All Series > Seven Chief Vices > Part 5
The Vice of Greed
(Series 4, Part 5, Teaching #29)
Watch: On YouTube
The Vice of Greed
The insatiable thirst for more arises from the deadly sin of greed.
The vice of greed is a disposition of immoderate desire to possess worldly things over spiritual things.
Scripture warns, “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15). But greed deceives you to believe happiness is just one promotion away, one purchase away, one possession away. It whispers, “If only I had more… then I’d be fulfilled.” But the more you feed it, the more it hungers. It never satisfies. It only consumes.
There is nothing wrong with nice things. Greed is found in the rich and the poor alike. It can be present in the mansion or the shack, in the capitalist or the day laborer. For greed is not revealed in the content-quality of one’s things—but in the content-quality of one’s heart. Greed, therefore, is not about what you own—it’s about what owns you.
The greedy heart is preoccupied with image, status, and accumulation. It trades peace for possessions, contentment for comparison, purpose for profit, and inner joy for outward extravagance. For it is said, “Earthly riches are like the reed. Its roots are sunk in the swamp, and its exterior is fair to behold; but inside it is hollow. If a man leans on such a reed, it will snap off and pierce his soul” (St. Anthony of Padua).
Greed makes you more concerned with how the world views you than with how God sees you. The vain pursuit of temporal gain over eternal gain erodes your character—leaving you angered at what you lose, dissatisfied with what you have, and trapped in an endless pit of want for what you do not yet possess. Greed places the betterment of your status above the betterment of your soul—and in the end, leaves you empty.
But there is a better way.
Guard against greed with the virtues of generosity, detachment, and integrity.
Be generous. Let your heart be open-handed—not only with money, but with your time, your gifts, your attention. Every act of selfless giving weakens the grip of greed. When you give, you remind your soul that you are not the owner—only the steward.
Be detached. Hold loosely to the things of this world. Let your soul echo the truth: “The earth is the Lord’s, and all that is in it” (Psalm 24:1). What you have is not yours forever—it is on loan. Use it wisely while it’s in your care.
Live with integrity. Let your measure of success not be the size of your bank account, but the strength of your character. Proclaim, “If I have any worth, it is to live my life for God” (St. Patrick). Strive to be rich from the inside out. Grow your virtue more than your wealth. Build up the treasure of your soul—for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Greed chains you to the things of earth. Generosity sets you free for the things of Heaven. When you give freely, you live freely. When you desire less, you enjoy more. When you fix your eyes on Christ, the craving for more fades—and the hunger for righteousness grows.
So refuse greed. Give when it’s inconvenient. Share when it costs you. Trust that God is your provider, not your possessions. For fulfillment does not come from what you own—it comes from who owns your heart.
Let your soul say, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). And then live like you believe it.
That is the way of virtue. That is the path to fulfillment. That is the victory over greed.
Scroll down for the lesson plan and other related resources associated with this teaching.
Copyright © 2022 Horse & Chariot. All rights reserved.
New teachings like this are released often. Subscribe free and never miss a teaching!
Resources
Visual Resource
An illustration that briefly describes the deadly vice of greed.
Free Lesson Plan
Perfect for small groups, families, classrooms, or personal reflection.
Lesson for Kids
Great for teaching kids in a fun and gentle way (for ages 12 and under).
Related Scripture
“Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” — Luke 12:15 (NRSVue)
“The earth is the Lord’s, and all that is in it.” — Psalm 24:1 (NRSVue)
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” — Psalm 23:1 (NRSVue)
“Command those who are rich in the things of this life not to be proud, but to place their hope, not in such an uncertain thing as riches, but in God, who generously gives us everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share with others. In this way they will store up for themselves a treasure which will be a solid foundation for the future. And then they will be able to win the life which is true life.” — 1 Timothy 6:17-19 (GNT)
“Wealth that has been obtained dishonestly is like a stream that runs full during a thunderstorm, tumbling rocks along as it flows, but then suddenly goes dry.” — Sirach 40:13-14 (GNT)
"'No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.' The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all these things and sneered at him. And he said to them, 'You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts'..." — Luke 16:13-15 (NABRE)
"Then he told them a parable. 'There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, 'Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!'’ But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.” — Luke 12:16-21 (NABRE)
“One who loves gold will not be justified; one who pursues money will be led astray by it. Many have come to ruin because of gold, and their destruction has met them face to face. It is a stumbling block to those who are avid for it, and every fool will be taken captive by it. Blessed is the rich person who is found blameless, and who does not go after gold.” — Sirach 31:5-8 (NRSVue)
“It is impolite to have a greedy eye; remember that. Nothing in creation is greedier than the eye; that is why it sheds tears so often.” — Sirach 31:13 (GNT)
“If you love money, you will never be satisfied; if you long to be rich, you will never get all you want. It is useless.” — Ecclesiastes 5:10 (GNT)
“Selfish people are in such a hurry to get rich that they do not know when poverty is about to strike.” — Proverbs 28:22 (GNT)
"Do not let your hand be stretched out to receive and closed when it is time to give." — Sirach 4:31 (NRSVue)
“Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.” — James 5:1-6 (NRSVue)
"Do not depend on dishonest wealth, for it will not benefit you on the day of calamity." — Sirach 5:8 (NRSVue)
“Those who are greedy for unjust gain make trouble for their households…” — Proverbs 15:27 (NRSVue)
“The eye of the greedy person is not satisfied with his share; greedy injustice withers the soul.” — Sirach 14:9 (NRSVue)
“Wealth is deceitful. Greedy people are proud and restless—like death itself they are never satisfied…” — Habakkuk 2:5 (GNT)
“Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.” — 1 Timothy 6:6-10 (NRSVue)
“Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have…” — Hebrews 13:5 (NRSVue)
Related Quotes
“Earthly riches are like the reed. Its roots are sunk in the swamp, and its exterior is fair to behold; but inside it is hollow. If a man leans on such a reed, it will snap off and pierce his soul.” — St. Anthony of Padua
“If I have any worth, it is to live my life for God.” — St. Patrick
"[Greed] is a sin directly against one's neighbor, since one man cannot over-abound in external riches, without another man lacking them...it is a sin against God, just as all mortal sins, inasmuch as man contemns things eternal for the sake of temporal things." — St. Thomas Aquinas
“The reason that greed or avarice is one of the 'deadly sins' is that it kills the soul to the extent that it substitutes things for God as the object of worship and inclines people to commit other moral violations along the way.” — Robert A. Sirico
"[Greed] plunges a man deep into the mire of this world, so that he makes it to be his god." — Henry Edward
“Greed was what motivated Judas to sell Jesus.” — St. Mother Teresa
“The love for material things grows like a fungus in the soul and destroys the loveliness of the human heart utterly.” — Caryll Houselander
“The greedy man is really not rich, but poor. He does not control his money but is controlled by it. He does not possess his wealth but is possessed by it. He may have many things, yet for him he has all too little.” — St. Anthony of Padua
“Money, as it increases, becomes either the master or the slave of its owner.” — Horace
“In its pursuit of worldly possessions, one’s poor heart fruitlessly exhausts itself, for it will never find content. It drinks deep at the fountains of pleasure, yet its thirst is never appeased. Its enjoyment of the possessions it has already acquired is destroyed by an insatiable thirst for more.” — Ven. Louis of Granada
“The wickedness of man is boundless; it seems at first as if a trifle would content him, but his passions are invigorated by gratification; always indulged, always craving, and continually preying on him who feeds him.” — Aristotle
“The covetous man is ever in want.” — Horace
“Covetousness is a desire not only for money, but also for knowledge and high places, when prominence is immoderately sought after.” — St. Gregory the Great
“Covetousness makes one blind.” — St. Cyprian of Carthage
“It is not possible to take great pleasure in anything without becoming attached to it. If you lose property, and find yourself grievously afflicted at the loss, you may be sure that you were warmly attached to it; there is no surer proof of affection for the thing lost than our sorrow at its loss.” — St. Francis de Sales
“He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.” ― Socrates
“It is greed to do all the talking but not to want to listen at all.” ― Democritus
“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.” — Mahatma Gandhi
“The avarice person is ever in want; let your desired aim have a fixed limit.” — Horace
“The lust of avarice as so totally seized upon mankind that their wealth seems rather to possess them than they possess their wealth.” — Pliny the Elder
“Rich people are greedy for the same reason poor people are greedy, because they are people. Gratitude, not poverty, cures greed.” — R.C. Sproul Jr.
“Our greatest gain is to lose the wealth that is of such brief duration and, by comparison with eternal things, of such little worth; yet we get upset about it and our gain turns to loss.” — St. Teresa of Avila
“Sufficient to say, greed is a deadly deed. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.” — St. Patrick
“Greed’s worst point is its ingratitude.” — Seneca
“None is more impoverished than the one who has no gratitude. Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves, and spend without fear of bankruptcy.” — Fred De Witt Van Amburgh
“Happiness can only be achieved by looking inward and learning to enjoy whatever life has and this requires transforming greed into gratitude.” — St. John Chrysostom
“In the twilight of life, God will not judge us on our earthly possessions and human successes but on how well we have loved.” — St. John of the Cross
“Envy and greed starve on a steady diet of thanksgiving.” — Billy Graham
Never miss a teaching — get all new teachings of virtue sent to your inbox free!