Love of money, greed

St. John of the Ladder wrote that the love of money is the worship of idols. It is a cult of material values. There are two main types of the love of money: greed – an insatiable thirst for acquiring wealth by any means and stinginess – an unwillingness to share something of one's own with anyone.

Sinful passion manifests itself in the desire to acquire money, property and other material goods. Lovers of money have a desire to enrich themselves, they constantly think about the means to achieve their goal. They become mercenaries. The more they acquire, the stingier they become and the more they want to have. They become addicted to various mundane objects and pleasures.

Greed contributes to the development of many other sinful passions and vices, such as egoism, egocentrism, pride, dislike of fellow men (disregard for the interests of fellow men). In addition, greed can serve as a favorable soil for cultivating guile, craftiness and cunning. This sinful passion can push a person to theft, robbery and even murder. The extent to which the passion of avarice is destructive to people can be judged by the statement of the Savior, who opposed the service of God to the service of mammon [wealth]: "No one can serve two masters... you cannot serve God and mammon" (Matthew 6:24).

Why does a person succumb to this sinful passion? Because of unbelief in God. Relying only on themselves in life encourages them to seek material prosperity first, and not the Kingdom of God. An idle life, tied to worldly cares, and orientation of all forces to the realization of the passion nesting in the soul, disfigure more and more the Divine image in a person and distance them from Lord God.

Avarice is closely related to other passions. Everything is very simple. The desire to satiate, not to limit your womb in anything, leads to the desire to earn more. Envy of the appearance, clothes and material well–being of others makes a person look for money to match these people. There is also a place for vanity. The desire to have worldly glory calls for seeking a position, a post with appropriate financial opportunities and honor.
The passion of avarice is insatiable, and therefore, it is very dangerous.

People who have a passionate desire to enrich themselves should remember the words of Christ: "Therefore do not worry, saying, what shall we eat? or what shall we drink? or what shall we wear? For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Mat.6:31-33).

The Holy Fathers say that this passion, unlike other passions, is alien to our nature, is not typical to it. And this is very important, because since this passion is not rooted in our human nature, it is easier to fight it, it is easier to cut it off. In order to go through life calmly, it is necessary to adhere to the following patristic rule: "The measure of acquisition should be the need of a person". St. Ephraim the Syrian also talks about this. It is necessary to strive not to increase material benefits, but to seek the Kingdom of God. John the Ladder wrote that the love of money is the daughter of unbelief. Therefore, in order to fight passion, it is necessary to strengthen one's faith in God's Providence.

Alms, non-acquisitiveness and the memory of death will also help in the fight against avarice.

Alms is, perhaps, the simplest and most God-pleasing thing available to anyone and capable of animating our faith. It can be expressed through a donation from one's wealth, through a donation of one's free time, work, spiritual participation, through a word of comfort, through forgiveness of resentment, through prayer for someone.

Non-acquisitiveness is a virtue, the mastery of which is necessary for all Christians. It means being satisfied only with the necessities, being unconcerned with life. This is a mercy to the poor, a gentleness of heart. This is trusting God to take care of oneself and following Christ's commandments. Non-acquisitiveness is peace and freedom of spirit.

The memory of death is a reflection on one's dying hour. Such reflection often encourages a person to take care of his fate in eternity, to realize the frailty of this world, to focus entirely on repentance, leading to the knowledge of his sins, a change in his life and union with God. The Holy Scripture of the Old Testament says: "Remember your end, and you will never sin" (Ser. 7:39).