Chasing Enough: How Greed and Vanity Keep Us Spiraling in the Pursuit of More
Back in July I wrote a post about greed titled, Greed Is An Exception. Greed is one of the seven deadly sins and I was writing the post as part of a series about the deadly sins. Yesterday, after visiting a very dear friend that I always kid about being a bit vane, I heard the great Royale Lynn song, “Greed”. The song, that you really do need to listen to (or better yet watch the video I’ve linked here for you), got me thinking about the crossover between vanity and greed. Both can stem from a desire for superficial or materialistic gains—vanity focusing on appearances and external validation, while greed centers on accumulating wealth or possessions.
A couple of lines really jumped out at me in Royale Lynn’s song. The first was, “And you’re never satisfied; There’s nothing that you won’t do.” When driven excessively, vanity can lead individuals to prioritize their image above all else, sometimes at the expense of ethics or humility, which can resemble greed’s obsession with accumulation. If you’ve ever encountered a vane leader, you know how this can hinder the effectiveness of this individual.
The other lines, “Feed on the greed that makes you; When it’s gonna be too much; When It’s gonna be enough; You always want more” highlight the relentless nature of greed and how it can drive individuals to continuously seek more, often without regard for ethical boundaries or personal limits.
Relating this to the crossover between vanity and greed, these lyrics suggest that vanity—an excessive pursuit of beauty, status, or admiration—is fueled by a similar insatiable desire. Both traits involve an underlying craving for validation, control, or recognition. Just as greed pushes for material accumulation beyond necessity, vanity pushes for external affirmation beyond genuine self-acceptance.
The lines also imply a point where fulfillment is never truly reached (“When It’s gonna be enough”), reflecting how both greed and vanity can become addictive, leading people to perpetually chase after more—more wealth, more admiration, more power—making it hard to recognize when they have enough. This interplay underscores how both traits can intertwine, often reinforcing each other in a cycle driven by a need for control, recognition, or superiority, rather than genuine fulfillment.
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