Greed has no finish line.
Give it a little…
It asks for more.
Give it more…
It changes the meaning of enough.
And if you never tell it STOP…
Eventually greed stops asking you.
It starts telling you.
THE LAW OF GREED
YES…IT RULES IF YOU LET IT
Greed is one of those forces that can eat a human being alive if allowed to go unchecked.
It is like a voracious animal.
A snack won’t satisfy it.
A meal won’t satisfy it.
Even a feast eventually becomes yesterday’s meal.
MORE!
That is its language.
Greed feeds off you while convincing you that YOU are feeding off it.
At first, you use greed.
Eventually…
Greed uses you.
And somewhere along the way, it begins remaking the person carrying it.
We have all seen greedy people.
If we’re willing to look closely enough…
We have probably seen some greed in ourselves too.
JAILS & PRISONS
During my counseling sessions with inmates, prisoners, arrestees and others who had gotten themselves into serious trouble, I noticed something.
Many couldn’t…
Or didn’t…
STOP THEMSELVES.
Eventually an uncompromising outer force had to stop them.
Police.
Courts.
Judges.
Jail.
Prison.
Their inner restraint had been compromised long before the outer restraint arrived.
Whatever appetite was driving them kept saying:
ONE MORE.
ONE MORE.
ONE MORE.
Until somebody or something stronger finally said:
ENOUGH.
That is one of greed’s greatest warnings.
If you don’t establish your own boundaries…
Eventually somebody else may establish them for you.
HUMANS RELY ON HUMANS
Anyone who has raised children, supervised employees, counseled people or tried to correct someone heading in the wrong direction knows how difficult it can be to reason with the unreasonable.
A person’s will is powerful.
That is a gift.
But when WILL becomes WILLFUL…
That gift can turn against its owner.
The person no longer asks:
SHOULD I?
Instead:
I WANT IT.
And eventually:
I’M GOING TO HAVE IT.
Those are very different statements.
I’M NOT GREEDY!
Famous words.
Maybe you’re not greedy about money.
Good.
What about attention?
Recognition?
Food?
Possessions?
Power?
Control?
Sex?
Status?
Success?
Winning?
Comfort?
Praise?
Being right?
Greed doesn’t require a bank account.
It only needs an appetite…
That refuses to hear the word:
ENOUGH.
LUST CAN BECOME GREED
Sex is part of human life.
Love can travel beside it.
But sex is not love.
LOVE IS LOVE.
SEX IS SEX.
When appetite becomes excessive, compulsive and increasingly demanding, greed has entered the room.
The same principle can appear with eating.
Shopping.
Drinking.
Accumulating.
Working.
Pleasure.
Money.
Possessions.
Even attention.
Anything that continually demands MORE…
Without delivering satisfaction…
Deserves examination.
WHAT DEFENSE DO WE HAVE?
SELF-CONTROL.
It is no myth.
So are:
CONTENTMENT.
SATISFACTION.
MODERATION.
GRATITUDE.
HUMILITY.
Knowing when enough…
IS ENOUGH…
Isn’t weakness.
It is strength.
A person capable of stopping themselves possesses something extraordinarily valuable:
INNER AUTHORITY.
WORTHY NOTE:
Moderation means being reasonable and avoiding extremes.
There is great freedom in being able to enjoy something…
Without needing to become its servant.
FEAR FUELS GREED
Here is another place greed hides.
FEAR.
What if I don’t have enough?
What if somebody else gets it?
What if prices rise?
What if I lose what I have?
What if the opportunity disappears?
What if…
What if…
WHAT IF?
Fear can turn ordinary preparation into hoarding.
Prudence into obsession.
Ambition into desperation.
Wanting into taking.
Fear whispers:
GET MORE…
THEN YOU’LL BE SAFE.
Greed answers:
I CAN HELP WITH THAT.
And the partnership begins.
WORTHY NOTE:
Imagine individuals, businesses, cities or entire countries operating primarily from fear.
Now imagine what happens to the meaning of:
ENOUGH.
HOW CAN GREED BECOME A LAW?
We normally think of law as something establishing order, protecting people, resolving disputes and creating boundaries.
But greed develops something resembling its own counterfeit law.
Its own rules.
Its own reasoning.
Its own punishments.
And eventually…
Its own prisoner.
THE LAWS & LIES OF GREED
Listen carefully and you may recognize its creed:
Anything goes.
The end justifies the means.
Everybody else does it.
I deserve more.
Get yours before somebody else does.
Me first.
I’ll make it right later.
Just this once.
Nobody will know.
I need more than enough.
More will eliminate my fear.
More will make me important.
More will make me happy.
More will finally satisfy me.
MORE.
MORE.
MORE.
But notice something.
There is never closure.
Because greed cannot announce:
WE HAVE ARRIVED.
If it did…
It would cease to exist.
Greed survives…
By keeping you hungry.
BY COMPARISON
Now consider the opposite direction.
Doing what is right.
Humility.
Gratitude.
Generosity.
Fairness.
Charity.
Stewardship.
Mindfulness toward others.
Knowing when enough is enough.
These don’t imprison you.
They release you.
You don’t have to hide them.
Explain them away.
Defend them.
Remember yesterday’s story.
Or invent tomorrow’s excuse.
The right way travels lighter.
A LITTLE CHILD WILL LEAD THEM
Watch a small child enjoying something simple.
A cookie.
A puddle.
A puppy.
A butterfly.
A cardboard box that somehow becomes a spaceship.
We spend years accumulating…
Only to discover that some of life’s richest moments required almost nothing.
Perhaps abundance isn’t merely…
HAVING MORE.
Perhaps abundance includes…
NEEDING LESS…
To recognize what you already have.
THE RICHIE REVERSE
Try reversing greed.
Instead of asking:
HOW MUCH MORE CAN I GET?
Ask:
HOW MUCH DO I ACTUALLY NEED?
Instead of:
WHAT ELSE CAN I OWN?
Ask:
WHAT ALREADY OWNS TOO MUCH OF ME?
Instead of:
WHAT CAN I TAKE FROM THIS?
Ask:
WHAT CAN I CONTRIBUTE?
Instead of:
WHEN WILL I HAVE ENOUGH?
Ask the more revealing question:
WHY ISN’T ENOUGH…
ENOUGH?
Now we’re getting somewhere.
WANTING & NEEDING
Wanting isn’t automatically wrong.
Neither is money.
Success.
Comfort.
A beautiful home.
A successful business.
A good meal.
Travel.
Pleasure.
Possessions.
Enjoy them.
But steward them.
Use them.
Don’t let them use you.
Because there is an enormous difference between:
HAVING SOMETHING…
And something…
HAVING YOU.
WORTHY NOTE:
It is not merely what a person has…
But HOW they came to have it.
HOW MATTERS.
Ten cents…
Or ten million dollars…
Eventually we leave both behind.
For this brief journey, so much of what passes through our hands is temporary.
Possessions.
Money.
Property.
Opportunity.
Influence.
Time.
Even the body carrying us around.
Perhaps we are less the permanent owners…
And more the temporary stewards.
So enjoy what comes your way.
Earn honestly.
Build wisely.
Share generously.
Want reasonably.
And occasionally ask yourself one very important question:
IS THIS STILL ME WANTING SOMETHING…
OR HAS THE WANT…
STARTED WANTING ME?
FINAL THOUGHT
Greed promises abundance…
But survives through dissatisfaction.
It says:
JUST A LITTLE MORE.
Then moves the finish line.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Contentment doesn’t mean having nothing.
It means something far more powerful:
Knowing when what you have…
IS ENOUGH.
Control your appetite…
Before your appetite…
Controls you.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
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