Greed is a sickness of the heart. Pope Francis called greed “that form of attachment to money that keeps a person from generosity.”
He continued, saying, “to heal from this sickness, the monks proposed a drastic, though highly effective method: meditation on death. As much as one can accumulate goods in this world, we can be absolutely sure of one thing: they will not enter the coffin with us. We cannot take property with us! Here, the senselessness of this vice is revealed. The bond of possession we create with objects is only apparent, because we are not the masters of the world: this earth that we love is in truth not ours, and we move about it like strangers and pilgrims.”
Life is a journey, and it is very important to set our hearts on our eternal destination. St. Gregory the Great put it this way: “whatever you possess must not possess you; whatever you own must be under the power of your soul; for if your soul is overpowered by the love of this world’s goods, it will be totally at the mercy of its possessions. In other words, we make use of temporal things, but our hearts are set on what is eternal. Temporal goods help us on our way, but our desire must be for those eternal realities which are our goal.”
He also said, “be not anxious about what you have, but about what you are.”
Greed is frequently mentioned in the Scripture. Of Christ’s 38 parables in the Gospels, 16 are concerned with the handling of money and possessions. St. Paul wrote, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.” (1 Tim. 6:10)
Wealth can create a false sense of security; we can only find true security in our faith in Christ. Pope Francis called greed “an attempt to exorcise fear of death: it seeks securities that, in reality, crumble the very moment we hold them in our hand.”
We are created for God and material wealth can never satisfy us. St. Bernard used a very vivid image to describe this. “Suppose you saw a starving man inhaling great deep breaths, filling his cheeks with wind to stay his hunger; would you not call him mad? And it is just as mad to think that blowing yourself out with earthly goods can satisfy your hunger.”
Wealth can’t satisfy our hearts. St. Isidore of Seville observed: “Cupidity never knows how to be satisfied. The greedy man is always in need; the more he acquires, the more he seeks, and he is tortured not only by the desire of gaining, but by the fear of losing.”
Just as gluttony is the result of an unhealthy relationship of the heart with food, greed is the result of unhealthy relationship of the heart with material things.
“There is a vast difference between having poison and being poisoned,” said St. Francis de Sales. “Doctors have all kinds of poisons for their use, but they are not poisoned. In like manner, you may possess riches without being poisoned by them.”
St. Josemaria Escriva said, “Don’t forget it: he has much who needs least. Don’t create necessities for yourself.”
Father Joseph M. Esper said, “A conscious decision to live a simple lifestyle, making do with less and giving up expensive hobbies and entertainment, can free us of much of the worry over money that afflicts so many Americans today.”
A good way to counteract the sickness of greed is the practice of generosity. Father Esper gave the following practical advice: “perhaps the best way to tap into this joyful and generous spirit is to begin practicing the biblical standard of tithing: giving away 10 percent of your income to charity or to the support of your church, or both. Invariably, those who tithe discover that finances become less of a problem than ever before. The more they give away, the more they experience the Lord’s blessing.”
He continued, “If setting aside 10 percent of your income (after taxes) for charity seems too big a step to take at first, try easing into it: tithe for just one week or one month. Evaluate the results, and if they’re favourable, experiment a little further. If you give tithing a try, chances are you’ll happily choose to make it a way of life.”
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不要被財物控制
教宗方濟各說，吝嗇是「那種對金錢的執著，阻止了一個人變得慷慨。」這是一種心病。教宗說：「要治癒這種病，修士們提出了一種雖然激烈但非常有效的方法：默想死亡。無論一個人在這個世界上能積累多少財物，可以絕對確定一件事：我們不能帶財物進入棺材，我們無法帶著財產離開這個世界！藉此，這種無意義的惡習便被揭示出來。我們與物品之間建立的關係只是表面的，因為我們不是這個世界的主人：我們所熱愛的這片土地事實上並不屬於我們，我們在這片土地上行走如同陌生人和朝聖者。」
人生是一段旅程，將我們的心靈定位在永恆的目的地上是非常重要。聖額我略一世說：「不應讓你所擁有的控制你；應把你擁有的掌控在你的靈魂之下；因為如果你的心神繫於世上的財物上，將完全任由擺佈。換句話說，我們使用暫時的事物，但我們的心靈應該專注於永恆的事物。暫時的財物幫助我們前行，但我們的渴望必須是那些真實的永恆，是我們的目標。」這位聖人還說：「不要焦慮你擁有什麼，而要關心你是什麼樣的人。」
聖保祿寫道：「因為貪愛錢財乃萬惡的根源。」（弟前6:10）而福音中基督的三十八個比喻中有十六個是關於金錢和財物的處理。財富可能會帶來虛假的安全感，但我們只能在對基督的信仰中找到真正的安全感。教宗方濟各說，吝嗇是「試圖驅逐對死亡的恐懼：實際上在尋求安全感時，在我們握住的那一刻就會崩潰。」
我們是天主所創造的，物質財富永遠無法滿足我們。聖伯爾納鐸寫道：「假設你看到一個饑餓的人深深地吸氣，讓空氣充滿他的臉頰來止住饑餓；你不會稱他為瘋子嗎？同樣地，認為用世俗財物來滿足你的饑餓也是瘋的。」
聖依西多祿觀察到：「貪婪永遠不知滿足。吝嗇的人總是有需求；他獲得的越多，追求的越多，他不僅因渴望獲得而受折磨，還因害怕失去而痛苦。」
正如貪饕是心靈與食物之間不健康關係的結果，吝嗇則是心靈與物質事物之間不健康關係的結果。聖方濟·沙雷說：「擁有毒藥和中毒之間有很大的區別。醫生有各種毒藥供他們使用，但他們並未中毒。同樣，你可以擁有財富而不被毒害。」
聖若瑟瑪利亞·施禮華說：「別忘了：需求最少的人擁有最多。不要為自己製造不必要的需求。」Joseph M. Esper神父說：「有意識地決定過簡單的生活方式，少花費並放棄昂貴的嗜好和娛樂，可以使我們擺脫許多困擾，正如現今許多美國人被困擾著。」
對抗吝嗇的好方法是實踐慷慨。Esper神父提出了以下實用的建議：「也許觸發這種喜樂和慷慨精神的最佳方法是開始實踐聖經標準的十一奉獻：將你收入的百分之十捐給慈善機構或支持你的堂區，或者兩者兼而有之。毫無疑問，奉獻十分之一的人會發現財務問題比以往少了很多。他們給得越多，越能體驗到主的祝福。如果一開始將收入的百分之十（稅後）捐給慈善機構似乎太難了，可以逐步進行：先嘗試一週或一個月的奉獻。評估結果，如果結果令人滿意，就再進一步嘗試。如果你嘗試了十一奉獻，很可能你會愉快地選擇將其作為生活方式。」
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