Greed, The Most Dangerous of the Seven

                                                       

We can all recite the list of deadly sins: pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, sloth, and greed, but do we really understand how dangerous these transgressions are to our spiritual growth and our psychic well-being?  Some people think that Pride is the sin from which all other sins stem from, but I beg to differ. I think Greed is the most serious of the seven.
 

What is sin?

Simple answer: It is the breaking of God’s law. It is a turning away from the light and following the darkness. Not everyone believes in the same God, but the Hebrew God gave Moses the Ten Commandments as a guideline to follow. Humans are not good at following orders, so the Son of God, Jesus, made the rules easier to follow. He shortened the Ten Commandments to two: “You shall love the LORD your GOD with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Okay that rule is easy, right? No! Did you forget that we have free will? The second rule that Jesus gave us was the deal breaker. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

                                                           

“I don’t like my neighbor, so why should I love him?” the cry was raised by the people of HIS time and ours. I truly think that GOD has a great sense of humor. His requests are not hard to bear, but we grumble anyway, which brings me back to Greed.

While Pride is an over excessive belief in yourself to the point that nothing or no one can compare to your awesomeness (my description) Narcissists are definitely the perfect description of a prideful person. Pride is having a high opinion of oneself, which isn’t always bad. The trouble begins when a person refuses to change their ways because of pride. Proud people find it hard to admit when they are wrong and think that they are better than others, but even though they are quite obnoxious, they are not destructors. Greedy people on the other hand, are.

I want it. I need it, now. I want it, all!

“I want to water my lawn even though there is a severe drought in the Californian County that I live in. I want to water my lawn even though the law says not to. I’m rich and I don’t have to do what the poor people do!” That last quote was actually said my one of the wealthy people living close to where the forest fires were raging in Northern California. http://www.citylab.com/weather/2015/06/class-warfare-and-the-california-drought/395855/

                    

Who are these people? They are the new generation of selfish thinking, self-serving, acquisitionist who deem themselves above the laws of GOD and men. They love money and things more than moral or civil responsibilities. The gathering of wealth has made them deaf to the cries of the poor, to the state of our ecological sustainability, to the destruction of our and other species on this planet. They want it all and, because they do, they will: pollute our air, water, and food; they will cause a financial depression that our great, great grandchildren will still feel the effects of; they will take away human rights because of financial gain.

                                                         

In my opinion, GREED opens the door to wars, human trafficking, the methodical destruction of other species, dishonest banks, corporations hiding their money in order to avoid taxes and, my number one example, Corporations having more voting rights over the citizens of our country by making laws beneficial to their raking in money over the bodies of those who work for them. Citizens United is a fine example of GREED gone crazy. http://www.demos.org/publication/top-5-ways-citizens-united-harms-democracy-top-5-ways-we%E2%80%99re-fighting-take-democracy-back  
                                                         

We are all sharing this planet, together. In order for us as a species to grow and evolve, we need to turn away from the darkness and back to the CREATOR. Our psychic inner spirits will wither and die if we don’t.

My Brother's Keeper

                                                           

                                              

My Brother’s Keeper. What exactly does this saying mean? Am I only my brother’s keeper, or does this mean that everyone is on this list? Suppose I don’t want to be my brother’s keeper, or he doesn’t want me to take on this job? Where did this saying come from?

Then

It seems that sibling rivalry isn’t new. Cain and Abel were the sons of Adam and Eve. Cain was jealous of Able because GOD favored one boy over the other. Cain was a farmer and Abel a shepherd, GOD apparently liked lamb more than zucchini. Cain killed his brother in a jealous fit and when GOD asked Cain where Abel was, Cain replied, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

I guess that was the wrong reply to give to the Creator and Cain was banished from his family. I was always bothered by this story. Why would GOD purposely favor one of his creatures over another, knowing that it would cause a rift? This doesn’t sound like something an all-knowing, all-loving, entity would do, and yet, this is one of the stories in Genesis.

 

GOD did not kill Cain. Although the bible says “An eye for an eye” GOD did not kill Cain. He put a mark on his forehead as a warning to other tribes that they were forbidden to harm Cain. I think this is such an important part of the story. GOD did not kill the man who committed murder. HE wouldn't destroy what he had created. He punished, banished, but HE did not kill Cain. I like this GOD. HE is not the vengeful or unforgiving GOD that we were led to believe HE was. 

Jesus

The son of GOD came to tear down the old laws with new ones, “Love one another as I have loved you.” Jesus came with a new message and, it shook the very foundations of intolerance. His message: Love your enemies; Love your neighbor as you love yourself; blessed are the poor; take care of the widows; judge not, or you’ll be judged. This was radical thinking that went against the plans of the powerful people of his time and for this act of reason, Jesus was crucified. His message survived.

Today

Our world is on the brink of change. Many of the rich and powerful are behaving badly. Corporations are creating working conditions that are harming their workers and stripping away benefits that workers have legally earned. Insurance companies are refusing to pay for health care even after people have paid a pretty penny for the protection. We have Senators who want to end programs that help the poor, especially poor children. Corporations use loopholes in the law to destroy the environment causing a global catastrophe. And yet, they will use the name of GOD to control others who think differently than they do. Shameful!

                                                                  

GOD was never about religion, but he did give examples of how we should behave. I don’t believe in organized religion, but I do believe in GOD. So when I hear the candidates claiming that we are not our brother’s keepers, I laugh. They are fools.

                                                                     

We all live on this blue marble called Earth. Until we can go to other planets, we are stuck here. So, let’s take care of what we have. We are all one race; human. We will not survive if we don’t work together. We need to get over our differences. It doesn’t matter what color, country of birth, financial status or sex you are. All are equal on this planet. All are entitled to live and work productively for the betterment of the human race. To achieve this status, we must be accountable to each other. We must protect each other. But does this mean we should support the slothful and lazy people who would rather suck us dry. NO! Charity works best when you give the person who needs help, pride in themselves. Everyone has to work. No freeloaders! Yes, we are each other’s keeper, but to survive we have to be givers and not takers.