Seven Deadly Sins of The Zombie Apocalypse: Greed

We all need things in a zombie apocalypse to survive. That said, taking more than what you need can be foolish. You CAN’T take it with you…

Surviving a zombie apocalypse will require food, shelter, clothing, tools, weapons, a vehicle, and still more. Much of the problems you may have once the apocalypse starts will stem from having a dearth of these things.

Naturally, you’ll want to gather as much as you can, in case you need it.

However, just as before the apocalypse, there will be those who’ll want to take more than what they need or take what others need from them. These are classic examples of…

Greed

Ah, greed. Often, it is considered the worst sin of all. In fact, even Jesus himself lashed out against greed in The Bible. It’s negative connotations in society are storied.

However, in a zombie apocalypse, with no money, this often translates as people who either hoard supplies far beyond their needs, or taking supplies they don’t necessarily need from others.

Not surprisingly, the best example of this in The Walking Dead is The Saviors, whose behavior is extremely reminiscent of The Mafia.

Now, earlier, I talked about ultra-pragmatists and how foolish it can be when we covered gluttony.

With greed, however, there is an argument to be made for its practices. With so little supplies to be had, who can really afford to run the risk of running out?

Frankly, it’s smart survival strategy to collect as much supplies as you can carry and store as possible.

On the other hand, there’s the matter of taking supplies from other survivors or groups of survivors. And here is where greed proves to be a problem.

As you might imagine, other people will not take kindly to their supplies being stolen, particularly if they know who the thieves are.

Stealing supplies is a good way to make a lot of enemies really quick.

Sure, you might be able to just ensure there’s no one to hold a grudge, but, how long do you think your luck will hold doing that? How long before another group sees how much you have and decides to kill you to take it?

As you can see, this plan doesn’t necessarily guarantee you survival, all it really ends up doing is making you a target.

Look at The Saviors. Sure, they’ve succeeded in wiping out some groups, but, their plan to extort the other groups in the area is only serving to create an alliance of those groups that seeks to dismantle them.

Greed can only get you so far before it turns around and bites you in the ass.

“Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire.” — James 5:3

Do you want to learn more of how to survive a zombie apocalypse (That isn’t quite so biblical)? Pick up a copy of my book: The Rules: A Guide To Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse! You can get it on Kindle here and on iTunes here!