Character Defects: Greed
One night back in 1984 I was sitting at a Greek diner listening to my sponsor talk with Arnie, who apparently had relapsed again. Being sober only a few months, I didn’t quite understand the tenor of their conversation. But something Arnie did stuck in my mind. He took out a pack of cigarettes and, with a grin on his face, pointed to the brand: MORE. It was as if that name somehow explained everything.
Many years later I realized what he’d meant. Alcoholism is a disease of more: more booze, more sex, more money, more adventure, more everything. It is insatiable. That’s why he couldn’t stop.
The 12&12 quote below nicely sums up the syndrome. “We eat, drink, and grab for more of everything than we need, fearing we shall never have enough" (Step 4, p. 49). Many of us would probably identify with that. Few would readily relate it to greed, however. Greed is so endemic in the culture that it largely passes unnoticed. Certainly in ourselves. Indeed, greed elicits more self-righteousness cum self-deception than most other defects of character. It’s always “them,” never me.
An alcoholic taking inventory of himself may readily admit to having been a thief, but not attribute his thievery to greediness. Another may admit to working two jobs or putting in 60 or 80-hour weeks to the detriment of her family and her health, but deny it had anything to do with being greedy. Still another may acknowledge having maxed his multiple credit cards amassing all sorts of things and been forced to declare bankruptcy, but greed? Nah.
Our inability to recognize greed in ourselves increases instead of decreasing after we’ve been in the program for a while. That happens with most character defects. That’s because the ways in which they manifest themselves are less extreme and therefore less obvious. We don’t steal anymore. But we just can’t wait to get the latest version of gadget X, or upgrade to Y or Z. We remain as acquisitive as ever.
If we find it hard to detect greed in us, we’ll probably find it harder to detect avarice. The term sounds so old-fashioned that we can’t see how it could possibly apply to us. The two words have become largely synonymous, but whereas greed is primarily about having “more,” avarice is primarily about what is “mine.” The two of course are related. I get more so that there’s more for me to call mine. One grabs, the other hoards.
“Another may develop such an obsession for financial security that he wants to do nothing but hoard money,” declares the 12&12 (Step 4, p.43) as it seeks to explain how our natural desires can become distorted. There’s nothing wrong with money; nothing wrong with wanting to be financially secure or to possess the material goods which make for a comfortable life. These are all good things.
But that’s just it. Like other defects of character, greed is not just a bad thing, it is a good thing gone bad. The defect lies in excess. Avarice or greediness is an immoderate or inordinate attachment to money, wealth, and possessions. These things have become too important to us. We care too much about them. (We can see this in the etymology of avarice (Latin avere, crave), the root of which is present in our word “avid,” meaning eager, keen, ardent, fervent). As a result, they drive our actions and make for defective emotions. . . .
[Image: Bill W. in unusual photo taken during visit to Knoxville, Tennessee.]
Above is excerpt from 11/30/18 at http://PracticeThesePrinciplesTheBook...
in “Character Defects.” For full text and accompanying image, as well as quotes and additional resources, please click on link.
Many years later I realized what he’d meant. Alcoholism is a disease of more: more booze, more sex, more money, more adventure, more everything. It is insatiable. That’s why he couldn’t stop.
The 12&12 quote below nicely sums up the syndrome. “We eat, drink, and grab for more of everything than we need, fearing we shall never have enough" (Step 4, p. 49). Many of us would probably identify with that. Few would readily relate it to greed, however. Greed is so endemic in the culture that it largely passes unnoticed. Certainly in ourselves. Indeed, greed elicits more self-righteousness cum self-deception than most other defects of character. It’s always “them,” never me.
An alcoholic taking inventory of himself may readily admit to having been a thief, but not attribute his thievery to greediness. Another may admit to working two jobs or putting in 60 or 80-hour weeks to the detriment of her family and her health, but deny it had anything to do with being greedy. Still another may acknowledge having maxed his multiple credit cards amassing all sorts of things and been forced to declare bankruptcy, but greed? Nah.
Our inability to recognize greed in ourselves increases instead of decreasing after we’ve been in the program for a while. That happens with most character defects. That’s because the ways in which they manifest themselves are less extreme and therefore less obvious. We don’t steal anymore. But we just can’t wait to get the latest version of gadget X, or upgrade to Y or Z. We remain as acquisitive as ever.
If we find it hard to detect greed in us, we’ll probably find it harder to detect avarice. The term sounds so old-fashioned that we can’t see how it could possibly apply to us. The two words have become largely synonymous, but whereas greed is primarily about having “more,” avarice is primarily about what is “mine.” The two of course are related. I get more so that there’s more for me to call mine. One grabs, the other hoards.
“Another may develop such an obsession for financial security that he wants to do nothing but hoard money,” declares the 12&12 (Step 4, p.43) as it seeks to explain how our natural desires can become distorted. There’s nothing wrong with money; nothing wrong with wanting to be financially secure or to possess the material goods which make for a comfortable life. These are all good things.
But that’s just it. Like other defects of character, greed is not just a bad thing, it is a good thing gone bad. The defect lies in excess. Avarice or greediness is an immoderate or inordinate attachment to money, wealth, and possessions. These things have become too important to us. We care too much about them. (We can see this in the etymology of avarice (Latin avere, crave), the root of which is present in our word “avid,” meaning eager, keen, ardent, fervent). As a result, they drive our actions and make for defective emotions. . . .
[Image: Bill W. in unusual photo taken during visit to Knoxville, Tennessee.]
Above is excerpt from 11/30/18 at http://PracticeThesePrinciplesTheBook...
in “Character Defects.” For full text and accompanying image, as well as quotes and additional resources, please click on link.
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