When Greed Became Good

People often think that the opposite of love is either hate or indifference, but maybe it’s actually greed. In the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, my parents taught at an ultra-wealthy boarding school. The students there, though, never displayed their wealth. It was not unusual for them to have custom-tailored or Brooks Brothers jackets with elbow patches. Occasionally, classmates came whose families were new money and didn’t understand this. These students were thought of as vulgar and crass and were ostracized until they got the message. It is conceivable that one of the reasons for this behavior was that to show off wealth showed off greed, and greed was felt to be a very, very bad trait. The religious called it a sin. Wealthy people did not behave in an ostentatious way until the 1980s, when a significant part of our culture shifted, and greed became something good to be aspired to and admired. I think that has been a very serious complication and problem for our society.
What came to mind was how Chapter 13 in First Corinthians defines love as patient and kind and not jealous or boastful, etc. In contrast, greed is the exact opposite. In reverse, First Corinthians, chapter 13 would say:
If I do not have greed, I gain nothing. Greed is impatient; greed is unkind; it envies, boasts, and is proud. It dishonors others, is self-serving and easily angered, and always seeks revenge. Greed delights in evil and rejoices with lies. It always betrays, always distrusts, always produces despair, always perseveres. Greed makes societies fail. … And for now, these three remain: falsehood, hate, and greed. But the greatest of these is greed.”
However, the original First Corinthians, chapter 13 can give us hope, for it says, “Where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowledge is imperfect, our prophesy imperfect, but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When we were a child, we thought like a child, and we behaved like a 2-year-old child. When we become adults, we put away childish things. For now, we see only a reflection; then, we shall see face-to-face. Now we know in part; then we shall know fully, even as we are fully known. So, in the end, these are the three things that remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.
And the final thing that came out of Meeting for Worship is that “It’s always today.”