Stossel puts forward some important truths in his special. He makes the crucial point that wealth, far from being static, is something that can be created. Money doesn't care if you're black or white or green. The profit motive, Mr. Stossel understands, can lead people to create good things for others. He can buy a steak in New York, he notes, because ranchers in Iowa, workers in packing houses, people who make the meat's packaging, truck drivers who ship the meat, and numerous others work together to put forth a product Mr. Stossel will buy.
Scripture is adamant that greed is idolatry and a form of slavery to sin.
God may use unregenerate people's greed to achieve some good things, but Christians, having been born again of the Spirit and freed from sin's hold, are to have different motivations. The chief reason a Christian businessman should want to create a high-quality product that returns a profit is that doing so honors God. In other words, greed and the profit motive aren't the same thing. The latter is only sinful when the love of money is behind it. Christians should desire to earn money because of the good we can do with it, not because we love it.