The Peril of Avarice
By James A. Langley,
Washington, D.C.
What desolations may ensue from greed
These tragic tales are plain for all to see,
More danger than a storied Trojan steed,
Deceiving high and low with tempting plea.
Like cancer, it may well metastasize,
The common good is scorned, greed’s ways are rammed,
Accumulation is its steady prize,
Compassion’s aid for weak and poor be damned.
The wise long past divined soul loss in greed;
They marked the demon deadly, one of seven,
It deals with people as pawns, with little heed,
The greedy forge new hells while mocking heaven.
With corporate boards or lone, their aims the same,
Join greed with hubris, eager then to laud
Unbridled schemes of greedy minds; they game
The field and set the stage for stunning fraud.
Obscene are pay, rewards and perks in millions,
At times in spite of massive loss, not gains;
Madoff grew rich while losing many billions;
Key rules are scrapped: the greedy want no reins.
In small concerns the Scrooge opprobrium
Wreaks pain and grief—but, see! the scourge advances;
When greed has reached a scale gargantuan,
It drives a riptide wrecking world finances.
Where greed is rampant, public trust erodes,
Accountability long overdue,
While confidence, across the board, implodes;
Affairs now dire, require the nation’s rescue.
A widening gap of rich and poor bodes ill,
gregious hurt is spawned by wanton greed,
The jobless forced to take a bitter pill;
From greed, by grace alone we may be freed.
And greed can work its will in common ways,
A must-have zeal betrays and robs the soul,
Our selfish surfeit garners empty praise:
This way is sure to miss the Kingdom’s goal.
If we could see where avarice will lead:
To wealth in things but hollowness in spirit,
We might more truly shun this ruinous creed;
To master greed demands our willing it.
But more: the heart so surely choked by greed,
If grace takes root, will blossom like a rose;
That heart will nurture many a generous deed,
And meeting need will bring a glow God knows.
