Posted on 07/21/2017 7:38:48 AM PDT by Salvation
One of the more underreported sins is greed. It is easy to conclude that greed is something manifested by “that other person,” who has more than I do. Yes, that rich guy over there, the one who earns a dollar more per hour than I do; he’s greedy, but I’m not.
But honestly, does any one of us ever come to a point in our life when we say, “I earn more than enough money. I’ll just give the rest away”? Not on your life!
Almost never would such a thought even occur to the average person. Instead, most of us respond to a pay increase, for example, by expanding our lifestyle and continuing to complain that we don’t have enough. At some point, we ought to admit that we do cross over into greed.
What is greed? It is the insatiable desire for more. It is a deep drive in us that, no matter how much we have, makes us think that it’s not enough. We still want more, and if we get more we want more still. This is the experience of greed.
Familiar though this sounds, too few of us are willing to consider that greed is really a problem for us. Greed is always something that other guy has.
Of course it doesn’t help that we live in a culture of consumption, which constantly tells us that we don’t have enough. Commercials tell us that the car we’re driving isn’t as good as this other car we could be driving. And so even though we have a perfectly good car, one with four wheels, a working engine, and probably even air conditioning, it still it isn’t good enough. So it is with almost every other product or amenity that is sold to us on a daily basis. The clever marketing experts of Madison Avenue are great at making us feel deprived. As a result, it almost never occurs to most of us that we may have crossed the line into greed. Despite having even six- and seven-figure incomes, many still feel that they don’t have enough.
This is all the more reason that we should spend some time reflecting on the nature of greed. Greed is a deep drive of sin, one of the deadly sins, and it brings with it a kind of blindness that causes us to mistake mere wants for true needs. As we entertain this illusion, there’s very little to prompt us to consider that we actually have more than enough. There’s very little to cause me to say, “Gee, I’ve gotten greedy” or to work toward curbing this insatiable desire for more.
No, it’s the other guy who’s greedy; I’m not. It’s a problem that those nasty rich and powerful people have. Never mind that I’m pretty darned rich myself, living in a home with running water, air conditioning, and maybe even luxuries like granite countertops and widescreen TVs.
When was the last time you heard a sermon on greed? If you did, it was probably the priest talking about some abstract group of people (not those present, of course) who probably also hold the “wrong” political opinions, etc. Yes, greed is always someone else’s problem.
When do I honestly look at myself and wonder if I am greedy? When do I ever conclude that I have more than enough and need to be more generous with what has become excessive in my life? When do I ever apply the old precept that if I have two coats, one of them belongs to the poor? I do understand that it’s good to have something laid up for a rainy day, but do I ever ask myself if I’m really trusting in God or just in my rainy day fund? When do I ever wonder if I’ve crossed the line into greed?
I realize that some of you who read this post will find it disturbing. So do I. These are uncomfortable questions.
Let me assure you that I do not write this post from a political perspective. I do not want the government mandating how much I can or should earn, and how much I can or should give away. I am referring to a very personal moral assessment that we all should make.
I also do not write as an economist. I realize that market-based economies are complex and that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with meeting people’s needs with products and services. I am also aware that markets supply jobs. But still, I must insist that we all ask ourselves some personal questions about limits. We cannot simply conclude that greed is the other guy’s problem.
Greed is one of the seven deadly sins; we ought to take it more seriously than many of us do. Somewhere there’s room for most of us to reflect on one of the most underreported sins: greed.
Monsignor Pope Ping!
I would like to debate this line in the story:
“Instead, most of us respond to a pay increase, for example, by expanding our lifestyle ....”
So, is this part of the sentence wrong? I do not think so. Suppose we do expand our life style. Doesn’t that decision expand the economic base by creating new demand that someone else can fill and thus allow that other person to get what they need through capitalistic markets?
Sorry to say, I believe in the Milton Friedman school of thought and expanding one’s lifestyle is not, by itself, a sign of ‘greed’.
There must be more and I trust the second part of the sentence which is, “...and continuing to complain that we don’t have enough.” is the required second piece for it to equate to greed.
In short, you need both pieces of the sentence to make it greed. The first part of the sentence is not sufficient in my mind.
JoMa
I disagree:
Consider these options:
1) I will give this to the needy, they would surely love it
2) I will buy more than I usually do, just to treat myself
3) I will keep this money for later, for I might need it
As you say, people will usually do #2.
But why not donate it to the needy? (#1)
Why not save the money in case of a tragedy medical situation in your family? (#3)
There are always options.
I just thought of a #4
4) I will add this money to my tithe next week at church.
Those are all excellent options and I do not argue that each of those options by themselves are difficult to be inferred as ‘greed’.
My argument, however, is why does “expanding our lifestyle” by itself satisfy the requirement of greed? If that is the case, then anyone with internet is ‘greedy’. Anyone with a car is ‘greedy’. Anyone with a house is ‘greedy’.
The problem with “expanding our lifestyle” as the only requirement for the definition of greed is we are all expanding our lifestyle when we go beyond the bare essentials required for life as defined by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. So, who gets to define when enough is enough? Therein lies the problem.
JoMa
So is donating to the FReepathon an action of greediness?
**So, who gets to define when enough is enough?**
Isn’t that up to each man’s or woman’s conscience?
Does a donation to FreeRepublic “expand your lifestyle”? I suspect not. I am referring to actions that expand one’s lifestyle in the ways the article implies.
JoMa
I agree but the article seems to be written to have the reader infer that there is some external limitation. However, that limitation is not defined.
JoMa
Yes. . .and “does any one of us ever come to a point in our life when we say, ‘I earn more than enough money’” sound a lot like obummer and his “at some point you’ve made enough money” comment..
How beautiful. Nedds to be read over and over.
How beautiful. Nedds to be read over and over.
What does God say on the matter?
(Proverbs 15:27) Greed brings grief to the whole family, but those who hate bribes will live.
(Proverbs 28:25) Greed causes fighting; trusting the LORD leads to prosperity.
(Jeremiah 6:13) “From the least to the greatest, their lives are ruled by greed. From prophets to priests, they are all frauds.
(Jeremiah 8:10) I will give their wives to others and their farms to strangers. From the least to the greatest, their lives are ruled by greed. Yes, even My prophets and priests are like that. They are all frauds.
(Jeremiah 22:17) “But you! You have eyes only for greed and dishonesty! You murder the innocent, oppress the poor, and reign ruthlessly.”
(Ezekiel 7:19) “They will throw their money in the streets, tossing it out like worthless trash. Their silver and gold won’t save them on that day of the LORD’s anger. It will neither satisfy nor feed them, for their greed can only trip them up.
(Habakkuk 2:5) Wealth is treacherous, and the arrogant are never at rest. They open their mouths as wide as the grave, and like death, they are never satisfied. In their greed they have gathered up many nations and swallowed many peoples.
(Matthew 23:25) “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence!
(Mark 7:22) adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.
(Luke 11:39) Then the Lord said to him, “You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and wickedness!
(Luke 12:15) Then He said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”
(Romans 1:29) Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip.
(Ephesians 5:3) Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people.
(2 Peter 2:3) In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.
(2 Peter 2:14) They commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained in greed. They live under God’s curse.
When was the last time you heard a sermon on greed? If you did, it was probably the priest talking about some abstract group of people (not those present, of course) who probably also hold the “wrong” political opinions, etc. Yes, greed is always someone else’s problem.
Say I earn more money. Say I indeed “expand my lifestyle.” What if my family and I go out to dinner, say one more day a week. While we surely are “expanding our lifestyle,” aren’t we contributing to the well being of other hard workers? The restaurant gets more money, the waiters get another generous tip from me, and the economy improves.
Ebenezer Scrooge, the most famous greedy guy of all time, paid plenty of taxes. He didn’t stop making money at the end of the book. He just took the Marly line “MANKIND WAS MY BUSINESS” to heart.
I guess the question we really have to ask ourselves is when does it become disordered; when is it living for the reward rather than living for God.
I don't know this guy, I have long since ceased being a practicing Catholic, but I have serious problems with this statement.
Bill Whittle recently said in his "What We Believe" videos (which I heartily recommend to anyone identifying as a conservative, and anyone not identified as such who is curious about conservatism) said that when boiled down, universally, conservatives fundamentally believe in three things:
1.) Humans are not perfectable and are flawed by nature
2.) Humans are motivated by self-interest
3.) Human nature does not change dramatically
People (particularly leftists, and I think Msgr. Charles Pope specifically) view this as a selfish, jaded, and cynical outlook. I think it is simply realistic. But one could take the obverse of these (that humans are perfectable and Utopia may be achieved, that Altruism is as powerful a motivator as self-interest, and that human nature may be changed) and define liberalism perfectly, with the accompanying historical confirmation going back hundreds (if not thousands) of years, that those assumptions are inherently dangerous and destructive, and have led to more bloodshed than nearly anything else, at least in the last century or so.
sound a lot like obummer
Note the definition of greed from the article. I would simple say it is the obsessive insatiable desire for more.
What is greed? It is the insatiable desire for more. It is a deep drive in us that, no matter how much we have, makes us think that it’s not enough. We still want more, and if we get more we want more still. This is the experience of greed.
There was a time if you whiffled a $1,000 idea under my nose I would chase it to the end. Now I am too tired to chase it.............(and what is a $1,000 any more?) So I guess I got that greed thing under control?
There is very much a flavor of social justice in the article.
There is also a tendency to confuse greed and wealth. They are not the same. I think there are a great many greedy poor people.
Note the following:
Luk 18:24 When Jesus saw this, He said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!
Luk 18:25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”
Luk 18:26 Those who heard this said, “Then who in the world can be saved?”
Luk 18:27 He replied, “What is impossible for people is possible with God.”
It doesn’t say rich people don’t enter the kingdom, but that it takes God to get it done. Same for poor people.
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