--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is sadly true that most institutions…" description: "\"“It is sadly true that most institutions and nations admire and reward sins of the \"spirit,\" and various forms of arrogance and greed often lead to pro..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/109/richard-rohr-618_greed_it-is-sadly-true-that-most-institutions_1874633.png" --- # It is sadly true that most institutions and nations admire… ![“It is sadly true that most institutions and nations admire and reward sins of the "spirit," and various forms of arrogance and greed often lead to promotions and praise. But pride, ambition, and vanity are still pride, ambition, and vanity; they do not stop being capital sins because someone is…” quote by Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/109/richard-rohr-618_greed_it-is-sadly-true-that-most-institutions_1874633.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/109/richard-rohr-618_greed_it-is-sadly-true-that-most-institutions_1874633.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/109/richard-rohr-618_greed_it-is-sadly-true-that-most-institutions_1874633.png) > ““It is sadly true that most institutions and nations admire and reward sins of the "spirit," and various forms of arrogance and greed often lead to promotions and praise. But pride, ambition, and vanity are still pride, ambition, and vanity; they do not stop being capital sins because someone is pope or president. "Greed is good" in America, extravagant bonuses are envied and imitated, and careerism is rampant among the clergy . . . Sins of the flesh, however, carry shame and guilt and can always be used to bring anybody down in church, culture, or the state.”” [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques how societies glorify moral vices like greed and ambition while condemning bodily sins, revealing a double standard that protects powerful figures. **In simple terms:** Societies praise greed but shame bodily sins, protecting the powerful. Key Takeaway Question double standards and hold all sins accountable. Themes hypocrisy power morality religion culture Mood critical reflective skeptical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - Workplace politics - religious institutions - political leadership - media narratives Key Concepts Ethics social critique religious doctrine Questions to Reflect On - How do we reconcile moral judgments across different contexts? - What mechanisms can expose hidden privileges? A Different Perspective The view may overlook cultural variations in how sins are defined and punished. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Greed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed/) [Greed is good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed-is-good/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [Shame and guilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shame-and-guilt/) ## Related quotes > [I am guilty of stupidity, arrogance, and greed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-madden/i-am-guilty-of-stupidity-arrogance-and-greed/) [Steve Madden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-madden/) > [We did not find it difficult to deal with Bush and his administration, because it is similar to regimes in our countries - both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osama-bin-laden/we-did-not-find-it-difficult-to-deal-with-bush-and-his-administration/) [Osama bin Laden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osama-bin-laden/) > [Spirituality for the most part is a mask worn by idleness, arrogance and greed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/spirituality-for-the-most-part-is-a-mask-worn-by-idleness-arrogance/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [“It’s for love, in the end. Pettiest of all pursuits. Arrogance, greed, even revenge… they’re nobler, trust me. I’ve walked all those roads. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wildbow/it-s-for-love-in-the-end-pettiest-of-all-pursuits-arrogance-greed/) wildbow > [“instead of dismay at Gekko's lack of moral restraint and excessive greed and overarching narcissism, Gekko's "greed is good" creed became the marching anthem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-dismay-at-gekko-s-lack-of-moral-restraint-and-excessive/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Greed is good! Greed is right! Greed works! Greed will save the U.S.A.!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/greed-is-good-greed-is-right-greed-works-greed-will-save-the-u-s-a/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [Greed is good. Sex is easy. Youth is forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/greed-is-good-sex-is-easy-youth-is-forever/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [I think greed is healthy. You can be greedy and still feel good about yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-boesky/i-think-greed-is-healthy-you-can-be-greedy-and-still-feel-good-about/) [Ivan Boesky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-boesky/) > [“A state of shock is produced when a story is ruptured… Trump is not a rupture at all, but rather the culmination – the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/a-state-of-shock-is-produced-when-a-story-is-ruptured-trump-is-not-a/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [Someone reminded me I once said, 'Greed is good.' Now it seems it's legal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/someone-reminded-me-i-once-said-greed-is-good-now-it-seems-it-s-legal/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [Mysticism has often been misunderstood as the attempt to escape this simple, phenomenal world to a more pure existence in heaven beyond. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wink/mysticism-has-often-been-misunderstood-as-the-attempt-to-escape-this/) [Walter Wink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wink/) > [Gordon Gekko was right: greed is good. Because, the potty-trained Republicans have now stepped forward - like the Koch brothers - to say, 'You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/gordon-gekko-was-right-greed-is-good-because-the-potty-trained/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/greed-for-lack-of-a-better-word-is-good/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [Greed is good to most economists. It's greed that makes people work harder, be more productive and helps the economy grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-m-blank/greed-is-good-to-most-economists-it-s-greed-that-makes-people-work/) Rebecca M. Blank > [Greed-for lack of a better word-is good. Greed is right. Greed works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-stone/greed-for-lack-of-a-better-word-is-good-greed-is-right-greed-works/) [Oliver Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-stone/) ## More by Richard Rohr > [“We have become human doings more than human beings, and the verb “rest,” as Jesus uses it, is largely foreign to us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/we-have-become-human-doings-more-than-human-beings-and-the-verb-rest/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [In my opinion, most organized religion does neither agentic service nor relational nurturance very well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/in-my-opinion-most-organized-religion-does-neither-agentic-service/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [If we do not transform our pain, we will most assuredly transmit it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/if-we-do-not-transform-our-pain-we-will-most-assuredly-transmit-it/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [In solitude, at last, we’re able to let God define us the way we are always supposed to be defined—by relationship: the I-thou relationship,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/in-solitude-at-last-we-re-able-to-let-god-define-us-the-way-we-are/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [Pain and suffering that are not transformed are usually projected onto others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/pain-and-suffering-that-are-not-transformed-are-usually-projected/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [You cannot grow in the integrative dance of action and contemplation without a strong tolerance for ambiguity, an ability to allow, forgive, and contain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/you-cannot-grow-in-the-integrative-dance-of-action-and-contemplation/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“In the end, we do not so much reclaim what we have lost as discover a significantly new self in and through the process.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/in-the-end-we-do-not-so-much-reclaim-what-we-have-lost-as-discover-a/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [All great spirituality is about what we do with our pain. If we do not transform our pain, we will transmit it to those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/all-great-spirituality-is-about-what-we-do-with-our-pain-if-we-do-not/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“I would wonder if you could be a hero or heroine if you did not live in deep time, that is, Past, present, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/i-would-wonder-if-you-could-be-a-hero-or-heroine-if-you-did-not-live/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [Nature is the one song of praise that never stops singing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/nature-is-the-one-song-of-praise-that-never-stops-singing/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“I believe contemplation shows us that nothing inside us is as bad as our hatred and denial of the bad. Hating and denying it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/i-believe-contemplation-shows-us-that-nothing-inside-us-is-as-bad-as/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [We don't have much wisdom about the second half when things really open up and end up looking a lot more progressive. In my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/we-don-t-have-much-wisdom-about-the-second-half-when-things-really/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [If you do not transform your wounds you will transmit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/if-you-do-not-transform-your-wounds-you-will-transmit-them/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [The real spiritual journey is work. You can make a naïve assertion that you trust in Jesus, but until it is tested a good,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/the-real-spiritual-journey-is-work-you-can-make-a-na-ve-assertion/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“The soul needs meaning as much as the body needs food.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/the-soul-needs-meaning-as-much-as-the-body-needs-food/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) [Explore all 443 Richard Rohr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) ## More Greed quotes > [Stephanie could see the greed seep into the watery eyes of her father’s other brother, a horrible little man called Fergus, as he nodded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-landy/stephanie-could-see-the-greed-seep-into-the-watery-eyes-of-her-father/) [Derek Landy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-landy/) > [ “Where there are kashays (anger-pride-deceit-greed), there is worldly life. As long as anger-pride-deceit-greed exist; one is a sansaari \[living a worldly life\] regardless of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-are-kashays-anger-pride-deceit-greed-there-is-worldly/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“THE UNFORGIVEN Tell me if you've ever had to deal with these kinds of people: The kind who take and don't give. The kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/the-unforgiven-tell-me-if-you-ve-ever-had-to-deal-with-these-kinds-of/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [The law is the collective organization of the individual's right to lawful defense of his life, liberty and property. When it is used for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-law-is-the-collective-organization-of-the-individual-s-right-to/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“The fact that they viewed their wealth as a result of their own hands, without any honor other than lip service being given to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-goff/the-fact-that-they-viewed-their-wealth-as-a-result-of-their-own-hands/) [Lee Goff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-goff/) > [“Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/be-fearful-when-others-are-greedy-and-be-greedy-when-others-are/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [avarice breeds envy, a worm that is always gnawing, letting the avaricious enjoy neither their own nor anyone else's good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/avarice-breeds-envy-a-worm-that-is-always-gnawing-letting-the/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [“In a similar way, The Art of War pinpoints anger and greed as fundamental causes of defeat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/in-a-similar-way-the-art-of-war-pinpoints-anger-and-greed-as/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [Who does not know that kings and rulers sprang from men who were ignorant of God, who assumed because of blind greed and intolerable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-vii/who-does-not-know-that-kings-and-rulers-sprang-from-men-who-were/) [Pope Gregory VII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-vii/) > [''And one day when all is gone and mankind is lost, all he leaves is the desert.'' ''For man is his own demise the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/and-one-day-when-all-is-gone-and-mankind-is-lost-all-he-leaves-is-the/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [“Wisdom teaches us that our real enemies are never other living beings. They are ignorance and its minions, including greed, hatred, anger, pride, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-newland/wisdom-teaches-us-that-our-real-enemies-are-never-other-living-beings/) Guy Newland > [“Suckers think that you cure greed with money, addiction with substances, expert problems with experts, banking with bankers, economics with economists, and debt crises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/suckers-think-that-you-cure-greed-with-money-addiction-with/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [The universe appears to me like an immense, inexorable torture-garden…Passions, greed, hatred, and lies; social institutions, justice, love, glory, heroism, and religion: these are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octave-mirbeau/the-universe-appears-to-me-like-an-immense-inexorable-torture-garden/) [Octave Mirbeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octave-mirbeau/) > [“Thankfulness acknowledges that we can’t own anything, but we can experience everything. And just knowing that makes me thankful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/thankfulness-acknowledges-that-we-can-t-own-anything-but-we-can/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [Con men look for human frailty to exploit. This is most often greed. Trump found a different vice: anger. The emotional are always the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-meyer/con-men-look-for-human-frailty-to-exploit-this-is-most-often-greed/) [Pamela Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-meyer/) [Browse all 2,232 Greed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is sadly true that most institutions and nations admire and reward sins of the \"spirit,\" and various forms of arrogance and greed often lead to promotions and praise. 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