Monday, April 8, 2013

G is for Greed


“Chalkie fired a warning glance at Matt.
“You imagined being with her and how good it would be. You said to yourself, Julia and I could have fun. She wouldn’t nag me and she would want to listen and hang out with me. She would want to make love to me. Then you started visualizing that sex.”

“Steady on,” said Matt with a note of alarm in his voice.””

-          Loathe Your Neighbor ch. 11

 

Greed is one of the seven deadly sins. Greed is good, according to Gordon Gekko. Greed says, I don’t have enough. I want more. Greed drives a person to greatness regardless of the cost. Greed sees the acquisition of things as more important than the establishment and maintenance of relationships. Greed is the antithesis of content. Greed appears as gluttony and as lust. What restrains the urge to gather more, to have more? To possess things and own people? Is self control enough when the animal appetites of sinful man drive him to self destruction? What’s the difference between greed and ambition? When am I going to stop asking questions, and cease this heavy self righteous moralizing? Oh, I’m sorry I’ve made you uncomfortable. I didn’t realize what I was doing when I started. I lost control. My propensity to grandstand and pontificate overwhelmed me. Damn, all I wanted to do was write a cute little blog entry about something starting with G. I spy with my little eye…

8 comments:

  1. I think we live in a world where greed is encouraged. All you have to do is watch the television to see this. It's always good to stop and look up though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Spot on, Rebecca. Greed is encouraged. It can be hard to resist the constant "you need this." Thanks for visiting.

      Delete
  2. To move forward, to achieve in any endeavor, our heart must be in it—that's desire. Nothing wrong with desire. Desire can motivate us in meaningful, selfless ways to do good. When desire becomes selfish, then it turns to greed. For example, the desire to helps others turns from altruism to greed when one acts out of a need for power. Dare I say politicians?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wonder why people don't recognize when they are crossing the line. Maybe they do and they cross anyway. Power can be incredibly sedcuctive.

      Delete
  3. WHen ever I hear the word "Greed" I can only hear Gordon Grekkos voice.

    Greed is unfortunately prevalent because people think the grass is greener on the other side, and they are not content with what they have.

    www.wearinglemon.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for popping in, and for taking the time to comment. The world is full of discontented people. Gratitude, another G word, is a good cure for discontent.

      Delete
  4. There's peace in knowing you have all you really need, but the temptation to have more and be more is always there. (And this assumes you really do have all you need to sustain a good life---food, shelter, love, etc).

    ReplyDelete