Greed disguised as virtue

In a dream last night I saw someone from my life who personifies greed; she was locked in a room, contorted on her bed as she whispered "it's only $250..." The vision of her bondage to greed was so terrifying that it woke me up. 

In my waking life, I think nothing of someone who works very hard for money. Our society considers being industrious to be a virtue. We rightfully think it irresponsible to work little or none at all, expecting to live on other people's charity. Sloth is a bad thing.

But what if we already have plenty for what we need? Many people who have enough can't stop working solely because they can't let go of the monetary opportunity. Working hard fortifies our sense of entitlement; it justifies self-indulgence. Greed works in subtle ways, it wears virtuous disguises--like being called 'industrious'--as it drains our sense of self away by enlarging our quest for more. The idea of 'I have enough' never enters the enslaved mind. Though when it comes to drumming up reasons to keep on accumulating wealth or status, the enslaved mind exhibits great creativity. 

Let the dream serve as a warning for the perils of greed. Someone whose whole being is consumed by one desire--'wanting more'--is not a pretty sight. At the end of this life, what part of such a being will be left to bring to the new life on the other side of death?