Readings Between the Lines

Father Glenn LeCompte

“The point is, ladies and gentleman, that 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, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA. Thank you very much” (the character, Gordon Gekko, in the movie Wall Street).

Those words stand in stark contrast to the teaching of Jesus, who in Luke 12:15 exhorts his audience, “Take care to guard against all greed,” then spins a parable about a foolish person who fails to do so and suffers the consequences of his avaricious choice (12:16-21). Last month, I pointed out that the rich fool in Jesus’ parable chose temporal goods over lasting spiritual ones, became desensitized to the needs of the poor (thereby rejecting almsgiving, a standard of Jewish piety) and, because of his folly, ended up not even being able to enjoy the material comforts he sought for his life due to his untimely death.

I also suggested that, among the seven Capital Sins listed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1866, greed, especially in U.S. society, is the most ignored, and yet its perpetuation has wreaked havoc on our society. Brad Bannon in an op. ed. piece for the online news publication, The Hill, in February of this year writes, “Last year was the best of times for corporate America and the worst of times for hard-working American families. New reports on corporate profits and inflation demonstrate the fundamental problems in the U.S. economy. Big business reaped big profits while hard-working Americans wept over their declining standard of living.” The corporations which are seeking “cushy” profits at the expense of ordinary people (gasoline prices!) are not unlike the rich fool in Jesus’ parable. Moreover, the tendency toward oligopoly (control of the market by a few large firms which eat up the smaller ones) impairs competition and leaves us with increasing prices.

The words of the U.S. Bishops Conference in its 1986 pastoral letter Economic Justice for All still apply: “Americans are challenged today as never before to develop the inner freedom to resist the temptation constantly to seek more. Only in this way will the nation avoid what (Pope) Paul VI called ‘the most evident form of moral underdevelopment,’ namely greed.” Additionally, Pope Francis, during a meal he shared with homeless people, pointed out that greed is widening the gap between rich and poor and further impoverishing the latter.

The damage done by greed runs much deeper, though, than the suffering of financial hardships. Recall again the “rich fool” in Jesus’ parable. His greed causes him to turn in on himself, away from God and other human beings. Ultimately it makes people slaves to their possessions, because there are never enough of them. Avarice impairs a person’s ability to love, because greedy people will often, for the sake of maintaining possessions, or not forsaking an increase in them, fail to consider how their actions adversely affect others. The greedy develop a defense against any healthy remorse over such actions, because the prime value in life becomes an obsession with material things. The occasion for Jesus’ telling of the parable of The Rich Fool is an inheritance dispute between a person and his or her siblings which Jesus refuses to arbitrate (Luke 12:13). We see similar disputes tearing apart the survivors of families today.

Saints Thomas Aquinas, Jean Vianney and Francis of Assisi all bear testimony to the danger of greed to corrupt people. In Summa Theologiae II-II, A. 118, St. Thomas explains that in everything what is “good” is apportioned to a certain measure. Too much or too little can constitute a vice. The appropriate measure for material possessions is what is necessary for life. Thus, to exceed this measure a

Greed can make people slaves to their possessions

is a sin. St. Thomas adds that to desire more (“covetousness”) is sinful. St. Jean Vianney, in his Little Catechism, says that avarice “is an ill-regulated love, a fatal love, which makes us forget the good God, prayer, the sacraments, that we may love the goods of this world–gold and silver and lands.”

Regarding St. Francis of Assisi, the often overly-romanticized namesake of our current pope, many people forget that the lifestyle of voluntary poverty which he and his followers adopted was a bold counter-cultural statement in his day. Europe was relishing the spoils of the Crusades and a merchant class arose which was growing wealthier by the day. The cancer of opulence even invaded monasteries. What were the standards of status in St. Francis’ time and place? Wealth and military valor! Francis’ father, Pietro Bernadone, wanted this for his son, but Francis, a soldier, after being wounded had a conversion experience. With contempt for neither his father nor anyone else, Francis, at a public hearing prompted by his father, stripped off his clothes, handed them over and returned the fine armor his father had given him. This was only the beginning of the statement made to opulent medieval European society by the mendicant (begging) religious orders which emerged at this time.

We have become desensitized to greed in U.S. society because of the way we interpret the “American Dream.” Economic super-productivity is often viewed as the standard of “success.” When that happens we become infected with a spiritual virus that is more lethal than COVID-19 is in a physical sense. Some have even created a false version of Christianity which professes a “Gospel of Prosperity.” Wealth is a sign of blessing and social superiority. Compare that idea to the following words of Jesus: “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours; woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation” (Luke 6:20, 24). How far are we from an economic holocaust, when the standard of people’s usefulness to society will be a certain level of economic productivity, and those who do not measure up considered a drag on society and worthy of a Nazi-like extermination? Yet, Proverbs 28:25 provides us with wisdom regarding the problem of greed: “The greedy person stirs up strife, but the one who trusts in the Lord will prosper.” BC

Reflection Questions

v Are only certain types of people prone to greed, or is this vice a struggle for all people? Why?

v How does corporate greed influence greed in individuals?

v What are the spiritual remedies to the vice of greed?

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