Proverbs 30 gives us a strong warning in a very simple picture: “The leech has two daughters. ‘Give! Give!’ they cry.” A leech is a creature that attaches itself to something living and drains from it. That is what greed does. It keeps taking, keeps demanding, and never says, “That is enough.”
Agur, the writer of Proverbs 30, uses numbers to teach wisdom. He talks about things that are too wonderful to understand, small things that are wise, and things that are never satisfied. When he talks about the leech, he is showing us what a greedy person looks like. Greed is not just wanting more. Greed is wanting more even if it hurts somebody else.
The Bible describes this kind of person as someone who devours the poor and needy. In plain words, greed can make a person use people instead of loving them. It can make someone take advantage of the weak, drain the generous, pressure the kindhearted, and step over others just to get ahead.
That is why Proverbs compares greed to four things that never seem full: the grave, a barren womb, dry ground, and fire. The grave keeps receiving the dead. Dry ground keeps soaking up water. Fire keeps burning as long as it has something to consume. In the same way, greed keeps asking for more money, more attention, more power, more control, and more comfort.
This is a warning for us: be careful around people who only know how to take. Some people do not come to build, bless, or serve. They come to drain. They always need something, but they rarely give anything back. They may smile, flatter, or sound spiritual, but their pattern is still the same: “Give, give.”
But this passage is not only about watching others. It also asks us to check our own hearts. Have we become hard to satisfy? Are we always comparing, complaining, craving, or chasing? Do we only pray for more, or do we thank God for what we already have?
Agur gives us the cure for greed when he prays, “Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.” He is asking God for a content heart. He does not want so much that he forgets God, and he does not want so little that he is tempted to sin. He wants enough—and he wants God more than anything.
The apostle Paul also warns that greed is a form of idolatry. That means greed can become something we worship. Whatever we chase more than God can become our master. Money, status, success, possessions, influence, or control can quietly take God’s place in our hearts if we are not careful.
So beware of those who live by greed, but also beware of greed living in you. A greedy spirit drains others. A content spirit blesses others. A greedy heart says, “Give me more.” A godly heart says, “Lord, help me be faithful with what You have already placed in my hands.”
Today, choose contentment. Choose gratitude. Choose wisdom. Do not let greedy people pull the life out of you, and do not let greedy desires pull your heart away from God. The life that says “enough” is far richer than the life that always cries, “Give, give.”
Minister A Francine Green I July 2026