Beyond Greed
Author: Brian Rosner
Publisher: Matthias Media
Date: 2004
Place: Kingsford, NSW, Australia
ISBN: 1 876326 76 X
Price: Visit www.matthiasmedia.com.au
Page No: 174
Reviewed by Brenda Daniels
How to Be Really Rich was Brian Rosner’s original choice of title for Beyond Greed. Either title would have done the job. Essentially, Rosner’s book defines greed and explains why man’s insatiable need for more is tantamount to idolatry when it is directed at money instead of the Christian God. He explains how trust in a substitute for God means disobeying the first commandment – to fear, love and trust God above all things and in every circumstance – and the second – to love man as ourselves (because greed for ourselves precludes caring for others). Rosner’s solution to this inordinate greed, which enslaves and fails to satisfy, is not only to give up seeking money, but to seek God instead.
While reading Rosner’s book it occurred to me that the principle of misdirected desires could apply to other areas of life as well. Take Vicky Christina Barcelona, a recent Cinema Nouveau film release directed by Woody Allen, as a case in point. This film explores human love relationships and showcases, through them, the characters’ search for love. The protagonists discover that relationships, whether casual, marital, illicit, homosexual, or even as a group, are inadequate and, on their own, fail to satisfy. Beyond Greed, likewise, discusses an object of affection (in this case money) and its failure to satisfy.
Rosner includes contributions by other writers, which, although interesting, make for repetitive and somewhat fragmentary reading. And although a thought-provoking read, Beyond Greed will obviously be limited in its reach; like most books in this genre it is clearly aimed at the middle-class Christian. I wonder how different it would be if the desires of the really poor had been included?
Author: Brian Rosner
Publisher: Matthias Media
Date: 2004
Place: Kingsford, NSW, Australia
ISBN: 1 876326 76 X
Price: Visit www.matthiasmedia.com.au
Page No: 174
Reviewed by Brenda Daniels
How to Be Really Rich was Brian Rosner’s original choice of title for Beyond Greed. Either title would have done the job. Essentially, Rosner’s book defines greed and explains why man’s insatiable need for more is tantamount to idolatry when it is directed at money instead of the Christian God. He explains how trust in a substitute for God means disobeying the first commandment – to fear, love and trust God above all things and in every circumstance – and the second – to love man as ourselves (because greed for ourselves precludes caring for others). Rosner’s solution to this inordinate greed, which enslaves and fails to satisfy, is not only to give up seeking money, but to seek God instead.
While reading Rosner’s book it occurred to me that the principle of misdirected desires could apply to other areas of life as well. Take Vicky Christina Barcelona, a recent Cinema Nouveau film release directed by Woody Allen, as a case in point. This film explores human love relationships and showcases, through them, the characters’ search for love. The protagonists discover that relationships, whether casual, marital, illicit, homosexual, or even as a group, are inadequate and, on their own, fail to satisfy. Beyond Greed, likewise, discusses an object of affection (in this case money) and its failure to satisfy.
Rosner includes contributions by other writers, which, although interesting, make for repetitive and somewhat fragmentary reading. And although a thought-provoking read, Beyond Greed will obviously be limited in its reach; like most books in this genre it is clearly aimed at the middle-class Christian. I wonder how different it would be if the desires of the really poor had been included?
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