According to an old fable that is attributed to Aesop, a dog was carrying a bone as he crossed a bridge. Looking down into the water, he saw his own reflection. He thought he had encountered another dog, and he decided that he wanted that dog’s bone. So he tried to scare the other dog, and in so doing, he lost his bone in the water.

This is how it is with human greed. In our attempts to get something that we desperately want, we sometimes lose something that we have. Countless people have lost cars, homes, jobs, reputations and families because they wanted more.

“A stingy man is eager to get rich and is unaware that poverty awaits him.”—Proverbs 28:22.