The eye of the greedy person is not satisfied with his share;
greedy injustice withers the soul. Ecclesiasticus 14:9
I want what I don’t have.
I like to think that having the thing I want – skill, object, experience – will make my life more complete. It will help me be the person I wish I was.
Greed is our foundational sin.
I’m pretty sure that is true.
Greed is an addiction.
We always want more.
Greed serves our need to be recognized and admired.
Greed serves our need to control.
Greed operates out of a sense of scarcity,
rather than a recognition of enough.
For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart,
those greedy for gain curse and renounce the Lord. Ps. 10:3
Greed is born out of our sense of incompleteness and restlessness. We are convinced that possessing that thing – money, power, resource – will improve our sense of self-worth. It may improve our net worth and increase some sort of power, but satisfying greed only increases our greed, lessens our self-worth, and increases our dissatisfaction.
Facing our own personal greed is necessary to live a good life. Undoing our greed will foster greater peace within and without
And Jesus said to them, ‘Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.’ Luke 12:15
Corporate greed, however, is greed combined with institutional power. It is the foundation upon which colonialism and capitalism are built. Corporate greed is the reason for our growing wealth inequality. Corporate greed benefits the wealthy and punishes the poor. It is our most insidious societal sin.
In Buddhism the Sanskrit word Upādāna is the word for grasping or attachment. It is one of the primary causes of dukkha or suffering. So much of the suffering in the world is a consequence of greed – particularly corporate greed.
Such are the ways of all who are greedy for gain;
it takes away the life of its possessors. Pr. 1:19
Our greed is an addiction and perhaps we need a 12-step process to manage this addiction. Knowing and name the reality of greed and its damaging effects is important. As with so many things, an attitude of letting go or surrender is important.
Gratitude may be the great antidote to greed. It’s hard to hold both gratefulness and greed in one’s heart. Gratitude recognizes what we have is gift. Gratitude does not seek to dominate, control, or acquire. As Br. David Steindl-Rast, the great advocate of gratitude states, “If you're grateful, you act out of a sense of enough and not of a sense of scarcity, and you are willing to share.”
Trying to foster gratefulness in our hearts is an important step to counter individual greed. Fostering corporate/systemic gratitude is a challenge for which I have few solutions. I wish I could offer hopeful ideas, but they elude me.
What I can do is daily acknowledge my greed and strive to increase my gratitude.