Contemplative Bible Reading

Proverbs 15:27 (New Living Translation)

Greed brings grief to the whole family,
but those who hate bribes will live.

These Proverbs were written several thousand years ago or last weekend. Sometimes I confuse the two time periods. This proverb tells me that greed can ruin a family or a community or a nation. How did the proverb writer know about what would happen in America in the early 21st century?

Wall Street, Washington, Hollywood – those places are symbols of finance, politics, and entertainment. There are fine people in these sectors. There are, however, also lots of greedy people in those sectors.

It is a shame that we can’t take all the greedy people and place them in a corner so they can continue in their greed and not hurt the rest of us. Maybe the desire for the freedom from the acts of greed is greedy.