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No matter its face (and there are many more than three), greed's grip and the attitudes that reinforce it are not inescapable. The church has developed a rich repertoire of spiritual exercises designed to help us. Confess greed. Pray that the Holy Spirit would illumine the eyes of your heart to discern greed's stealthy approach. Contemplate your death, for he who dies with the most toys still dies. Practice a Lenten discipline that requires you to go without some customary luxury. Serve in a soup kitchen, build a home with Habitat for Humanity, or visit shut-ins living off Medicare. These exercises, and a myriad like them, have the effect of Nathan's story on David; they unmask our pretensions and shine a true light on our character and deeds.

W. Jay Wood is professor of philosophy at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. He is author of Epistemology: Becoming Intellectually Virtuous (InterVarsity).

Copyright © 2005 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament continue Katharine Drexel's work of giving to the poor. The are currently building a shrine to her.

Greed , by Phyllis A. Tickle, is available from Christianbook.com and other book retailers. Greed and other books on the seven deadly sins are reviewed in: Mistakes Were Made | Four of the Seven Deadly Sins, as seen from a contemporary vantage point. (March 22, 2004)

Christianity Today's recent cover story on fraud includes:

The Fraudbuster | The faithful are being defrauded of billions. But this Ponzi-busting ex-con knows how to stop it. (Dec. 17, 2004)

Success in Failure | Barry Minkow builds his ministry on what's gone wrong. (Dec. 17, 2004)

Stop Fraud Before It Starts | Barry Minkow says every investor should get the answer to four questions before investing. (Dec. 17, 2004)

More Christianity Today articles on greed include:

A Case Study in Greed | The Tao of Enron takes lessons from the second-largest bankruptcy in American history. (April 01, 2003)

The Profit of God | Finding the Christian path in business. (Jan. 27, 2003)

Bad Company Corrupts | Michael Novak, theological champion of the free market, reflects on what recent business scandals mean for church and state. (Jan. 27, 2003)

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January 2005, Vol. 49, No. 1