Greed And Selfishness

This morning I woke up at 3:50. By 7:00, I had read the USA Today, watched an hour of SportsCenter, watched the early morning news and read thru a few hundred news articles online. This is my usual schedule each morning.

I don’t know what it was about this morning, but more than ever I recognized a strong theme behind all that I had read and seen. Greed.

Common in all the business deals, policitic promises, sporting events, and entertainment activities, was selfishness and greed. Money seemed to be the motivation in every decision made. Whether it was obvious in athlete contracts or carefully cloaked in campaign plans, it was certainly present and it weighed on me.

I let these feelings dictate my morning scripture study. In my reading, I read thru a warning given a while ago by Joseph Fielding Smith. I believe these words to be absolutely true.

As long as they have in their hearts selfishness and greed, and the desire for power and for wealth, and for all of the other things that belong to this world, and forget the things of the kingdom of God, there will be no peace, and there will be no contentment. There will be quarreling and contention, strife and war, and in the midst of all their labor, trouble will come which they could avoid, and that very easily, by repentance, getting contrite spirits and broken hearts, and loving their neighbors; but this they will not do.

I think that greed is to blame for many of the problems we’re facing today. I wish that there was less of it on all levels.