Sunday Inspirations.... The Cost of Greed...

[Joanne98]

Greed is an excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth. Considered one of the seven deadly sins, greed is caused by a view that exaggerates the positive aspects of an object; that is, acquiring material objects has less impact than we imagine on our feelings of happiness. And as we have all seen, the greed of a few can create devastation for the masses.

As seen in the three stories presented here today, the cost of greed always includes consequences and repercussions.

The Dog and the Shadow
A dog, crossing a bridge over a stream with a piece of flesh in his mouth, saw his own shadow in the water and took it for that of another Dog, with a piece of meat double his own in size. He immediately let go of his own, and fiercely attacked the other Dog to get his larger piece from him. He thus lost both: that which he grasped at in the water, because it was a shadow; and his own, because the stream swept it away.
Author Unknown, Source



SjP's moral to this story: Thou shalt not covet...it can cost you everything you have.

The Boy and the Nuts
A little boy once found a jar of nuts on the table.

"I would like some of these nuts," he thought. "I'm sure Mother will give them to me if she were here. I'll take a big handful." So he reached into the jar and grabbed as many as he could hold.

But when he tried to pull his hand out, he found the neck of the jar was too small. His hand was held fast, but he did not want to drop any of the nuts.

He tried again and again, but he couldn't get the whole handful out. At last he began to cry.
Just then his mother came into the room. "What's the matter?" she asked.

"I can't take this handful of nuts out of the jar," sobbed the boy.

"Well, don't be so greedy," his mother replied. "Just take two or three, and you'll have no trouble getting your hand out."

"How easy that was," said the boy as he left the table. "I might have thought of that myself."
Aesop, The Book of Virtues, Source

SjP's moral to this story: Taking more than your fair share may very well cost you your freedom.

The Little Fly
There was a fly buzzing around a barn one day when he happened on a pile of fresh cow manure. Due to the fact that it had been hours since his last meal, he flew down and began to eat. He ate and ate and ate.

Finally, he decided he had eaten enough and tried to fly away. He had eaten too much though, and could not get off the ground. As he looked around wondering what to do now, he spotted a pitchfork leaning up against the wall.

He climbed to the top of the handle and jumped off, thinking that once he got airborne, he would be able to take flight. Unfortunately he was wrong and dropped like a rock, splatting when he hit the floor. Dead.
Author Unknown, Source Unknown, Source

SjP's moral to this story: Not recognizing when enough is enough can kill you.

Obliged to you for hearing me,
and now old SjP ain't got nothin' more to say...

http://sojournersplace.blogspot.com/2009/03/sunday-inspirationsthe-cost-of-greed.html