Seven Deadly Sins...Avarice/Greed

It is that time again… Terrible Tuesday with The Seven Deadly Sin Carnival! For the love of Joseph I cannot believe I have seven weeks of this (that is my sloth talking and I am sure that the love of Joseph thing is blasphemy so I am off to a good start here). I picked Avarice this week, partly because I forgot what it meant, so I thought it might not apply to me, hence an easy post. Wrong! Avarice boys and girls is another word for GREED, that little green devil that makes you ravenous for the Qwan.

Honestly Greed and Gluttony are synonymous, but those crazy Christians like to keep you on your toes, so they throw the same thing in under a different name. No actually I think Gluttony is more sustenance based and Greed is more monetary…we all know the Scrooge story don’t we? So how am I Greedy…I guess if I am going to dig deep here I am probably greedy for things. I have a lot of things, closets, a garage, an extra bedroom full of things. I am a bit of a pack rat I think, I am told I could cloth a developing country and the shoe thing (well we just won’t get into that).


In my defense I do try to offset my greed with helping others, I want nice things but in return for that I work hard and I give back. I’ve been told that I do not charge enough for my services, if you ask anyone who’s worked with me they will tell you I am more interested in getting the job done right then how much I am going to make from it. Don’t get me wrong, like I said I want nice things, so I am no Saint here but I get real joy out of helping someone else.


Now that I threw in that little side note to make myself look better -next posts are definitely pride & vanity, I should look around and give some of this stuff away. Take the less is more road, there are so many people out there that could benefit from the stuff I take for granted. Besides a natural disaster could hit here tomorrow and all of this stuff would mean nothing! That was that cute little angel on my left shoulder, that trampy little devil on my right shoulder is saying, “if you get rid of some of this stuff (Ebay) you could get that alkaline water thing you want!!“ It is a constant struggle really, to find that healthy balance of giving and receiving.


So you tell me is it ok to have more than some, not as much as others, but more than you truly need? What is true greed, how do you quantify it? According to Wikipedia the accumulation of possessions that denies others legitimate needs is greed. That is rather ambiguous, how should I know if I am denying someone else, I am no Scrooge but I am no Gandhi either. In my work I help others but I am rewarded for that so does that count?


I think it is all a matter of perspective, I look at Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, both ridiculously wealthy men and both incredible givers. Warren lives frugally while Bill lives “a bit” more lavishly, but are they Greedy men? I would say maybe a little here and a little there but overall (disclaimer here I don’t know them personally so if one turns out to be a serial killer there was no way I could have known) I think they are good people who have done a great deal for others. In the end if someone can say that about me I will know I did alright.


And I will not try and take all those shoes with me when I go, I will let them go to those who need them most – excluding a pair of Manolo Blahniks. I mean I have to wear something and those are the only ones that will go with the outfit!

Don't forget to check out the other carnival members: (I am sure there are more these are the ones I know of)

Huckdoll
Caffeine Court
Secrets of a Black Heart
CableGirl