Greed

Like many midwest sports fans, I've been captivated by the drama around conference expansion. I also have been thinking about Sam Mellinger's article in the KC Star on Tuesday, June 15, 2010, titled: Cash Carries The Day Again. He's a fine writer with helpful insights on sports. But ... I reacted harshly to this observation and comment: Greed is why this conference formed. Greed threatened to rip it apart. And in the end, greed kept it together. There's nothing wrong with that.
Actually Sam, greed as a core value and motivation is more likely to lead away from the fulfillment of one's goals and priorities. It usually means short term gains at the cost of long term liabilities.
The Gulf of Mexico is filling up with oil because safety measures were bypassed or minimized in order to get the well online.  The Great Recession brought huge losses because banks and Wall Street could not contain their greed and accept slimmer profit margins.
You don't have to be a Christian to observe that greed is a lousy core value. What is profoundly disturbing is that so many people of faith don't seem to get it.