An online search tells me corporate greed is a "strong desire to have money or power in excess of what is needed." Biblically, I don’t see how this is distinct from "greed" and if we wanted to know what the Bible says about greed, we could look to 1 Timothy 6:10 or Hebrews 13:5 and be done with it.
The heart of corporate greed does not lie in the "strong desire to have money", but in the part that says “in excess of what is needed”. It is a label one puts not on oneself, ("I am corprately greedy") but to others: tax paying citizens considering the wealth of CEOs. The accusation is by association: "that person has far more money than what is needed. Such wealth can only be obtained through greed." Is this accusation biblical? What does the Bible say about obtaining "far more money than what is needed?"
The Bible has at least two things to say: a core principle and a Christian attitude;
Almost the entire argument can be built off the parable in Luke 16, but we will also look at two more passages, dividing this into three sections: the value of wealth, the responsibility of wealth, and the virtue of wealth.
Luke 16 uses one special word three times. In the entire Bible it is used only these three times (technically four times, if we include an instance in the book of Matthew, which is another recording of the same quote.) The word in most modern translations is “MONEY” or “WEALTH”, but the KJV uses a distinct word, “mammon” which is derived from the original Greek word, μαμμωνᾷ. (Even if you don’t speak Greek, you can see the resemblance: the “μ” is an “m”.)
Because of the rarity of this word, even among ancient texts, it is difficult to be absolutely certain about its meaning. Christian tradition holds it as gluttony, greed, profit, even the devil himself. In Luke, the word is preceded by the adjective “unrighteous” as in the “heathen” sense. The NIV says “worldly”. For all these reasons, I claim this is the closest term to “corporate wealth”, to which we might associate corporate greed.
You can read the story here or the summary below:
A financial manager fears he will lose his job on a false accusation that he is stealing money from his rich boss. On his way out the door, he calls in his boss’ debtors and forgives large portions of their debt. While this cheats his boss, he does it so he can build a positive report with the people in town while he still holds his position of power. He thinks this will help him get a job after he is fired.
Surprisingly, his boss commends him. The Bible says,
Do you see the apparent contradiction here? The boss commends the dishonest manager, then Jesus says we are to be trustworthy with our worldly wealth. But the purpose of the first part is not about the manager's treatment of money, it is about his value of money. Worldly wealth is of no consequence compared to spiritual wealth, but it is wise to consider the value of money in the eyes of those around us and how our actions are judged.
Despite the relative unimportance of money, deal honestly with it because how you treat small, unimportant things is a greater reflection of how you treat big, important things.
No where else in the Bible (except a parallel passage in Matthew) is “mammon” mentioned. The Scripture used for the next part is certainly more about the spiritual takeaway than the literal, material lesson, but it is nevertheless an exemplary look into how we should treat “unimportant things”. It is the parable of bags of gold, Matthew 25:14-30.
In this parable, a man leaving on a journey leaves his money in the care of his servants. He gives them different amounts, but the two servants who receive more money invest it so there is more than what they were given when the master returns. The third servants buries it in the ground. When the master returns, he says to the first two servants,
To the third servant, he says,
It would be a stretch to say this is a verse about corporate greed. This is very clearly a parable about applying oneself in spiritual matters, but there is a guiding principle that draws the parable into the spiritual meaning: out of the wealth one receives, more should be produced. Wealth is a responsibility, not just an asset.
The master gave to everyone according to their ability. That means the third servant was the least capable. But the master didn’t show any pity, he expected the servant to produce according to his ability and did not accept anything less. The servant doubted the fairness of his master, calling him “hard” and drawing attention to his corrupt practices. The master did not exercise grace just to show the servant otherwise. Why does this matter? Because Matthew 25 says the kingdom of heaven is like this. In other words, when God blesses us, he expects us to assume the responsibility for that blessing and he leaves us no excuse.
What is our purpose? Isaiah 43:7 will tel you we are created for God’s glory. But what can we actually do? For questions on the nature of mankind, I think the best answers are found in Genesis, where it all begins.
God’s first words to are a statement of purpose: “be fruitful”.
It’s interesting we’re told to “be fruitful” as opposed to “work hard” or “get a job”. As we can later read in the parables of Christ, (John 15:5-8) bearing fruit is not something we can do on our own, but is a consequence of branching off the vine, who is Christ.
Reading this, as well as the parable of the servants in the previous section, we would NOT conclude the Lord looks favorably on the wealthy by virtue of their productivity alone. Within the circumstances of simply having wealth, there is plenty of room for greed and corruption. My argument is merely that the Lord looks favorably on those who recognize the source of all wealth and all good things and use the blessing he feeds into us to honor him.
People are designed to be productive. Indeed, productivity is a characteristic that sets us apart from the animals. The productivity we should be engaged in is not necessarily an occupation-focused productivity, but engaging all our talent and gifts in a God-honoring way. Significantly, the fruits of our labor, whether it be money or otherwise, are not the target objective, but a consequence. The act of working to honor God is an end in itself and the more we understand this, the more fruit we will see. As soon as the fruit becomes the objective, we should be very, very afraid of being cut from the vine.
Have I answered the question? What does the Bible say about corporate greed? In the unlikely case you are a billionaire, and if by “corporate greed” we mean lawfully reducing your tax liability to little or nothing, the Bible has nothing against this. As in the parable of the mammon, money is a worldly product and of very little spiritual value. There need be no fear of being judged for having it, so long as your heart is in the right place. Don’t lose track of the Source of your fortunate circumstances.
More than likely, you are not a billionaire and you are wondering if the BIble damns those who are “better off” than you: look in your own heart. The Bible says do not covet. The very fact that you can read is evidence you are one of the most privileged persons who has ever lived. I suggest you not attach shame to extraordinary blessings, but use your own blessings responsibly to bring honor to God.
In answering this question, I decided to focus on the aspects that are under-preached in church. Most of the time in church, you’ll hear charity and tithing preached while productivity is omitted. We are conditioned to believe the rich are greedy and therefore wealth must be a sin. It did not seem necessary to echo anything that might reinforce that believe. Nevertheless, the Bible does caution us about the dangers of greed and it does praise and even call for charity. You can compare and contrast these verses and continue your own study using the material below: