“Avarice,” in Beyond Words: Daily Readings in the ABC’S of Faith

pp. 30-31

“Avarice, greed, concupiscence, and so forth are all based on the mathematical truism that the more you get, the more you have.  The remark of Jesus that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35) is based on the human truth that the more you give away in love, the more you are.  It is not just for the sake of other people that Jesus tells us to give rather than get, but for our own sakes too.”