Gleanings from Orthodox Christian Authors and the Holy Fathers

possessions

BROTHER: From what is the love of money produced?

OLD MAN: From desire, for unless a man desires he does not possess. When a man desires, he possesses, and when he possesses he has fulfilled his desire; and when he has fulfilled his desire, he becomes greedy; and when he has become greedy he commits fraud, and when he has committed fraud his possessions have become many.

When his possessions are many, his love diminishes, and when his love has diminished, the remembrance of God is removed from his heart. And when the remembrance of God has been removed from his heart, the mind becomes darkened, and his understanding is blinded; and when his understanding has become blinded, the power of discernment is darkened, and when the power of discernment has become dark, the soul loses its sight.

And when the soul has lost its sight, good is rooted out therefrom, and wickedness enters in, and sin takes up its rule; and when sin has taken up its rule, the thought of God is blotted out, and the passions of the body are stirred up, and they seek to satisfy their needs. And having taken that which they sought for, it is necessary for much money to be collected, and when money is multiplied, the gratification of the body is fulfilled, and when it eats and drinks, and commits adultery and fornication, and it lies and works fraud and oppression, and it transgresses the covenant, and destroys the Law, and treats the promises with contempt, and the lust for the things which are seen is fulfilled.

Let money be an abominable thing in our sight, and let us not love it; but if we perform the lust of the flesh it is an absolute necessity to love money; for money belongs to the flesh and not to the spirit, even as the Apostle says, "The flesh hurts the spirit, and the spirit the flesh, and both are opponents each of the other" (Galatians 5:17). E. A. Wallis Budge, "The Paradise of the Holy Fathers," Seattle, St. Nectarios Press, 1984, pp. 265-266