5.18)(cf Ephesians 5.3-5).  Pursue unfailing treasure in heaven (Luke 12.15, 12.21,  12.31-34).  And then kill it some more with more gratitude.  I already mentioned that, but gratitude is double-strength 'more' monster killing machine...