Avarice needs dose of its antidote: Generosity

"He who has the most toys wins," sneers a familiar adage. That's the central tenet behind avarice, the capital sin better known as greed.

Greed takes hold when people begin to want and hoard possessions and time, according to Sister Anne Bryan Smollin, CSJ. She is director of the Albany diocesan Counseling for Laity office. "Avarice is holding onto things that we collect -- materially and psychologically."

Avaricious behavior comes to the forefront when Catholics start equating the possession of material thing with status. In a culture that calls people "consumers" and constantly encourages them to "spend more," greed becomes "about what I have and what I can get," she said. "It's very self-centered."

Greed for time

While material avarice is fairly straightforward, there's another way that Catholics can commit the sin: by hoarding their time.

"We're not selfless," said Sister Anne. "We think about buying things to make our own lives easier, while not thinking of ways to make others' lives easier. We waste food. We become so self-centered with our time that we don't even think of making a simple phone call to say hello."

Likewise, greed can be involved with choices that put consumer convenience over Christian values. Avarice is found in activities like stopping at a coffeehouse that serves plantation coffee where workers are exploited rather than going a mile or two out of the way to purchase worker-cooperative "fair trade" coffee.

"How do we live out our values in the world?" asked Sister Anne. "How can we truly make a value choice? These are simple things that help us to have a better quality of life."

Generosity

Sister Anne urges those who think they might be subject to avarice to cultivate its opposite virtue: a sense of generosity. She recommends volunteering time and talents, or simply being thoughtful.

An easy way to shift one's worldview is to conserve resources, she said; don't use what you don't need, and don't waste. Taking a carpool to work or refusing to throw out perfectly good leftovers are ways to start a conservation effort in your own home, she explained.

"Volunteering is healthy," Sister Anne noted. "It lowers your cholesterol and reduces your chance of having a heart attack. It connects us to each other. We have the research to back it up."

Simple acts

People can incorporate generosity in their daily lives in simple ways, she said, such as offering to drive someone to the store, sewing a button on a coat, making cupcakes, writing a handwritten thank-you note instead of a more impersonal e-mail, or even taking time out of a busy schedule to listen to a child or a counsel a hurting friend.

"We need to have lives that stand for something," Sister Anne said. "Greed helps us exist, not live; and just existing is meaningless."

(4/10/03) [[In-content Ad]]