Seven Sins: Greed (or Avarice)

"It is not the man who has little, but he who desires more, that is poor." -- Seneca

It's been difficult to draw lines between these first three sins. When asked, most people say they know what lust is when compared to greed or gluttony, but it becomes a bit hard to define. Especially hard if one tries to appreciate the nuances inherent in the words themselves.

Lust, gluttony, and greed can be generally grouped under sins of excess consumption. All three are concerned with attempting to achieve more. In the most pragmatic terms, lust concerns the flesh, gluttony with food, and greed with material possessions (usually money). Each sin also has layers of meaning which can confuse the issue: the lust for power, a glutton for punishment, or even the capitalistic economic principle of greed being good for the economy.

Let me build out from a standard definition. Greed is the accumulation of physical wealth, possibly at the expense of someone else. Perhaps one stereotype of the greedy is taking candy from babies. This sugar-snatching is totally in character of one who will deprive others for his own enrichment. It's possible for this to be gluttony; after all, what if the guy just really wants to eat the delicious candy? In the case of greed, though, it's more about the acquisition.

It's this acquisition that truly separates greed from the other two sins. With lust and gluttony, the goal is the consumption. The food must be eaten because it is delicious, but the true glutton no longer considers what the value of the food is once it is swallowed. For all purposes, it no longer has a value, but since the need is still there, the search for more food begins again.

In lust, we seek the pleasure. The feelings are either pleasing or not. There is no way to "store" it for later, so the lustful are always seeking the next source. They are not focused on the retention of whatever pleasure has already been achieved.

In greed, though, the arrow points only one way: up. Greed is not only the acquisition of material goods, it is the retention. To the greedy, a transaction that makes $50 but costs $45 is not as satisfying as one that only makes $5 and has no cost. The pile of chips belonging to the greedy MUST increase, and any small part that disappears from that pile is to be resented. This is so because the greedy understand that the more they posses, the less is left for the world.