If we open the Scriptures, we will not find the word "covetousness," although this does not mean that the Book of Revelation does not condemn this vice. The holy fathers also did not particularly pity the term with their attention. Dictionaries often define "greed" by synonyms such as greediness, avarice, avarice.
All this suggests that the vice of greed is heterogeneous and includes a number of additional categories. That is why the fight against greed must be a fight against its manifestation, which is peculiar to each individual person. Let us make a few observations about each of them.
Greed and greediness
These two vices are very similar and imply a thirst for gain, a desire for personal gain. Let us turn to Holy Scripture. The essence and aspirations of greedy people is well described by the prophet Amos: "Hear this, you who covet to devour the poor and to destroy the poor, you who say, 'Someday the new moon will pass, that we may sell the bread, and the Sabbath, that we may open granaries, decrease the measure, increase the shekel price and cheat with false scales, to buy the poor for silver and the poor for a pair of shoes, and sell the chisels of bread'" (Am. 8:4-6). The tenth commandment of the Decalogue is also directed against greedy people and is also called the boundary commandment between the Old and New Testaments. The first nine commandments tell us what we should not do, but the tenth commandment repeats several times: "You shall not covet your neighbor's house, nor covet your neighbor's wife" (Exodus 20:17), thus it includes sin not only in the sphere of deeds, but also in the sphere of inner desires and aspirations. The selfish man, on the other hand, as the Psalmist says, "pleases himself" (Psalm 9:24).
These vices are not only in the sphere of a person's personal life, but also cause considerable damage to his neighbor, so we see that for them the Lord is angry, afflicted (Isaiah 57:17) and even avenged (1 Thessalonians 4:6). It turns out that greed and selfishness are so heinous and pernicious sins that the punishment for them is spoken of directly in both the Old and the New Testament. This fact alone should discourage those who are inclined to commit such crimes.
In confronting the passions, it is important to remember one saintly ascetic principle: every vice is eradicated by the virtue that opposes it. But, as we know, sin always begins with a thought, so St. Isaac the Syrian, and after him our compatriot, St. Nilus Sorsky, translate this principle into the realm of the mind. They say that if we notice a thought filled with greed, greed for the amount of the desired object, it should immediately be replaced with a good thought. It is interesting that as a good thought the reverends do not mean the thought of mercy or almsgiving, but the excitement in ourselves of the memory of maliciousness, which will fill us immediately after the satisfaction of the passion. One clarification must be made here. If a person has discerned a vice in himself and has thought about fighting it, it means that he has a sinful experience that weighs him down and from which he wants to get rid. Let each one remember for himself. As long as passion is not satisfied, it looks attractive and sweet, but as soon as we go along with it, we are immediately covered with feelings of spiritual filth and regret for what we have done. At such moments our conscience burns us, but after a while its sharpness dulls and our passion gathers strength again. We are sick with sin, and therefore not able to immediately stop the effect of will power of passion, but we have a memory - the memory of how bad it was, when the last time we again went on about his own sin. It is this memory that the Venerable Fathers suggest that we retrieve from our minds as a substitute for passionate thoughts. In this way, sinful experiences can be recycled and used for good, so to speak.
Stinginess
It differs from greediness and selfishness in that it is aimed not at acquiring wealth, but at scrupulous preservation of what is already there. Stinginess is often based on lack of faith. We forget that the hairs of our heads are all numbered (Matthew 10:30), and so we try to protect ourselves somehow, to reassure ourselves, especially when there are constant, if not crises and wars around, quarantines. But let us heed the words of apostle Paul. Let us heed the words of St. Paul: "I will say this: 'Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, but whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Everyone should give according to the disposition of his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:6-7). Stinginess struggles with the opposite of generosity. And even if we can not give some money sincerely, even if it is 100 hryvnias, the loss of which will not change our life, we still donate through strength - even if at first we do it, but to share, to help the poor should continue, because otherwise the sin will not win.
If we are constantly saving for a "rainy day" and do not prevent it, then it will "eat" us. In Christians, stinginess sometimes manifests itself in a peculiar way. I have witnessed that because of talk about the end of the world and the end times some Orthodox have hoarded non-perishable foods and other food items. At the time I wondered, "What is all this for? It turns out that in the event of a famine, when people around us are suffering, we will quietly, under the table, eat pre-prepared buckwheat?" I don't even need to say that it's unchristian.
Greed
In talking about covetousness we couldn't help but mention it, because apostle Paul referred to covetousness as "covetousness. Paul calls covetousness "the root of all evil" (1 Tim. 6:10), so "the covetous person who is an idolater has no heritage in the kingdom of Christ and God" (Eph. 5:5). Here we are back to talking about the substitution of evil thoughts for good ones, only now in their role are the formidable words of the apostle. In general, the appeal to Scripture helps one to struggle with all kinds of passions. It not only gives food for thought, distracts the mind from sinful tendencies, but also in some special, mysterious way has a beneficial effect on the soul. St. John Chrysostom once said: "I marvel at those who do not neglect money. This is a sign of a soul filled with extreme laziness, a soul... It turns out that attachment to money is directly related to what we fill our minds with, which is why, as I said, simply reading the Bible itself can change a person. It is only necessary to remember the admonition of St. Maximus the Confessor that in sacred texts one must clearly distinguish between the letter and the spirit, for only then can it do good.
To this we should add that we should not neglect to read the sacred writings of the Fathers and others who are able to make us think at least somewhat about deep and important themes. If our minds are constantly entertained by watching movies, flipping through social networks, and playing computer games, then the result of the fight against our passions will be zero. And if our mind is constantly, even if by such external means, spurred on to the mountain, then step by step we will begin to notice the changes that have begun in our soul. The Lord is waiting for action and activity; He will help those who are struggling, He will support, prompt and guide, but He will not help those who do not care, who are ready to lose blissful eternity for the sake of fleeting and temporary pleasures, who simply do not need this help.
Greed is born of a spiritual emptiness, a loss of meaning, an unfilled life with goals beyond the horizon of death. The ways of dealing with greed mentioned here are uncomplicated in theory and in the "mechanics" of implementation. Complexity always involves willful effort, but whenever, though we undermine passion little by little, we will overcome it sooner or later.
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