“The Pope in the country of greed” was the way the Times of Malta described the Pope’s visit to our islands in its editorial in September 2021. Greed seems to have taken the upper hand not only with politicians and businessmen but has spread throughout the whole population. We have a long list of examples of how the race for more and quick wealth is threatening our society and well-being.

The problem does not lie with the creation of money, but with how it is used and abused. Having aspirations for growth and development is a virtue, as it is through entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation that jobs are created, income is improved and economies grow, triggering human development by means of investment in health and education.

When these aspirations develop into blind ambition, the vice of greed takes over, and people become obtuse to the personal and social consequences of such excesses. The limits to aspirations have to be carefully guarded as the line between excess and the human need to succeed is a thin one that can be easily erased. The superfluous easily becomes the necessary.

The dangers of greed are many. It promises satisfaction, but it never satisfies. Money promises freedom, and hands out power, arrogance and a false sense of grandeur. It enslaves people into wanting more and more. It tempts the person to trade integrity for money while mistakenly believing that financial security guarantees the future. It ruins individuals and families, and destroys relationships and the best friendships. It brushes aside the value of integrity and reputation. Those who seek excess in wealth accumulation are led to ruin and destruction. As Pope Francis describes it, this is an “idolatry that kills”.

The unchecked desire to accumulate money and power leads to the temptation to take shortcuts and break rules. Much depends on a person’s upbringing, the influence of the values imparted in the family, schools and friendships. Greed is diagnosed in the way a person’s conscience has developed.

One antidote to greed is humility. The acknowledgement that our talents and wisdom do not make us superhumans, but that our strengths have their limitations. Curiosity, openness and trust enable us to listen, learn and be of service to others who are less fortunate.

Another way to check excess is frugality. Frugality is not stinginess, but being aware of our needs and how these can be satisfied while respecting the environment and not being wasteful. It rejects conspicuous consumption but spends and invests in what is ecologically valuable. Seeking moderation by a balanced attitude towards work, possession, pleasure and achievement reflects maturity, and controls excess.

We cannot remain indifferent to those affected by an “economic system that discards people’s lives in the name of the god of money, fostering greed and destructive attitudes towards the earth and fuelling forms of injustices”- Pope Francis

The opposite to greed is generosity. Addressing the members of the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation in October 2021, Pope Francis warns that we cannot remain indifferent to those affected by an “economic system that discards people’s lives in the name of the god of money, fostering greed and destructive attitudes towards the earth and fuelling forms of injustices”. However, generosity does not translate into giving money and looking to the other side, but by touching human pain and misery the way the Good Samaritan did, and by showing sincere compassion.

jfxzahra@surgeadvisory.com

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