This is the sin of desire. However, the concept of greed (from the point of view of the Church) is applied to artificial, predatory desire and the pursuit of material goods.

Thomas Aquinas wrote: "Greed is a sin against God, like all mortal sins, because in it a person renounces the eternal for the temporary." In Dante's Purgatory, penitents are tied up and put on the ground face down for excessive concentration on earthly thoughts. The accumulation of materials or objects, theft and robbery, especially with the use of violence, deception or manipulation of power, are all actions that can be caused by greed.

According to Henry Edward, greed "plunges a person deep into the quagmire of this world, so that a person makes everyday life his god."

According to the definition given outside the Christian scriptures, greed is an excessive desire to acquire or possess more than a person needs, especially in relation to material wealth. Like pride, greed can lead not only to some evil deeds, but also to all evil.