My book, The Teacher, explores aspects of daily life that touch us all, and considers the best way to approach them. It does so, though, not on the basis of some arbitrary judgement of my own, but exploring rather words of the Teacher (almost certainly, King Solomon) from the Old Testament. Then, and only then, do I reflect further on what these words may have to say to us today. This session considers the canker of greed and the ways it can find a place in our heart, robbing us, as well as others, of true contentment.
I sat in the restaurant, and watched the diners feasting; in the fast-food store, and saw customers gorging; in the football ground, and spotted spectators snacking. And I saw bulging waistlines in the street, obese children in the playground, people so heavy they struggled to move.
And on that same day I saw pictures of famine and hunger, of multitudes so thin they were barely skin and bones.
Then I hung my head at the greed in which I shared, and said to the Teacher, ‘Speak to me of a better way.’
The Teacher answered, ‘If you eat honey, take only as much as is enough for you; for fear that, being full of it, you may not be able to keep it down. And remember, if it is a mistake to consume too much honey, it is a mistake equally to look for ever more praise and approbation.’
And I realised that, despite what some may say, we can have too much of a good thing, whatever it may be; that enough is truly enough, and to add more is to detract rather than enhance, spoil instead of improve. For what is sufficient leaves us content, while a surfeit leaves us bloated: the one a blessing, the other a curse.
So I said to the Teacher, ‘Speak more on this. Where is it that we go wrong?’
And the Teacher answered, ‘We labour day after day to feed our earthly appetites, while our soul goes hungry.’
Then I realised that greed takes many forms – not just for food but for so much else besides, our appetite for pleasure as insatiable as for sustenance, our craving for wealth as voracious as for any meal.
And I saw that greed is never satisfied; that though we have enough, we always want more. Yet when we have more than we need, we ultimately become less than we should be, for though greed may feed the body it starves the soul, and though it may feather our nest it leaves us ultimately empty. The more we consume, the more we are consumed, and the more we have, the less we appreciate it.
I saw too that greed is a form of robbery, for when we have too much, another has too little, and when we are full, another is empty. Our excess is their lack; our fullness, their famine.
My conclusion, then, is this: it is not only the stomach that can be greedy, nor just the body that pays the price; mind and soul can be left the poorer also. Like a ravening lion, greed lurks at your door, waiting to devour you. Beware!