The danger of greed. Only a generous person can be happy and saved.

There is nothing wrong with owning something, it just depends on how we use this gift. In today’s Gospel, Jesus uses the situation when one of the crowd asks him for help in a property dispute to clarify the right relationship to property. That’s why he says: “Beware of all covetousness!” (Luke 12:15).

In some translations of the Holy Scriptures, we find the word avarice instead of the word greed. These two vices are very closely related, they both involve the mishandling of property.

We understand greed as an excessive desire for possessions, and avarice is when we do not want to share the goods we own. These two sins cannot even be separated from each other, because otherwise we would become a generous greedy person or a modest miser. The fruit of avarice are sinful attachment to matter. The miser is ultimately attached to what he loved more than God. Matter becomes for him an idol and at the same time a punishment. And greed is also idolatry, because we care more and seek possessions and neglect God’s commandments. Today, it is a modern saying that only the strongest survive in life. And what is meant by that? That success is guaranteed only to those who do not look at others and have broad and sharp elbows. Greed and avarice cloud our vision, and we focus only on possessions and forget the values ​​that are really important.

And what does Jesus say to such people? “A fool! This very night they will ask you for your life and what you have done, whose will it be?” Fool! A very harsh word we call those who do not use reason. Today it is fashionable to have as much as possible and then one will be satisfied and happy. But the reality is that we show something else, and we must repeat with St. Augustine: “The heart of man is unsatisfied until it rests in you, O God.” Every good thing that we have, including property, is a gift from God, and it is our duty to use it not only for our benefit, but also for the benefit of our neighbors. The bigger the property we own, the bigger our responsibility is for how we handle it. But let’s remember the story of the rich man from the parable, who lived in luxury and ignored the beggar Lazarus. Let’s not think that if we live like this rich man, his fate will not overtake us. Wealth has never made people happy.

Among the three basic means of spiritual growth are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Alms is the cure for all greed and avarice. It is voluntary help for those who are worse off than us, and we certainly have enough of such people around us. It is said that we will only take to heaven what we gave in our lifetime. How often do we resemble Jesus’ listeners who looked and did not see, listened and did not understand. We think of ourselves as experts in many things, and it’s true. The Chinese sage Confucius says: “A wise man avoids three things. In the youth of sensuality. When he reaches manhood, fighting. When he reaches old age, avarice.” But avarice and covetousness attack man at every age.