He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, but he who hates bribes will live. - Proverbs 15:27 NLJV.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. - 1 Timothy 6:10 NKJV.

Amber B., who worked as a nurse’s aide at Sutter Memorial Hospital in Sacramento, California has been arrested and charged with embezzlement. Amber, age 21, is an enterprising young woman who operated an Internet medical supply business, in addition to her job, as a nurse’s aide. Apparently, Amber stole two Medtronic pacemakers and then put them up for sale on Ebay. The pacemakers normally sell for $6,000 each but were sold on Ebay for $255 each.

We know what has happened to Amber B. - she has been charged with a felony, embezzlement. For Amber and for all involved in this greedy scheme to make more money we see the truth of Proverbs 1:18-20, “So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; it takes away the life of its owners.” Instead of gaining from it, they lost. Instead of having more life they have much less life.

We also see the truth of Proverbs 15:27, which says, “He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, but he who hates bribes will live.” Amber has certainly brought trouble to her home, which includes not just herself but her family. Amber will now always have a criminal record and her activities are known to the entire world.

Seen too is the truth of 1 Timothy 6:10. Amber has “…pierced (herself) themselves through with many sorrows.” It was not someone else that did this to her. She did it to herself through her greediness.

What does greed cause? It causes a loss of life, problems, and sorrows. What does living according to God’s will cause? Proverbs 15:27b says, “…he who hates bribes will live.” The Message translates this as, “…those who refuse to exploit live and let live.” So, living as God would have you to live results in a reduction of loss of life, problems, and sorrows. It also results in an increase of life for yourself and everyone around you.

Please do not steal the pacemaker or anything else! Instead love God (Matthew 6:33), follow His plan for your life and you will have the abundant life (John 10:10b) that Jesus came to give you.