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| Tuesday, 12 November 2002 |
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Ever been through a situation in which you have plenty and more of something but can't stop yourself from grabbing a little something more of the same? It could be that small piece of land lying next to your huge property. A tiny sweet in the fridge after you have polished off the cake and ice cream?. A little more of something that doesn't belong to you..! There's a greed within us that is insatiable. A greed that if not controlled does immense harm to others and finally ourselves. A shocked world reacts with disbelief as they read about the beautiful actress Winona Ryder. Shoplifting? A girl who is a millionaire going into a shop and acting like a petty thief? Stealing about five thousand dollars worth of stuff, when she could have bought up the whole of Saks Fifth Avenue if she wanted too! Our eminent psychiatrists have given suitable names to such bursts of greed, kleptomania being one of them. I would agree with them when it comes to extreme cases, but not with the malady that is inherent in all of us. It is a greed within. An evil that has to be dealt with. It doesn't have to be only money or property. It could be a husband or a wife who is happily married, lovely home, wonderful family, and he or she suddenly decides to have a little fling, putting at risk all the happiness that surrounds him or her! A president who is loved and revered by his nation but still decides to do a Monica Lewinsky on his people! A John Major, known for his straightforwardness, suddenly found having a secret liaison! A French President with mistress and a child born out of wedlock! Why? These are not evil people who have stumbled. They are good people. Winona Ryder is not a thief, or a bandit. She is a good woman who has now lost her credibility in the world. We need to come to understand this greed that lies inside all of us. I have seen good men of God who are diabetics and who, when no one is looking to grab a sweet with a twinkle in their eyes. Killing themselves, and wasting precious money which his congregation will have to pay for in his insulin shots. A small sweet that his greed could not resist..! Beware that little temptation. It's like a juicy bait with a giant hook inside. A bait, that is put so innocently next to all our comforts and luxuries, our happiness and joy, and that says, 'Come Winona, nobody's looking, grab a few things and walk out' And like gullible Winona's we grab that little something, and boy are we hooked..! Discipline yourself to be happy with what you've got. Pray that you enjoy what you achieve, and that you stop looking longingly at that little extra bit. Control that greed within and watch life change dramatically..! |
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