At coffee the other morning a fellow got talking about all the ways people want to make lots of money without working for it. It boils down to 'greed', he said. Thinking about it I continue to wonder where the line might be drawn between legitimate self-interest and greed.
Legitimate self-interest pushes people to train for a better job, to learn for a trustworthy performance in a career, to add new products to their store or product line, or to hire competent people to complement one's own strengths and knowledge.
Then there are the windfalls. I don't believe one is greedy when accepting a windfall unless the person steals it from someone else. The fellow who, a couple of weeks ago, found a bunch of money in a money bag could have said, "I found a windfall. It's mine!" But he did not. He checked and found it had fallen from a Brink's armored van, and returned it. He was not greedy. But when another guy finds a quarter, or dollar bill, on the ground and there is no one around who might have dropped it -- he looks careful -- he is not greedy when he puts it in his pocket.
When I operated a computer store I had a young man come in salivating over our computers. When I asked him whether he wanted to buy one he said, "Yes. I buy a lottery ticket every week. When I win the lottery I'll buy one."
I asked how much he made on his job (not my business but he seemed interested in sharing his life story). He said he didn't have a job, wasn't looking for a job and wouldn't take a job. He was planning on winning the lottery.
I think he was greedy. He wanted a big return on very little effort. (He "borrowed" the price of the lottery ticket from his mother, and lived at home on her income. Yup! Greedy.
What do you think? How does greed affect you? Leave a comment and let us know.
