AVARITIA

Greed.

Treachery, Covetousness (Excessive, unnecessary acquisition of wealth).

“DADDY!
I want a goose, I want a goose to lay golden eggs for Easter!”

Well, you know what Veruca… like the philosopher Jagger hath said:
“You can’t always get what you want”


This is a tough one for me to write about, I don’t quite see myself as a greedy person, I’m quite easy to please actually.


Greed: An excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth.


As we have already established, I am a capitalist. I believe in working and earning what you have. I believe in striving to be the best you can be. I believe it is perfectly fine to earn as much money as possible. Money itself is not evil. You can feed a lot of people with money. You can build a lot of homes with money. You can do all sorts of good with money. The LOVE of money is what is evil. Not the “like” of money. I like having money. I can treat a friend to lunch when I have money. I can put fuel in my car and visit someone I haven’t seen in a long time with money. So, no, money in itself is not evil.

Loving, I mean truly LOVING money, that is where problems arise. The movie “Click” I feel is great example of what can happen when you put work before family.

Andrew Carnegie, one of America’s historical rich men, once wrote, “I want to make as much money as I can in the first part of my life. In the second, I want to give away as much money possible.” History remembers Carnegie, it does not take much of a second look at his peers who horded their money, and died poor and alone.

The first part of the definition of Greed people always go on and on about, but, there is a statement that I would like to focus on, “…more than what one… deserves”. In this, I can classify myself as guilty. But we all are.

Yesterday I mentioned a person who use to be very close to me. Once, she was in a car accident and on unemployment. There was a condition for her to extend her unemployment, she had to show proof of seeking a new job. I happened to be at the house one day when she was filling out the paperwork. We were watching a movie, and she was flipping through the phonebook writing down the information of different business. Not calling, not making notes to visit them. NO. Nothing of the sort. She was claiming that she had already visited them looking for employment. Which of course was not the case. She lied. Her lie, allowed her to get money which she did not deserve that was being provided by others who were in fact working. This can also be related to and connected to the first topic of the week of Sloth, but I feel it fits in well with the concept of wanting something that one does not deserve.

Another related example that could fall into either category…

My friend Andrew worked as a checker in a supermarket. One day, an alumnus happened to go through his line with her child, let’s just call her “Megan Greek”. “Megan” happened to be talking on the newest, latest and greatest phone that had just come out at that time. Now, I could very easily go on a rant about how the entire time she was in line, she very rudely ignored Andrew (who’s like the nicest guy ever) and just talked on her expensive cell phone, then! Asked if Andrew had a Myspace to add him later, to which he simply replied “no”. Why? “If she isn’t going to talk to me in person when I am standing right in front of her, there is no reason to pretend I’m a friend online”. Ok, so maybe I did go into that rant a little bit… BUT! Back on course… after all grocery costs have been totaled, she pays with food stamps. Nothing wrong with this at all in the slightest to those who actually need the help.

Flaunting an expensive phone, or driving an amazingly awesome car… wrong way to prove that you actually need this help from the government.

I pay taxes. Tax money goes into food stamps. I donate food at Thanksgiving and Christ’s Mass, but that is my choice. I don’t like the concept of my tax money going to help someone who will pay for food with my money, save their own money, and buy a nicer phone then what I have.

That is wanting money that is undeserved. That is greed. That is using people. And that is wrong.

In one way I suppose I can be classified in this category, but not with material wealth. I want something that my history says I don’t deserve. Though, rather personal, and I don’t see myself going into the details of it. I bring it up only to show, I’m not just casting a finger towards others without looking into the mirror myself. I'm not pious enough for that (besides, every time you point your finger at someone there are 3 pointing back at you)


Treachery:
1. Willful betrayal of fidelity, confidence, or trust.
2. The act or an instance of such betrayal.

I scheme a lot. And I plot. But after having actually read the definition, I’m quite relieved to see that I am not actually treacherous. I hate the concept of betrayal, and strive to never willfully betray a friend. I myself have been betrayed. Former “family”. Friends. Coworkers. A horrible feeling. And being that I try to do onto others as I would have them do on to me (hence the occasionally brutal honesty) I try steering clear of betraying.


Covetous: Excessively and culpably desirous of the possessions of another. See synonyms at Jealous.

This kinda goes back to yesterday’s topic. My family lost a piece of adopted family due to covetousness. It drives a wedge between people. And people, when we are divided, have a hard time showing each other love. Love when it is not shown, allows for hate to appear. Hate tends to lead to acts of evil. Now we return to how we started this series, “Evil triumphs, when good men do nothing.”

It is hard being a true Christian in America and the rest of the industrialized world. How can you be a good capitalist and still not be greedy? It takes balance. You might not always be able to get what you want…


“…But if you try sometimes, well, you just might find, you get what you need”