But fornication and all uncleanness and covetousness should not even be named among you, as befits saints ... ... for know that no fornicator, or unclean, or covetous person, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for for this the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience; (Eph. 5:3, 6)

An interesting word, "covetous." This word says practically nothing to a modern person, moreover, I think that it did not say anything to the contemporaries of the Synodal Translation either. This word, most likely, was invented by the compilers of this translation. As a translator myself, I am well aware of how often there is a need for such “made-up” words. But today is not about why we have to invent new words, let's figure out what it really is "covetous"?

The Biblical Encyclopedia of Archimandrite Nikifor gives the following definition: “Covetousness (Colossians 3:5) is excessive concern for wealth and the acquisition of earthly goods. This sin, forbidden by the second commandment, belongs to idolatry. Ap. Paul says precisely: covetousness is idolatry, because a covetous person works more for riches than for God.

The explanatory dictionary of the Russian language says: “Curiosity cf. obsolete Passion for profit; greed."

These two interpretations, on the one hand, explain something to us, but not everything. For example, "overprotection of wealth" does not define when such overprotection becomes "excessive". To what extent is it appropriate? In the Russian vocabulary space, we see only one thing - the word in the original was quite complicated, and we had to invent some kind of analogue. Worth seeing the original and trying to figure it out.

This is the Greek word "pleonexia", which Strong's lexicon translates as "envy, covet, crave", and also gives a few more definitions: greed, greed, fraud, cheating, extortion and ... charging extortionate prices.

Having expanded our “conceptual apparatus”, we, oddly enough, have narrowed the definition! Pleonexia, or covetousness, is when a person is so envious of something that he is able to commit fraud, extortion, driving up prices to an extortionate level.

Here it becomes clear to me why the Apostle Paul says that this is idolatry. I have said many times that the first sign of idolatry is the ability of a person for the sake of an object (in this case, profit, money), to offend another person. I'm sitting right now wondering, "how is worship different from idolatry?" The difference here is not only in the object of worship, because if you try to explain to an unbeliever the difference between these concepts, then for him God is also an idol, and we are idolaters. Therefore, the answer “we worship God, and you worship idols” will not work. Here are my thoughts: Note that worship requires us to sacrifice ourselves, while idolatry most often forces us to sacrifice others. This is a big difference.

When a person is capable of pleonexia, he is ready to sacrifice (even without blood) other people for the sake of his passion, passion for gain. We have dealt with this. Now let's go back to the original verse to see exactly what it says about covetous people:

“But fornication and all uncleanness and covetousness should not even be named among you, as befits saints ... ... for know that no fornicator, or unclean, or covetous person, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God.”

If we arrange an exegetical analysis of these verses, then this is what we will see: In the first verse, the Apostle Paul exhorts us to imitate God as beloved children. And in verse 8, Paul tells the Ephesians that they “were once darkness, but now they are light in the Lord.” This means that the words from the first verse to the eighth are addressed to people who already believe. Why is this important for us to notice? Because Paul says covetous people have no inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God.

Now that's a big statement! I don't want to get into the Calvinist vs. Arminian debate again, the "can we lose our salvation" debate has been going on for centuries. However, even if this is not about the loss of salvation, would we want to be orphans in the Kingdom of Christ? Do we want to be there without a legacy?

I don't think. Therefore, today we are exhorted to remember that we were created to give, not to take away. Those of us who are in business should reconsider our pricing policy and consider whether we are doing business as for the Lord, or in order to rob others? I'm not saying that we should work at a loss or without profit, I'm saying that prices should be fair. Even if the market allows them to be bullied. For those of us who are buyers, consider whether it is worth looking for the cheapest? In the eternal pursuit of cheapness, we spoil our own lives. Today, everyone scolds sausage producers for the fact that there is no meat there, but did anyone think that it all started with the eternal desire of the buyer to snatch cheaper? This is also - pleonexia, too - covetousness. Today we are talking to you about the sin in which we are all involved, and getting rid of it is a big inner work. But I'll tell you what: With God's power, we can! With God's help, it's possible. Otherwise, He would not expect this from us, and would not judge for it.

And finally, a few more verses about pleonexia:

Luke 12:15 And he said to them, Beware of covetousness, for a man's life does not depend on the abundance of his possessions.

2 Peter 2:3 And out of covetousness they will deceive you with flattering words; Judgment has long been ready for them, and their destruction does not sleep.

2 Peter 2:14 Their eyes are full of lust and continual sin; they deceive unasserted souls; their heart is accustomed to covetousness: these are the sons of damnation.

Col. 3:5 Therefore put to death your members on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil lust, and covetousness, which is idolatry...

Covetousness is excessive concern for wealth and the acquisition of earthly goods. Covetousness is concern for earthly goods in excess of what is necessary for life, when a person takes more care of himself, neglecting love for God and neighbor. The sin of covetousness refers to idolatry, since an idol is an object of deification, and a person who loves wealth (covetous) deifies wealth and serves it, protecting it and increasing it at any cost.

The Apostle Paul says: covetousness is idolatry (Col. 3:5), and also "... know that no fornicator, or unclean, or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God" (Eph. 5: 5).

The Lord Jesus Christ warns that one cannot serve two masters: “No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will be zealous for one, and neglect the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Mt 6:24).

There is no need to take care of anything beyond what is necessary for life and make efforts for satiety and splendor: one must be free from all acquisition and panache.
What is covetousness? The fact that the limit of the law is transgressed, and a person cares more about himself than about his neighbor.

Saint Basil the Great

Let the satisfaction of need be the limit of your concern for life with what you have. Covetousness gives no rest to its servant, who, the more he works, serving the dictates of the master and acquiring according to his wishes, the more he is forced to work. ... For the torment of covetousness exceeds the measure of any cruelty. Having enslaved the poor soul, it always compels the fulfillment of its insatiable desires, incessantly taking into itself and never being filled, like some kind of many-headed beast, with thousands of jaws transferring food into an insatiable womb, not only not in the least satiated, but always kindled by the desire for more.

Saint Gregory of Nyssa

A sinful person loves a lot of money, but neglects the truth, not thinking about infidelity, inconstancy and short life, not remembering the incorruptibility and inevitability of death. If, however, someone even in old age lives so shamefully and senselessly, then he, like a rotten tree, is not fit for any work.

Saint Anthony the Great

With covetousness there can be no love. Yes, and how should she be? He who is addicted to money hates his brother, trying to take something away from him... If you go the way to the Kingdom, do not burden yourself with anything, for it is not pleasing to God that you enter His chamber burdened with a burden. If you are going to the Kingdom, throw off the superfluous. Will you lack anything in the Kingdom? Be prudent. God calls you to His Meal; drop every burden. Get ready for a journey without burdens and go with God to His Kingdom. He is looking for you so that you can go with Him and live with Him in His chamber. Look, the Kingdom of God is within you, sinner. Enter into yourself, seek the Kingdom there, and without difficulty you will find it. Do not chase after the acquisition of an estate, break out of the nets of lust, from the snares of sin, from the wilds of covetousness. Enter into yourself, live in yourself, in inner silence, with a moderate and pure soul, with a calm and humble spirit. Enter into yourself and look for the Kingdom of God there, it is really there, as the Lord Himself taught us in the Gospel. God dwells in the soul that loves God, and His Kingdom is there, and that is why He says that “the Kingdom of God is within us” (Luke 17:21). So, let us break free from the nets of the outer world and let us seek the Kingdom of God in our souls; Until we find him there, we will not stop looking. And if it has not yet settled in us, let us seek, as the Lord taught us: "Our Father ... Thy Kingdom come," and it will come if we ask for it.

Saint Ephraim the Syrian

If He who created everything with a single Word did not have “where to lay His head” (Matt. 8:20), then you, unfortunate person, why do you indulge in worries about vain things, why are you blinded by insane gluttony? Consider this and choose what is good for you. Covetousness is the evil mother of all evils. The soul is not able to overcome the uprisings of the spirits if it is not freed from all the cares and cares of this world.

Reverend Abba Isaiah

What a person loves in this world, then burdens his thought, attracts and bends to the ground, does not allow it to rise.

Saint Macarius of Egypt

the founder of their monastery, they had a custom on Maundy Thursday to all the poor who came to them, widows and orphans to give out a certain amount of wheat, wine and honey, and five copper coins each. But one day there was a crop failure in the vicinity of the monastery and bread began to be sold at a high price. Fasting came, and the brethren said to the abbot: “Father, do not distribute wheat this year, because we have little of it, we will have to buy at a high price and our monastery will become impoverished.” The abbot replied: “Why should we leave the blessing of our father? He will take care of our food, and it is not good for us to transgress his commandment.” The monks, however, did not stop stubbornness and said: “It’s not enough for us, we won’t give it!”. The saddened abbot, seeing that his exhortations were leading nowhere, said: “Well, do as you like.” The day of distribution came, and the poor left empty-handed. But what happened? When after this the monk entered the granary, he saw to his horror that all the wheat was moldy and spoiled. Everyone knew about it. And the abbot said: “Whoever transgresses the commandments of the abbot, he is punished. Previously, we distributed five hundred measures of wheat, but now we have destroyed five thousand measures and have done a double evil: we have transgressed the commandment of our father and put our hope not in God, but in our barns.

"Prologue in Teachings"

What is covetousness? Covetousness. “Therefore, put to death your earthly members: fornication, impurity, passion, evil lust and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col. 3:5) Covetousness (love of acquisition) is excessive concern for wealth and the acquisition of earthly goods. Covetousness is concern for earthly goods in excess of what is necessary for life, when a person takes more care of himself, neglecting love for God and neighbor. A kind of passion for avarice. The sin of covetousness refers to idolatry, since an idol is an object of deification, and a person who loves wealth (covetous) deifies wealth and serves it, protecting it and increasing it at any cost. The Apostle Paul says: covetousness is idolatry (Col. 3:5), and also "... know that no fornicator, or unclean, or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God" (Eph. 5: 5). The Lord Jesus Christ warns that one cannot serve two masters: “No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will be zealous for one, and neglect the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Mt 6:24). There is no need to take care of anything beyond what is necessary for life and make efforts for satiety and splendor: one must be free from all acquisition and panache. What is covetousness? The fact that the limit of the law is transgressed, and a person cares more about himself than about his neighbor. St. Basil the GreatLet your concern for life be the satisfaction of your needs with what you have. Covetousness gives no rest to its servant, who, the more he works, serving the dictates of the master and acquiring according to his wishes, the more he is forced to work. ... For the torment of covetousness exceeds the measure of any cruelty. Having enslaved the poor soul, it always compels the fulfillment of its insatiable desires, incessantly taking into itself and never being filled, like some kind of many-headed beast, with thousands of jaws transferring food into an insatiable womb, not only not in the least satiated, but always kindled by the desire for more. St. Gregory of Nyssa A sinful man loves acquisitiveness, but neglects the truth, not thinking about infidelity, inconstancy and short life, not remembering the incorruptibility and inevitability of death. If, however, someone even in old age lives so shamefully and senselessly, then he, like a rotten tree, is not fit for any work. St. Anthony the Great With covetousness there can be no love. Yes, and how should she be? He who is addicted to money hates his brother, trying to take something away from him... If you go the way to the Kingdom, do not burden yourself with anything, for it is not pleasing to God that you enter His chamber burdened with a burden. If you are going to the Kingdom, throw off the superfluous. Will you lack anything in the Kingdom? Be prudent. God calls you to His Meal; drop every burden. Get ready for a journey without burdens and go with God to His Kingdom. He is looking for you so that you can go with Him and live with Him in His chamber. Look, the Kingdom of God is within you, sinner. Enter into yourself, seek the Kingdom there, and without difficulty you will find it. Do not chase after the acquisition of an estate, break out of the nets of lust, from the snares of sin, from the wilds of covetousness. Enter into yourself, live in yourself, in inner silence, with a moderate and pure soul, with a calm and humble spirit. Enter into yourself and look for the Kingdom of God there, it is really there, as the Lord Himself taught us in the Gospel. God dwells in the soul that loves God, and His Kingdom is there, and that is why He says that “the Kingdom of God is within us” (Luke 17:21). So, let us break free from the nets of the outer world and let us seek the Kingdom of God in our souls; Until we find him there, we will not stop looking. And if it has not yet settled in us, let us seek, as the Lord taught us: "Our Father ... Thy Kingdom come," and it will come if we ask for it. Rev. Ephraim the Syrian If He who created everything with a single Word did not have “where to lay his head” (Matt. 8:20), then you, unfortunate person, why do you indulge in worries about vain things, why are you blinded by insane lack of satiety? Consider this and choose what is good for you. Covetousness is the evil mother of all evils. The soul is not able to overcome the uprisings of the spirits if it is not freed from all the cares and cares of this world. Rev. Abba Isaiah What a person loves in this world, then burdens his thought, attracts and bends to the ground, does not allow it to rise. Rev. Macarius of Egypt Strong and ready for anything love for acquisition, not knowing satiety, forces the captive soul to go to the extreme limit of evils. Let us reflect it, especially at the very beginning, so that it does not become invincible. As there is no sea without waves, so the soul, immersed in worries, is without sorrows, without fear; the first ones are followed by others, they are replaced by third ones, and before they have time to subside, new ones rise up. Nothing subjects us to the devil so much as desire for more and covetousness. When an evil habit or passion for covetousness will greatly deceive you, arm yourself against them with this thought: I will receive a great reward by despising temporary pleasure. Say to your soul: you grieve that I deprive you of pleasure, but rejoice, because I am preparing Heaven for you. You work not for man, but for God; be patient a little and you will see what benefit will come from this; stay firm in the present life and you will receive unspeakable freedom. If in this way we converse with the soul, if we represent not only the burden of virtue, but also its crown, then we will soon distract it from all evil. A person who is too busy with earthly affairs cannot properly assimilate heavenly things, but by necessity, taking care of one thing, is deprived of another. The soul, once captivated by covetousness, can no longer easily and conveniently restrain itself from doing or saying something that angers God, since it has become the slave of another master who commands her everything that is contrary to God. Love for wealth is not a natural passion ... Why did it intensify? From vanity and extreme carelessness. The covetous man distances himself from God, as does the idolater. Cursed be the altar of covetousness! If you come to the altar of idols, you smell from it the blood of goats and the blood of bulls; if you approach the altar of covetousness, you will smell the heavy smell of human blood. And if you stop here, you will not see any burning birds, nor the smell from them and the rising smoke - you will see human lives sacrificed. Some rushed off the steep, others threw a noose on themselves, others cut their throats. You have seen the victims rude and inhuman. Do you want to see even more cruel ones? I will show you not only human bodies, but also slain human souls. The slaughter of souls is predominantly performed on the altar of covetousness. How long will this fury of gain continue? How long will the inextinguishable furnace burn? Don't you know that this flame turns into an eternal unquenchable fire? How to extinguish the flame of covetousness? Can be extinguished even if it has risen to the sky. One has only to want - and we, no doubt, will overcome this flame. As it is strengthened by our desire, so it will be destroyed by desire. Wasn't it our free will that set it on fire? Consequently, free will will be able to extinguish, only we wish. But how can such a desire appear in us? If we pay attention to the vanity and uselessness of wealth, to the fact that it cannot accompany us to Eternal Life; that here too it leaves us; that even if it is here, the wounds from it go with us there. If we look at how great the riches prepared there are, and if we compare earthly wealth with them, then it will seem more insignificant than mud. If we notice that it exposes countless dangers, that it gives only temporary pleasure mixed with grief, if we carefully consider other wealth, that is, that which is prepared in Eternal Life, then we will have the opportunity to despise earthly wealth. If we delve into the fact that wealth does not in the least increase fame, health, or anything else, but, on the contrary, plunges us into the abyss of death, if we find out that despite the fact that you are rich here and have many subordinates, departing there, you will go away alone and naked - if we often repeat all this and hear from others, then perhaps health will return to us, and we will get rid of this heavy punishment. As much as the soul is higher than the body, so much harder are the wounds that we inflict on ourselves every day with worries combined with fear and apprehension. Your hands are given for you to stretch out for prayer, but if you do not behave soberly, you stretch them out for covetousness. Let us throw off the burden of sins, like Zacchaeus... Let us stop kidnapping and start giving alms. For if one lifts the fallen one like charity, and the other pulls him to the ground like self-interest, such a battle of opposing forces would tear a person apart. So, so that this does not happen to us, let not covetousness draw us to the ground and let alms do not leave us; so we will become light and fly. St. John Chrysostom Of the covetous people and offenders, some know, while others do not know that they sin incurably. For the inability to feel the disease in which you are is the result of an increase in insensitivity, which ends in complete insensitivity and mortification. Therefore, such people are most to be pitied. To do evil is more pitiable than to suffer evil. Those who do evil (offending people because of covetousness) are in extreme danger, and for those who suffer, the damage concerns only property. Moreover, the former do not feel their pure mortification… like children who put nothing into what is really terrible, and can put their hands into the fire, and when they see a shadow, they come to fear and tremble. A similar thing happens with lovers of acquisition: fearing poverty, which is not terrible, but also protects from many evils and contributes to a modest way of thinking, they mistake for something great unrighteous wealth, which is more terrible than fire, because it turns into dust both the thoughts and hopes of those who possess them. Rev. Isidore Pelusiot Whoever wants to stand before God with a pure mind, but confuses himself with cares, is like one who tightly fetters his feet and tries to move quickly. The Monk John of the Ladder Brother asked the elder: “Bless me to have two gold coins in my body, according to the infirmity of my body.” The elder, seeing that he wanted to keep them, said: "Have it." The brother returned to the cell, and thoughts began to disturb him: “What do you think? Did the elder bless you to have money or not? Rising, he again came to the elder and thus asked him: "For God's sake, tell me the truth, because my thoughts confuse me about the two pieces of gold." The elder answered: “I saw your will to have them, therefore I said to you: have them, although it is not useful to have more than what is needed for the body. Two pieces of gold make up your hope, as if God did not provide for us. But it may happen that you lose them, then your hope will perish. Better put your hope in God, because He cares for us.” "The Father" Holy Scripture calls the love of money idolatry: the love of money transfers the love of the heart (in faith and hope) from God to money, makes money a god, destroys the true God for a person ... Non-acquisitiveness is one of the vows of monasticism; By non-acquisition and virginity or immaculate widowhood, a monk differs from a layman who is obliged to observe all the commandments of Christ on an equal footing with a monk: rejection of non-acquisition is a rejection of monasticism, it is a violation of the vows given during tonsure into monasticism ... Bishop Ignatius (Bryanchaninov) The monks of the monastery of Abba Theodosius told such a case. According to the charter of the founder of their monastery, they had a custom on Maundy Thursday to all the poor who came to them, widows and orphans to give out a certain amount of wheat, wine and honey and five copper coins each. But one day there was a crop failure in the vicinity of the monastery and bread began to be sold at a high price. Fasting came, and the brethren said to the abbot: “Father, do not distribute wheat this year, because we have little of it, we will have to buy at a high price and our monastery will become impoverished.” The abbot replied: “Why should we leave the blessing of our father? He will take care of our food, and it is not good for us to transgress his commandment.” The monks, however, did not stop stubbornness and said: “It’s not enough for us, we won’t give it!”. The saddened abbot, seeing that his exhortations were leading nowhere, said: “Well, do as you like.” The day of distribution came, and the poor left empty-handed. But what happened? When after this the monk entered the granary, he saw to his horror that all the wheat was moldy and spoiled. Everyone knew about it. And the abbot said: “Whoever transgresses the commandments of the abbot, he is punished. Previously, we distributed five hundred measures of wheat, but now we have destroyed five thousand measures and have done a double evil: we have transgressed the commandment of our father and put our hope not in God, but in our barns. "Prologue in Teachings"

In order to fully understand what covetousness is, who such a covetous person is, one will have to turn not only to modern explanatory dictionaries and encyclopedias, but also to Christian sources. First of all, because this concept has its roots in Orthodox Christianity and the Holy Scriptures of Christians - the Bible.

Interpretation of the word covetousness

In most modern explanatory dictionaries and encyclopedias, there is no interpretation of the word covetous. This can be easily explained if you look at how those dictionaries interpret this word, in which it is still there. They all mark it as obsolete. In the explanatory dictionary of Efremova, it is only reported that this greed, greed. Ushakov's explanatory dictionary defines a word as greed for money, covetousness.

You can simply consider the etymology of the word from its two roots: any and acquisition from which it follows that covetousness is the love of acquisition, the love of acquisition.

Despite the fact that the word is obsolete, quite often in everyday life one can hear its use with a negative connotation, and those who use it also associate the concept of sin, passion with this word. To understand why this is happening, you will have to turn to Christian sources and the Orthodox interpretation of this word. First of all, because the concept of sin and passion has its roots in Christian origin.

Covetousness in Christianity

It is in Christianity that the most complete interpretation of the meaning of the word "covetousness" has been preserved. First of all, because despite the millennia, the concepts of sin and passion in Christianity and Orthodoxy are fundamental to the Christian worldview. It is on them that the whole Christian doctrine was built and still is built. And both in the first centuries after the birth of Christ, and in the present, this worldview does not lose its relevance.

In Scripture, the word "covetousness" occurs repeatedly. Jesus Christ himself speaks of the need to guard against covetousness (Lk. 12:15), because in it - in covetousness - there is no life, it deprives a person of life, mortifies the soul of a person. The Apostle Paul in his epistles repeatedly calls covetousness idolatry (Eph. 5:5), (Col. 3:5-6), and in another place explicitly declares that covetousness is a mortal sin (Eph. 5:3). Mortal sin, even before physical death, kills the soul in a person, makes it incapable of fulfilling the commandments of God, rejects a person from God.

The covetous is a man who fell under the influence of this passion, grew its seed in himself, became obsessed with this sin. For such a person, the desire for material wealth, their acquisition at any cost, becomes the main goal of life. Instead of serving God and neighbor, according to the Christian commandment, a person begins to serve matter. The material becomes a god for such a person, and the covetous man serves him alone.

To achieve his goals, the covetous comes into contact with a whole bunch of passions and (without them, the covetous will not be able to satisfy his passion - obtaining more and more benefits and material values) , among which:

• False,
• slander,
• forgery, and perjury,
• other sins.

Why did many Christian saints say that covetousness is the mother of all evils, the mother of all vices and passions. The covetous becomes capable even of murder.

In Holy Scripture the sin of covetousness is recognized as one of the gravest who kill the soul and alienate the covetous from God. Therefore, the Christian heritage - the numerous writings of the Holy Fathers - devote a lot of space to this sin in their sermons, writings and instructions. They study in sufficient detail and deeply the causes of this passion, how it grows and kills a person, and how and by what means to fight covetousness.

How to overcome this passion, how to get rid of it? Here, too, the experience of Christian saints is very useful, who not only studied in detail the effects of this or that passion, sin on the human soul, but also in practice helped and continue to help those who want to get rid of them.

St. John Chrysostom believes that the main thing is to want this deliverance. Everything, he believes, depends on the desire, as they wished to voluntarily fall under this passion, just as through desire it is possible to get rid of it. And then you need to do things that are opposite to this passion. He loved to collect, start distributing, look around, find those who are in need and help them. Thus you lay the foundation for deliverance. In general, doing things that are opposite to those that were done in sin is a useful method in the fight against many other passions and sins. Then find a measure of use of the necessary, only what is really needed for life, but stop caring for more, do not care about it.

The main thing is to start the fight with any passion, is to ask for God's help in this, pray and ask the Mother of God, saints. Without God's help, without these prayers, we will not only be able to get rid of passion, but we will not be able to lift a finger.

Covetousness is greed, self-interest, an exorbitant desire for enrichment (human sins and misfortunes). And everything is not enough for people, they want more of all kinds of benefits. And when the desired is achieved, new needs arise that exceed the previous ones.

Definition

From the foregoing, it becomes clear that covetousness is an exorbitant desire to acquire wealth beyond all measure, exceeding normal human needs. This is how covetousness is interpreted in Christianity, in religious treatises. Moreover, it is noted that with covetousness a person forgets God and stops caring about his neighbor.

Synonyms

If we use synonyms, we can say that covetousness is self-interest, love of money, money-grubbing, greed, gold-loving and self-interest. These terms are found in speech more often than "covetousness", while the meaning is approximately the same.

Material benefit always prevails over other manifestations of feelings, if the person himself is spiritually weak, greedy for money and profit. Such people can betray friends or loved ones for the sake of their enrichment. They are alien to bright thoughts, noble deeds. Most often, gluttony and pride go along with greed.

About sin

In the Orthodox faith, the sin of covetousness is considered akin to idolatry. This is explained by the fact that money and wealth are idols, and worshiping them is a sin. This is how covetousness seems to us. In Christianity, idolatry is unacceptable. "Evil mother of all evils" - that is how greed is called by the preachers. They believe that anyone who loves the world of acquisitiveness and self-interest, thereby darkens the soul (preacher Isaiah).

A covetous person can never stop, say, "Enough is enough." So thought St. Basil the Great. He spoke of the sea, which never goes beyond its limits, and of the night, which does not leave its time limits. So is a money-grubbing person - he does not respect time and does not honor limits.

Preacher Ephraim Sirin said that there can be no love next to covetousness. He who is addicted to money hates his neighbors and seeks to take something away from them.

The love of money and gain is sometimes so strong that a person completely loses his face. He goes further and further away from God in his incessant pursuit of material goods. His soul does not receive the proper lessons that were intended for it from above. Thus, the spiritual degradation of the human being occurs. That is why the Orthodox faith considers covetousness a sin.

bible about covetousness

Let's also talk about what covetousness is in the Bible. The Word of God does not leave this problem aside and reveals the concept, correlating it with similar vices:

• Covetousness and covetousness. Anyone who is an idolater (covetous) "will not be an heir to the Kingdom of God", and the love of money is the root of all other vices.
• Greed, covetousness. They come from the very heart of a person and defile his soul. These qualities are accomplices of greed. Bribery and covetous - wicked people, unrighteous, "do not inherit the Kingdom of God."
• Greed (greed). It is able to take away vitality (and life itself) from "hungry for someone else's good."
• Avarice. "He who sows sparingly" will only reap a miserly harvest. It differs from greed only in that it preserves and protects the already existing own good. And those who love to give, God loves them.
• Greed. A sin that is punished by God. For all clergy, the absence of self-interested thoughts is a mandatory feature.
• Envy. The Bible says that if an envious person "hastens to riches," then poverty will surely overtake him.
• Selfishness. The feeling "not of this world", not given to man by the Father.
• Gluttony. The love of silver will not lead to saturation, and the love of wealth will not give a person any benefit (“human eyes are insatiable”). The constant desire to get rich or receive other benefits the Bible calls vanity: "And this is vanity and an evil deed."

Also in the Bible it is written that those people who protect their hands from bribes and "despise self-interest" will "dwell on high places." And they will always have bread and water necessary for life.

Instructive sermon

The Evangelical Christian Baptist Church has also expressed its attitude towards vice. By creating one of his sermons - a sermon on greed (ECB). Covetousness in it is a key subject of discussion.

The sermon says that in our time from everywhere: from the media, television programs, a large amount of information comes about money, about the desire to earn it, about ways to achieve financial heights. This is what leads to covetousness among the younger generation.

An increasing number of people, because of the thirst for profit, forget about other people, sometimes dependent on them. They let out-of-service planes take to the skies and put more passengers on ships than they can carry.

The thirst for profit should not ruin human lives - the key idea of ​​the sermon. Covetousness is something that "overshadows a person's mind and does not allow, at times, to think sensibly."

Covetousness Examples

We will talk about the fact that there are a lot of examples of covetousness in life. Moreover, there are extreme forms of manifestation of this quality, when a person's personality is completely lost, disappears. Instead, a new creature is born, sometimes only remotely resembling the original appearance. The writers in the images of the heroes of the works presented us with examples of their understanding of what covetousness means.

"Dead Souls"

Sometimes the most extreme forms of covetousness were described by the classics of Russian literature. For example, N.V. Gogol used his synonym - hoarding. Showing that sometimes a fantastic inhuman greed for profit, money is born. Moreover, hoarding completely deforms the personality, gives birth to "monsters".

The novel "Dead Souls" can be called a magnificent catalog in which the author vividly and figuratively presented some varieties of covetous people. Let's look at them with examples:

1. Covetousness leading to greed. The most striking example is Plyushkin. Gogol deliberately exaggerated the image, creating a kind of "matrix" of hoarding. The hero completely lost the appearance of a man, saved up and collected everything indiscriminately, became greedy not only in relation to relatives, but also to himself. All his thoughts were directed only at increasing the accumulated "trash", into which wealth was slowly turning. Gogol called Plyushkin "a tear in humanity."
2. Covetousness leading to carnal excesses. Manilov and his wife are vivid images of gluttons and "life burners". Hearty, delicious food, rest for the body, bliss and bodily pleasures - only this became the circle of interests of the married couple.
3. Covetousness, leading only to commercial efficiency, primitive thinking. The landowner Korobochka is a stupid, narrow-minded creature, surrounded by numerous featherbeds, pillows, stocks and blanks. All her thoughts are occupied only with the formation of her personal space, filling it with all sorts of "benefits", as well as the opportunity to sell something. On all other topics, Korobochka cannot speak, her brain works in a narrowly focused, primitive way.
4. Another example of covetousness, leading to deceit, the desire to deceive for the sake of profit, is the hero of the novel Sobakevich. He is a player whose soul has long since become vicious and cunning. The hero deceives everyone who gets in his way. If he plays, then it is dishonest; if he tells something, he lies on the go. He himself does not know why he lies at every step. Sobakevich does this automatically.

Gogol laid out for us, the readers, the images of covetous people: misers, liars and gluttons. In his ranks there is also the unforgettable Chichikov - the protagonist of the novel, who brought to life a scam unsurpassed in its impudence - he bought up "dead souls". This is another kind of covetousness, when under the guise of "good intentions" questions of one's own benefit are resolved.

What unites literary heroes

In any kind of covetousness described by N.V. Gogol, there is one common feature - the loss of human appearance. Transformation of personality into the likeness of people. But most importantly, their souls are "dead". This is what the classic wanted to pass on to posterity.

If you look around, you can see in the modern world chichikovy, plush, box or dog. They are real, tangible, they can be seen and heard next to us and from TV screens. Among the covetous there are instances that have absorbed several of the described images.

gobsek

Honore de Balzac made the image of Gobsek immortal - another classic example of covetousness and hoarding. On the example of the protagonist, we see how natural talents, honesty, nobility can be destroyed due to acquisitiveness and profit.

Gobsek is a wealthy pawnbroker who has amassed millions. His greed is such that he leads a very modest life, denying himself everything. He excluded from the life of relatives only in order not to share wealth with them. All thoughts are absorbed exclusively by profit. The hero is estranged from God and from earthly desires, he is terrible and sinister.

In fact, this is how a person became an obsessed "guardian" of accumulated wealth. His soul is dead, and Gobsek considers gold the only reliable "earthly good" worth striving for. So, in his work, Honore de Balzac showed the destructive power of money and showed his understanding of what the word "covetousness" means.

"Jew" Golovlev

The clearest example of a covetous man in Russian literature is Porfiry Golovlev in Saltykov-Shchedrin's "Lord Golovlev". The nickname "Judas" was not given to him by chance, it hints at the personal qualities of the hero of the work. Porfiry also had other nicknames: "Nettle", "Blood Drinker".

For the sake of acquisitiveness and profit, Porfiry Golovlev pretended from childhood and adjusted to the circumstances. He was helpful with his domineering mother and denounced his brothers. From an early age, he "reconciled" to future gain, and when he matured, he was able to rob his brothers and make his own mother a host. And Judas did not spare his children: he did not help with money, he refused, he threw them out of his life.

Cynicism, heartlessness, hypocrisy, deceit, love of money - the qualities that Saltykov-Shchedrin endowed Judas. The writer, in his characteristic manner, caustically and sharply described the human vice - the sin of covetousness.

Myths and sayings of great people

From ancient Greece, the myth of the king with donkey ears, Midas, has come down to us. The ruler once rendered a small service to Dionysius, the ancient Greek god, and in return wished that any object that Midas touched would be immediately turned into gold. Such desire became the curse of the greedy man. The king even turned his food into a precious metal, and in the end he almost died. The curse was lifted with great difficulty.

This myth conveys to us the idea of ​​how covetousness can destroy a person.

The philosopher Socrates said that what can be called real wealth is not the presence of a lot of things or money, but the ability to do without the same amount of them. But to understand and embody this idea is the fate of only highly spiritual, moral people.