A greedy person gathers silver and gold, builds homes and approaches houses and fields, in order to abstract something from its owner until he leaves him with nothing. The greedy person, the more he increases his fortune, the more rapacious he gets. The greedy person feels thirst for gold and hunger for wealth, therefore he cannot get rid either of poverty or of deprivation. With a drink, you can extinguish the appetite of the drinker and the desire of food can be filled with food. But greed cannot be extinguished either with silver or with gold.
To the greedy person suits what they have said about the arrogant doctor: “Your medicine worsens the illness.”
Greed is an unfaithful fury that excites the insatiable soul in order to increase the wealth someone already possesses. The strong desire for what he does not have is welling up so much in his soul, that he neglects what he has conquered. That is why the greedy person cannot keep anything worthy of love. Because the good that he previously loved and wished to acquire, once he gets it, loses its former character and becomes unworthy of his love, so it ends up neglected.
The greedy person does not love what he has conquered, he is only pleased with the expectation, the anticipation of profit, wealth, good. But these expire as soon as he acquires them. On the contrary, love in what has been gained casts greed away and brings self-sufficiency. And self-sufficiency brings satietion, abundance and indifference for new conquests. While greedy persons treasure and do not know what and for what purpose they gather it. They are adamant about giving charity and lazy to offer, because those who earn from greed do not want to spend anything.
Saint Basil the Great says about these people: “Nothing can stop the greedy person. He is worse than fire. He always wants everything for himself. He does not care to enjoy what he has gained, but he is wasted with the desire to conquer as much as he can. Then he spends sleepless nights weighted down with cares and anxieties. So, the more his wealth increases, the heavier the care for his life becomes.”
Saint Nectarios of Pentapolis
*The article was originally published in Greek in ikivotos.gr