Greed

Happy Saturday,

How is everyone doing this fine Saturday morning? Good I hope. All is status quo here for the most part I suppose. There are some pretty life changing things happening over the next few days that are causing me tons of stress and to be quite honest, I’ve had a couple panic attacks. I need to get through this week and then hopefully, I’ll be able to find joy again in my quilting and crafting. Ugh, well, that’s enough for this pity party. Let’s move onto the blog.

Today I thought I’d touch on the subject of greed. Before getting to far into the blog, I thought I’d look up what greed means. According to Wikipedia, “greed is an uncontrolled longing for increase in the acquisition or use: of material gain; or social value, such as status, or power. Greed has been identified as undesirable throughout known human history because it creates behavior-conflict between personal and social goals.” Have you ever know a greedy person? I, unfortunately have. I never could understand why someone feels they are worth so much more than someone else. Don’t get me wrong, I know personally some pretty wealthy people and they have worked so hard for what they have, and they don’t hold it over you their worth, from a monetarily standpoint, or in any way that is. Some of the richest people I know are the most giving, while there are a few that feel so entitled that they actually take advantage of others, no matter what the cost.

Greed is a horrible quality to possess. It actually is part of the the seven deadly sins. Luke 12:15, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” When I was married, we made a pretty decent income, combined. It was a comfortable life. When I left, I learned what it was like to truly have nothing, monetarily that is, and with that lesson of not having money, I’ve learned to even greater depths that I am one of the richest women in the world. I have found out who my true friends are. I have learned to rely on my faith in God and I can honestly say, He has never let me go without a roof over my head or food in my tummy. I recently had a talk with someone who means the world to me and I was telling her that it is really hard for me to accept help, especially from family and friends. This amazing and wonderful person said to me that I don’t even realize how many people, family and friends that want to help me. She said that I was someone that helped people for as long as she can remember, not only financially, but in so many other ways, that now that I have fallen on hard times, they want to be there for me. This compliment touched my heart in ways I can’t even express. I’ve never thought of myself in the way she complimented me. I still don’t see myself in that way. I just really enjoy helping people, any way they need it.

I was thinking about that saying that goes something like, treat others the way you want to be treated. I think it’s a wonderful way to live. I suppose if we think more about others, maybe people wouldn’t be so sad, lonely or broken in heart and spirit. I was reading a little bit on greedy people in the Seven Signs of the Greed syndrome. In this article it says, “greedy people are always saying, ‘me, me, me’ with very little regard for the needs and feelings of others…While greed is a strong desire for more and more possessions (such as wealth and power), envy goes one step further and includes a strong desire by greedy people for the possessions of others.” So what are the seven signs? According to the article, they are, (1) overly self centered behavior. (2) Envy. This is taking greed to the next level and includes a strong desire by greedy people for the possessions of others. (3) Lack of empathy. Greedy people lack empathy. Being concerned about the feelings of others, is not part of their repertoire. They have little qualms about causing pain to others. Their lack of genuine interest in the ideas and feelings of others, and their unwillingness to take personal responsibility for their behavior and actions make them very difficult to be with. (4) Never satisfied. They truly believe that they deserve more, even if it comes at someone else’s expense. (5) Manipulation. They are highly talented in taking credit for work done by others. They can be charming, but their principal agenda is to have people around them that feed their ego. (6) Into the short run. They are focused on satiating their immediate needs to leave it to others to cope with the consequences. (7) They know no limits. Greedy people are not good at maintaining boundaries. They will compromise moral values and ethics to achieve their goals. They look for loopholes or clever ways to outsmart the rules and regulations that have been put into place to moderate this kind of behavior.

That is a lot of information to think about. As I’m writing this, I’m thinking of ways to alter my mindset so I don’t slip into becoming this kind of person. Balance to me is the key. I guess, if you are unbalanced in your approach for money you feed into greed. Being greedy is grasping at or being overly concerned with the gaining of wealth. There is nothing wrong, in my opinion with wanting to have nice things, a nice home, nice car and money, after all, we do need money to live. Greed to me is the constant thought process of how to make money and acquire wealth no matter what the cost.

Interesting, I did look up what the Watchtower says about greed and I agree with their definition. “Greed is an unbalanced approach to money that can eventually damage your health and your relationships with others. Remember, there is more to life than money.”-Awake, #3, 2019. The article gives practical advice in saying, “stick to a budget and avoid unnecessary debt.” I will admit, budgets aren’t something I’ve ever been good at, however, debt is something I never had until my divorce. That has been a real eye opener. I began to see my credit score go way down. I never realized how those three numbers would be so important. Over the last year, I’ve been able to bring up my score and it’s a great feeling and I’m hoping once the financials are settled in my divorce, I can once again, live simply and debt free. This whole divorce has taught me so much and has opened my eyes to even more.

Speaking of divorce, it’s amazing to me that “a wife’s standard of living may drop almost 27%, while the husband’s may increase by as much as 10%.”-The Twelve Financial Pitfalls of Divorce. Amazing isn’t it? I know for me, this is certainly the case. Actually, my lifestyle has probably dropped significantly more. Life isn’t always fair and sometimes, the person you thought you knew, the person you thought would never hurt you, becomes more consumed with the money then being fair. A good friend of mine said when he went through his divorce he really learned who his ex wife was. This is a woman he loved and she wanted to take him for everything he had and then some. He was very fortunate to have a judge and lawyer that saw her greed and divided their assets evenly. Made me think of this quote, “you never really know a man until you have divorced him.”-Zsa Zsa Gabor. How true these words are. I, in fact recently asked my ex husband when he made certain statements to me, “why would you say that and be this way, I’m the mother of your children. I helped you get to where you are, why am I deserving of less than? His reply, “because you are the one that chose to leave.” How sad this is. Breaks my heart. Hurts me to know that money is so much more important to him then being fair, but who said life is ever fair. “You know why divorces are so expensive? Because they’re worth it.”-Willie Nelson.

I’m not accusing my ex husband of greed. That’s his cross to bear and he’s the only one that can look in the mirror at the end of the day and know if he truly believes he’s being fair or if he’s being greedy. My opinion regarding his actions is really irrelevant. At the end of the day, it’s between him and his creator. Gosh, I got off onto a tangent there now didn’t I? I suppose thinking about our financials is making me think more and more about money, greed and fairness. At the end of the day, I know that, while money is a wonderful thing to have, it’s doesn’t bring true happiness. Money can destroy people if it’s followed by greed. Wanting to hurt people or do whatever it takes at whatever cost to have more then you need, that’s just sad, lonely and empty. “Greed eats up a person so that he/she is wasted away due to the heat of the bad traits it makes one develop such as selfishness, anger, jealousy and unhealthy competition. It sucks up every strand of happiness and results in death.”-researchgate.net. Such a heavy price to pay for being greedy.

“Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.”-Erich Fromm. I think this just about sums it up. I hope we can all avoid that bottomless pit. I’m exhausted enough. I don’t need to add greed to the mix of all the craziness in my world. What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear from you. It really makes my day hearing comments from everyone. Keep them coming, and until next time, don’t forget, Love Life++