The BEMA Podcast — Episode 473: Vice & Virtue — Greed

Host: Marty Solomon
Co-hosts: Brent Billings, Elle Grover Fricks
Date: October 2, 2025

Overview

This episode of The BEMA Podcast continues the "Vice & Virtue" series by diving into the topic of greed. The hosts deconstruct common cultural and Christian assumptions about greed, examining its roots, how it operates beyond money, its subtle forms in modern life, the distinction between sin and vice, and how ancient as well as contemporary voices challenge us to counteract greed with liberality and community.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Cultural Narratives of Greed

• American Films as a Mirror:
  The episode opens with a discussion of iconic American films (Wall Street, Glengarry Glen Ross, Wolf of Wall Street) that idolize ambition, acquisition, and wealth. Marty describes a scene in Wolf of Wall Street with a $40,000 watch thrown across a room, highlighting society's “posture of worship” toward material possessions.

  "It's this amazing shot…all of these hands close up underneath it in, like this posture of worship, trying to grasp the watch as it flies over just out of reach." — Marty (01:27)

• Scorsese’s Theme & Pop Culture:
  The films are not blanket recommendations, but serve as motifs for American cultural attitudes about greed.

2. Greed as a Vice — Not Just About Cash

• The Nature of Vice:
  Greed is explored as more than money—it's "unchecked desire" or "unchecked acquisition" that can attach to anything: security, safety, prestige, even good intentions.

  “Greed is unchecked desire. Right. That just says, nope, more, more, more…So I'm kind of revisiting my own framework around desire.” — Elle (04:08)

• Virtue vs. Vice (Augustine):
  Marty draws on Augustine and Aquinas, describing vice as a “disordered kind of love”—legitimate desires (for safety, comfort, success) taken to a harmful extreme.

• Sin vs. Vice vs. Iniquity:
  Elle distinguishes between missing the mark (sin), entrenched crookedness (iniquity), and vice—a “habitual stain” that's become part of us but isn't a one-off moral failing.

3. Greed’s Psychological & Emotional Dynamics

• Roots in Legitimate Needs:
  Desiring a safe, stable home for your family is legitimate, but gratitude gives way to more acquisition once comparison and social messaging enter.

  “A lack of discipline that's turned toward gratitude…is the soil from which greed springs.” — Elle (11:32)

• Not Just for the Rich:
  Greed isn’t limited to billionaires; scarcity mindset and “unchecked acquisition” show up in ordinary lives.

• Personal Story on Hoarding:
  Brent reflects on sorting his late father’s possessions—a mix of fear, insecurity, and possible greed, tying in how loneliness or anxiety can fuel the vice (14:18–18:51).

4. Greed Isolates and Alienates

• Complexity, Not Caricature:
  Greed is woven into other fears and vices. The need is honest self-examination, not blaming “the greedy”.

  "It's less like an Excel spreadsheet…human nature is more like this web with these nodes that are all interconnected." — Marty (16:16)

• Potential for Liberation:
  Realizing our complicity isn’t just guilt-inducing but liberating—offering transformation through honesty and community.

5. Contemporary & Gendered Experiences of Greed

• Consumerism Masquerading as Virtue:
  Elle highlights how advertising (especially toward women) exploits legitimate desires for family wellbeing, packaging consumption as “good mothering” or “wellness”.

  “It's put that way. But then immediately…all of the steps up the greed ladder immediately appear…” — Elle (21:52)

• Men Experience Parallel Narratives:
  Marty notes men are promised being “providers” or “successful,” again through pursuing certain goods.

6. The “Having” Society: The Disconnect Between Being and Having

• Eric Fromm’s "To Have or To Be":
  Our society is built on having things, which we believe allows us to be certain kinds of people. But "having" replaces "being," leading to insatiability.

• Letterboxd & Non-Monetary Greed:
  Brent’s urge to increase his movie count on a film-tracking app offers a humorous example—greed can be about numbers, status, or experiences, not just physical possessions.

7. Consequences of Greed

• Restlessness & Anxiety:
  Greed breeds "restlessness" (Aquinas)—a constant, anxious sense of not having enough and fear of losing what we have.

  “The things you own end up owning you.” — (Fight Club quote, 29:09)

• Possessions Become Purpose-less:
  When acquisition becomes the point, possessions lose their real purpose—hobbies, tools, and trinkets unused, relationships neglected.

  "When we stop asking…the question of what is this for?…They just collect dust, and then somebody has to clean it out when we die." — Marty (35:21)

• Money-fication of Everything:
  Relationships, people, and even ministry can be seen through a lens of profitability, leading to insensitivity, deceit, and transactional living (36:00).

8. Biblical Critiques & Prophetic Voices

• The Prophets on Greed:
  Brent reads Amos 8:4-6, where greed defrauds not just the abstract poor, but those to whom, by God’s law, a part of “our” field belongs (38:53).

  “God's opinion is the corner of your field belongs to the poor…when you dishonor that, you're stealing from them.” — Elle (38:53)

• Greed as Theft, Not Just Accumulation:
  Elle underscores the scriptural reality that “ours” is not a biblical category; hoarding is theft from the community.

• Practical Fallout in Relationships:
  The drive for status and possessions impacts marriages and families, not just the economy—debt (especially car debt) is a primary driver of marital discord (40:19).

9. Deeper Roots — Greed & Mortality

• Fear of Death:
  Marty references Carl Clifton Soderstrom’s concept that “excessive acquisitiveness is…about our relation to human temporality”—trying in vain to buy security or permanence (43:48).

• The Parable of the Barn Builder (Luke 12):
  Jesus’ caution against storing up treasures is not just about selfishness—it points to the emptiness of seeking permanent security in things (paraphrased/quoted at 47:34).

  “Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” — Luke 12, read by Brent (48:13)

10. Moving from Critique to Practice: What to Do About Greed?

• Being “Rich Toward God”:
  Elle urges a re-centering on spiritual investment:

  “Are we putting in that same amount of time into being rich toward God? What does that mean?” — Elle (50:47)

• Practical Spiritual Disciplines:
  Instead of only acquiring material joys (like expensive coffee), invest in relational or spiritual practices (daily thank you letters, time with God).

• Community as Corrective:
  The hosts affirm the importance of traditions (like Wesleyan financial caps, Amish simplicity) and communal discernment—greed is rarely overcome in isolation (54:14).

• Dispositional Shift: Liberality
  Marty distinguishes generosity (actions) from liberality (a generous disposition), calling for “openhandedness” as the habit of image-bearers.

  "Liberality was a nice way of encapsulating…what is the image of God person…what’s their vibe when it comes to the things they have?” — Marty (59:46)

• Remember Your Mortality:
  Quoting Psalm 90:

  “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” — (63:31)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• The Wolf of Wall Street Watch Scene:
  “It's like this posture of worship, trying to grasp the watch as it flies over just out of reach.” — Marty (01:27)

• Elle on the Inner Logic of Greed:
  “A lack of discipline that's turned toward gratitude…I do have a home, and God has provided it. Instead then opening up the little glass device…being like, ‘And yet what if.’” — Elle (11:32)

• Brent’s Inheritance Story:
  “How many times could [my dad] have visited us in Idaho, and yet he stayed in Kansas and bought another one of these things…trying to untangle it all…” — Brent (15:04)

• Marty on Vices as Weeds in the Soul:
  "A vice is…after something good, but we’re going about it in a bad way because the desire is disordered." — Marty (08:27)

• Elle's Wellness Consumerism Critique:
  "What a great way to sell a product. If you’re not interested in our product, you probably don’t love your kids." — Elle (22:10)

• Marty’s Reluctance to Leave His Stuff:
  “I was not going to go into the mass in Spain after the Camino because I was like, my stuff is in here.” — Marty (31:26)

• Fight Club Reference:
  “The things you own end up owning you.” — (29:09)

• Elle on Biblical Possession:
  “The corner of your field belongs to the poor…when you dishonor that, you are stealing from them.” — Elle (38:53)

• Practices that Counter Greed:
  “Are we putting the same effort into being rich toward God…as we put into having a bougie coffee every morning?” — Elle (51:26)

Important Timestamps & Segments

• 00:19–02:33: American film motifs & introduction to greed
• 04:08–12:11: Vice vs. virtue, sin vs. iniquity, roots of greed
• 14:18–18:51: Brent’s personal story; web of vices; role of community
• 21:00–25:43: Having vs. being; gendered advertising and algorithmic pressure
• 27:08–28:47: Non-material forms of greed; collecting, status, numbers
• 29:14–35:18: Restlessness, anxiety, failures of acquisition, possessions’ loss of purpose
• 36:14–42:21: Money-fication of relationships; Jesus and Leviticus on justice
• 43:48–47:45: Greed and mortality; the parable of the barn builder
• 50:02–54:14: What do we actually do about greed? Community, tradition, practices
• 59:46–63:31: Liberality vs. generosity; practicing openhandedness with all things
• 64:24–66:50: Self-examination questions for listeners
• 67:37–72:14: BONUS: Collecting, Letterboxd, and the subtle worms of greed

Self-Examination Questions (65:00)

• How many hours do I spend acquiring or thinking about acquiring things?
• Do I maintain certain relationships because of what they will get for me?
• How do I feel when I look at my things?
• How do I feel when I buy something?
• What does “enough” mean for me?

Elle’s additional reflection:
Am I more saturated by content and experiences that breed “earthly more” (if I just had one more thing, I’d be satisfied) or by those that direct my longing toward God?

Tone & Approach

• Candid and Relatable:
  The hosts weave in personal anecdotes, pop culture, and humor, often recognizing their own tendencies toward greed.
• Historically Informed:
  Frequent references to church fathers (Augustine, Aquinas), contemporary writers, and Jewish biblical context.
• Invitational, Not Judgmental:
  Emphasis is on honest self-examination, the complexity of human motivations, and the hope for liberation and transformation.
• Communal and Practical:
  The path away from greed is through community traditions, open conversation, and everyday practices that reframe our relationships with things and each other.

Takeaways

• Greed is more than wanting money; it’s unchecked desire that distorts legitimate needs into harmful pursuits.
• Vices are tangled habits, not simple sins.
• Our culture and algorithms “teach” us greed by linking being with having—but true fulfillment is always just out of reach on that path.
• Greed isolates; generosity and liberality reconnect us—to self, others, and God.
• Practices of gratitude, open-handedness, and community discernment counteract greed's isolation and restlessness.
• Ask regularly: Whose will my things be? How can my things serve love, relationship, and God’s purposes?
• Most fundamentally: “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

For further self-examination and practice, see the Show Notes linked in your app or at bemadiscipleship.com.