Greed is Not Good a Plague

Greed is not good and it is a plague that can be found in almost any culture or society on this earth, but can it be cured?

In the movie Wall Street there is a quote about Greed. "Greed, for lack of a better word is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge; it has marked the upward surge of mankind."   

So be as “greedy” as your miserable nasty grim soul drives you to be. Wrong!  It is Only in Hollywood movies, and with Satan.  People mistake greed for ambition; the obsession to increase wealth is a main source of misery, and this greed is the driving force of industry on this earth.

Greed and the desire for more money; the immense capacity to succeed wonderfully tied to the equal capacity to fail miserably; the manifestation of the excesses of the human condition; it will always be on display. The tragedy of many human beings is not what they have but what they want. Greed; the more we have, the more we want.

"If your only goal is to become rich, you will never achieve it." John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937) was an American industrialist and philanthropist and first billionaire.

The richest people are those with no money, as they do not have the illusion of happiness that the trappings of wealth can bring; they have only themselves and their life. Having a ton of money can imprison a person just as much as poverty.

It is the Bible, Proverbs 13:7-8, TLB. "Some rich people are poor, and some poor people have great wealth! Being kidnapped and held for ransom never worries the poor man!"

While in this world many people may honor the rich; do not be surprised if God honors the poor. It is in the Bible, James 2:5, TLB. "Listen to me, dear brothers: God has chosen poor people to be rich in faith, and the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs, for that is the gift God has promised to all those who love Him."

“I’ve just been a machine for making money. I seem to have spent my life in a golden tunnel looking for the outlet which would lead to happiness. But the tunnel kept going on. After my death there will be nothing left.” Aristotle Onassis (1906-75), Greek shipowner and financier

Greed and desperation knows no limits and grows by what it feeds on and oh how it feeds! The futility to fight greed in this world and it is something that is ingrained in human nature.  As human beings of this earth, we can only acknowledge greed's existence, choose ones own behaviors as individuals, and react to its occurrence; it can not be prevented.  Greed will simply manifest into something else and in a different form.

Earthly material things that people want and crave for today are but merely symbols; these people want worldly possessions not for the things itself, but because these things will content their spirit for the moment.

And when we as human beings preoccupy ourselves with obtaining these worldly possessions, more than anything else, that will prevent us from living freely and spiritually.

 “Being greedy, indecent, or immoral is just another way of worshiping idols. You can be sure that people who behave in this way will never be part of the kingdom that belongs to Christ and to God.”  Ephesians 5:5 (CEV).

"Hell has three gates: lust, anger, and greed." (Bhagavad-Gita, "Song of God") The most toxic of these three are anger and greed. There is no fire like greed and no crime like hatred. In this world today, unfortunately there are too many people who are guilty of all three sins.

A quote by Albert Einstein about greed; "Three great forces rule the world: stupidity, fear and greed."

In this life is not the person who has too little, but it is the human being who craves more, that is the paradox of being poor.  "The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil."  (Jesus Christ)

Look for my many articles on the Internet under James Murray Author for more information or email at jjmurray007@yahoo.com.