The greed of people is the love of money, acquisitiveness, greed, in other words, it is an immoderate desire to receive money or other material benefits. In Catholic theology, human greed is considered one of the main flaws, fundamental vices, mortal sins, since it leads to an increase in troubles and worries, internal bitterness, and unsociability. In addition, the described vice tirelessly provokes fear of loss and anger.
The word greed is associated with greed (covetousness), which is condemned by all peoples. Often this sin serves as a motive for committing a serious illegal act or is the cause of a tragedy.
Is greed a character trait?
Life in the material world dictates its own rules. It is extremely difficult to imagine people who are able to completely give up money, comfort, pleasures and other “benefits of civilization.” But this is not necessary! Unless, of course, you practice strict asceticism or live in a secluded monastery, ashram, or monastery.
Hand on heart, it is worth admitting that truly modest individuals, devoid of acquisitive tendencies, are extremely rare in the 21st century, especially in megacities. But greed, greed, acquisitiveness, hoarding are quite common character traits of modern people.
Greedy people will suffer from “Plyushkin syndrome” or plunge into shopaholism. The former can hardly part with even things that are completely unsuitable for use, while the latter love to spend money on unnecessary purchases. Sound familiar? We invite you to talk about what greed is and how this character trait can affect the quality of life of any of us.
Is greed a gift or a punishment?
The word “greed” has many interesting synonyms. You can find the archaic “love of money” or the more modern ones – “greed”, “stinginess”, “greed”, “acquisitiveness”.
From a psychological point of view, greed is an irrepressible desire to accumulate and increase material values, “seasoned” with the fear of losing what a person already possesses.
This character trait could be called completely neutral if it manifested itself as frugality, thrift, and the ability to save money. However, greed, unfortunately, knows no limits and can push a person obsessed with stinginess to act rashly. In pursuit of ever new profits or other benefits of our world, an individual is capable of committing dishonest acts and even illegal acts! And this is already serious.
Even if a person does not commit a crime, greed is a catalyst for such manifestations of character as anger, quarrelsomeness, timidity (we are talking about the fear of losing one’s property).
Terminology
Words such as greed or hungry are now used only in literary genres. More often they will say about a person “greedy” or “stingy.”
Yes, these terms are radically different. Greed is a person’s desire to get more, and stinginess is the desire to spend the least amount. The greedy seeks to increase receiving, and the stingy seeks to moderate waste.
Greedy or thrifty?
Concepts such as “thrift” or “thrift” are close to greed and avarice, but they differ from each other. Thriftiness is an attempt to benefit from small savings, while greed is not a subconscious decision to stop spending in an attempt to accumulate as much as possible. Greed has always ended in failure; just remember the Greek myth about King Midas, who turned everything into gold with his touch. We advise you to read
Are greed and greed synonymous?
How would you answer the question “What is greed?” You would most likely use the term "greedy".
In fact, these two words are synonyms, but their meanings are somewhat different. We most often use the word “greedy” when we talk about wealth and material values. But “greedy” has a broader meaning. Compare: greedy for knowledge, for attention, affection (love), but greedy for money (for money).
Linguists argue that the word “greedy” has a neutral connotation, while its synonym “greedy” has an openly negative connotation.
Greedy people: the reasons for this phenomenon
If we talk about this very briefly, then greed arises due to the substitution of life values. Modern man, being in the grip of mass culture, which is based on the theory of consumption, begins to seriously think that money and happiness are one and the same thing.
Greed can also manifest itself due to an overdeveloped ego. A stingy person asserts himself not through his own outstanding achievements or noble deeds, but through acquisitiveness and hoarding.
It’s not for nothing that Sigmund Freud argued that the causes of all our problems should be sought in childhood! Greed is no exception. Let's say that the child's parents were extremely busy with their own careers or personal lives. They did not have the time (energy, opportunity) to take care of the child and instead the child received expensive gifts as the equivalent of love. It is clear that this attitude will “work” in adult life! Such a person can measure any manifestations of feelings and emotions by material resources.
You will be interested to know how to attract luck and money.
Greed is a mortal sin. Is it so?
As we know, in the Christian religion there are 7 main sins, called mortal sins. Greed in this “top” is in second place, after pride.
There is an opinion, including among spiritual thinkers, that the cause of greed is an unfulfilled need to feel safe. Suppose a person whom everyone behind his back calls Plyushkin or, even worse, Gobsek, simply does not feel confident in his material security. That is why he drags all sorts of rubbish from the trash heap into the house, skimps on spending money on basic things, and tries to earn money by hook or by crook.
Thus, it turns out that greed may be a sin, but a greedy person is more likely a victim of circumstances.
What vices does greed create?
Greed – what kind of mental “illness” is this? And what other vices does it cause in humans? First of all, greed entails self-interest. This is an insatiable desire to benefit from everything. A person does not even disdain the troubles of others. There is no place in the soul for compassion or pity, there is only the desire to gain benefit. But, as you know, happiness is when you give, not when you receive. That is why self-interest has never brought true peace to anyone.
Another vice that accompanies greed is envy. It depletes and “eats” a person from the inside. Don't forget about greed. Reluctance to share repels a greedy person. In his quest to save all his savings, he remains lonely. It is these vices that are the reason that throughout the history of mankind, blood has been shed over gold and other riches.
A greedy person: how to recognize him?
We figured out a little about what greed is and what are the reasons for the development of this property of nature. The next step is to conduct a “diagnosis” and find out who from your environment falls into the category of individuals obsessed with stinginess and acquisitiveness. Although, perhaps, you can recognize yourself by reading these points.
- A greedy person always saves on everything, and, first of all, on himself. New things are bought only when they are completely out of order. Treat yourself to something new or something nice? For a greedy person this is an unacceptable luxury.
- A cheapskate is not the easiest person to talk to. A greedy woman will always be dissatisfied with the income of her lover, while a man obsessed with greed will demand an account from his missus for every penny spent.
- Food is a fairly significant part of our budget, isn’t it? A stingy person always saves on food! He doesn’t buy what he really loves, chooses products that are about to expire, and “hunts” for discounts and promotional offers.
- Why pay if friends, relatives, colleagues are always nearby? This is roughly how a self-interested person argues. If there is an opportunity to save on services by turning to loved ones for help, such a person will always choose this option.
- Do you think greed will allow you to give generous gifts to loved ones and friends? Of course not! If a greedy type does something similar, he tries to reduce expenses to a minimum.
- The last item on our checklist is visiting. Greedy people do not like to receive guests, but they themselves come for a courtesy visit without warning. They know that when visiting, you can profit from something delicious!
Passion for wealth in Orthodoxy
What is the love of money in Orthodoxy? This is one of the eight main passions. The love of money is the antithesis of love. A person cannot love anyone or anything if he is obsessed with money. Even if such a person outwardly seems pious, goes to temple, visits holy places, what is the use of this?
Such a pilgrim comes to the service, and a beggar stands at the gates of the temple. The man pretends not to see him and quickly passes by. And in church he won’t buy a candle or give a note for his loved ones. He imagines that while attending a service he is praying for the whole world. But this is not so. The holy ascetics pray for the whole world. On Athos, for example, or on Valaam. Those who spend the night in prayer and lean on a chair to rest. And we? What kind of prayer books are we? God willing, we go to church once a week, on Sundays. And we run past the beggars.
Why do many troubles happen because of money? Not so much because of their presence, but because of greed for them. Because a money-loving person becomes blind. He sees nothing but money. He hates those who, in his opinion, want to deprive him of material wealth. If such a person is pointed out about his disastrous condition, he will hate the one who does it.
It's like the case of the window and the mirror. One wise man was asked why the sin of love of money is terrible. He led the questioner to the window and asked him to describe what he saw. The man described the beautiful autumn nature outside the window. Then the sage took him to the silver mirror and asked the same question. To which the answer was given: I see myself. The sage smiled and said that just a few grams of silver, and you can no longer see anything except yourself.
So is a money-loving person. He no longer sees anything except his needs for money.
How to deal with greed?
To fight something, you need to know its source. Greed is born from a person’s lack of confidence in himself and his importance. An illusion is created, as if without a fortune, this or that person will not have weight in society, without which it is impossible to achieve recognition.
In fact, the significance of a figure depends not on external factors, but on the personality as a whole. And here we are not talking about banal good nature. If it’s interesting to communicate with a person and spend time, then “rich scenery” is the last thing that will bother others. As soon as the uncertainty about your importance disappears, the need to create expensive surroundings for yourself will disappear.
To do this, it is enough to focus on spiritual resources: develop versatility, read interesting literature, look for new interests and hobbies, find zest in even the simplest little things - in a word, become interesting to yourself without financial resources.
The main thing to remember is that money is an auxiliary attribute to achieving intangible goals. In addition, the main weapon against greed is generosity, which includes not only finances, but also a person’s time and energy. The ability to share is the greatest wealth of the human soul, and this is one of the important points in the thinking of rich people.
conclusions
An unhealthy attitude towards money in the form of stinginess, excessive prudence and greed is a psychological illness widespread throughout the world.
This is the same addiction, only from money. Before condemning such people, you should remember that this is not a quality of the soul, but an acquired problem that can be overcome if desired. If treatment for this addiction is not started in time, advanced cases will lead to disastrous results.
First of all, the health and nervous system will be greatly affected, irreversible processes will begin to activate, as a result of which a person will no longer be able to return to a healthy state of mind and body.
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Human nature is not characterized by the love of money.
The clergy heard a rumor that the passion of the love of money, unlike other types of passions, is alien to human nature and the prefix is unusual for it. And this is of great importance, because it seems that this passion is not rooted in human nature, which means that it is not so difficult to overcome it if desired.
Other types of passions are inherent in the very beginning of humanity. For example, maybe talk about fornication. It is due to the fact that each of us has a physical body (flesh), we have an instinct for reproduction, and various hormonal changes systematically occur in our body. The passion of gluttony is connected with the way we are forced to consume food in order to live; we actually need it.
And such a pathology as love of money awakens in a person later than all others and begins to penetrate the human soul from the outside. That is to say, its root is not in the person himself. But therefore it is much easier to cope and spew it out.
But if the Wodan personality once neglects this passion, lets it into his heart, then it risks turning into the most disastrous and it is most difficult to get rid of it completely, because it then begins to excite other terrible ones.
The passion for finance is unnatural for human nature and the impulse towards it is due to our uninhabited (= sparsely populated) nature, but to perverse will.
