Avarice, or greed, is a sin of excess. Jesus plainly tells us in Luke 12:15, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”

In evaluating my own greedy tendencies, I sometimes feel a false sense of relief when I look at others who appear on the surface to be even more greedy. Justifying my own poor behavior by pointing to the bad behavior of others is a bad habit for me. I don’t own more cars than I really need, or an excessively lavish home. I have no boats, RVs, motorcycles, or snowmobiles. I’ve given a little bit more to charity this year than I did last year at this time. Others are much more materialistic and greedy than me, so I’ve got nothing to worry about – right?

While I’m not as monetarily greedy as I once was, and I’m perhaps a little less so than some other people, I still have plenty of room to grow. When I stumble into some excess money, the first thing that I think about is not what I can do for others with my new-found treasure. When I think about retirement (far in the future for me), I do think about putting myself in a place where I am able to help others, but those thoughts come well after I have spent much time fantasizing about traveling, beaches, relaxation time, horses…you know…selfish stuff!

The greed that I am most plagued with though, is the greed of time. While I spend a fair amount of time volunteering at my parish, and I certainly don’t neglect my family, I truthfully long to spend a great deal of my time alone. I dream of having more time to go on solo fishing trips, hiking adventures — things like that. I look for every opportunity to stay home rather than going places with family. A certain amount of this can be attributed to my personality. I just enjoy quiet time for reflection and relaxation. Unfortunately, this can become, as greed is, excessive. I can get really frustrated when I don’t have the amount of time to myself that I feel I have earned.

We are called first and foremost to love God with our entire being, and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22). As I have reflected on in the past, I believe that this love must be much more of an action than a feeling or an emotion. This love, or charity, is the counter virtue to the vice of greed. Since my greed and selfishness seem to come in cycles, I work to recognize them during routine examinations of conscience. The most devout Saints have recommended a daily examination of conscience. While I usually fall short of that, I still do a fairly thorough examination a couple of times per week.

Once I’ve recognized my failures, I work to do simple acts of charity to move myself toward virtuousness and righteousness. Simply taking out the trash, emptying the dishwasher, or playing a board game with my children rather than switching on the computer, picking up a guitar, or heading out to the shop, can help me to move away from sin. I’ve always found that investing my time and money with someone else rather than myself tends to improve the way that I feel dramatically. Moving the focus from myself to those around me always helps to reawaken in me awareness of the most important relationships in my life. Even though I don’t always notice, I also know that this charitable behavior is often seen by others. There is no telling when my simple attempts to live the Gospel will affect someone else in a positive manner.

While many of us may feel an inordinate attachment to our money, I’m inordinately attached to my time. Either way, these vices can be overcome by recognizing them, confessing them, and by performing small penitential acts designed to help us realize the greatest commandment — love.