Feet That Run Swiftly to Evil

Continuing in the 'Sunday Sermon' series (each entry of which can be read by clicking in to the label below this posting) with the fifth of the six things that the Lord hates from Proverbs 6:16-19 in the Bible's 'Old Testament.' This time we are discussing those times that we not only sin, not only plan and plot to sin, but we rush to it enthusiastically, even happily. Of course we know that gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins. Some of us know that all too well. And yet despite that knowledge we not only fail to control our appetites, we not only allow ourselves to remain obese, but we rush to the ice cream aisle at the grocery store for some Haagen Dazs or Breyers or Turkey Hill. We know that lust is a deadly sin, but we dive into that sexual affair anyway. We not only plan and plot to make time for physical intimacy with that illicit partner, but we rush happily and excitedly to those liaisons. We all understand that greed is a deadly sin, but we all too often succumb to the mantra spoken by Michael Douglas' character of Gordon Gekko (pictured) in the 1987 motion picture 'Wall Street': "..greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works." Especially when it comes to money, we want more. Wanting more isn't the bad thing. What is bad about it is when we want that 'more money' so badly that we cut corners to get it, possibly even commit fraud and other crimes. When we take away from others what is rightly theirs, including time with us from our families. Those working hard to make ends meet and give their families a better life, perhaps working two jobs or extended hours, are not those being spoken about here. Here we are talking about those whose ends are meeting like nobodies business, but who continue to drive forward, distancing themselves from their loving, familial, inter-personal relationships. Greed, for lack of a better word, is bad. It is wrong, it does not work. It destroys, it separates, it blinds those who fall into its trap. Yet so many rush off eagerly to get more, to make more, to sell more, to steal more, to take more, caring about little else in that greedy dash to win a rat race that no one has ever won. In the end, we all end up in the same place. You and me and Donald Trump and Bill Gates all end up in the same exact place in our earthly lives. But where will we end up when those lives are completed? Sloth is the sin of simply not caring, or of giving up in despair. How many people do we know who simply continue to wallow in the mire of their own self-pity. Life is difficult at times, and at times it deals all of us bad hands. Sometimes it deals us incredibly emotional tragic hands. Sorrow is a natural reaction, as is grief. We all need time to grieve. But we also need to heal, and we need to mend. When we allow ourselves to continue on, wallowing in our grief and sadness and despair, we are sinning. God challenges us for reasons that only He knows. It is our job to meet those challenges head on, not to eagerly run into a corner and hide from the life which goes on despite the hurt that we refuse to overcome. Another of the deadly sins is wrath, that anger which we all have felt at times. But there are some who seem perpetually angry with the world. The angry young man who is mad at the world, the woman who is constantly yelling at her spouse or kids. The deadly sins include envy and pride also. How many of us are jealous of someone else's home, or kids, or partner, or job, or clothes, or look, or even their entire life? Look at what you have, and make it the best that you can, and find your happiness there. No one can be truly happy by taking what belongs to another. Two of God's commandments speak directly to this situation: "Thou shalt not covet they neighbor's spouse" and "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods". Wipe the covetous thoughts from your mind and heart rather than embracing and being overcome by them. As for pride, how many of us in reality have it so much better than everyone else that we can afford this sin? My body is hotter than yours. My hair is better than yours. My test grades are higher than yours. My car is faster and sleeker than yours. Fact is, there is always someone out there who has it better than you. If you have something good going on, enjoy it and be happy about it. But you should never flaunt it in someone else's face. When God gives you a gift, whether that is something physical or material or spiritual, you need to humbly acknowledge that gift, cherish it, and manage it with great care. We also always need to remember those who have less. Not out of pity, but out of genuine human caring and concern. We are all going to fall. We are all sinners. But when we are sinning and in the process of doing so rush excitedly to commit them, when our feet run swiftly to evil, then we are doing something that the Lord expressly and exceedingly hates. We need to begin applying the brakes, stop in our tracks, and turn around to Him and His way and away from the sins we rush madly towards.

Greed is Not Good

"...Greed -- for lack of a better word -- is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms -- greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge -- has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed -- you mark my words -- will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA." - Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko in "Wall Street"

The Catholic Church divided sin into two classes - venial sins, which were relatively minor, and the more serious cardinal sins, which became known classically as the 'seven deadly sins'. These were said to "destroy the life of grace" and brought the threat of eternal damnation on those who practiced them, unless absolved through a formal confession or forgiven through an act of perfect contrition by the offender. One of these was the sin of 'Greed', which is seen as a sin of excess, and is applied in particular to the acquisition of wealth. It is closely alligned to avarice, which can manifest itself in bribery, robbery or theft by means of violence, trickery, betrayal, and even treason. It also covers the scavenging and hoarding of materials, as well as manipulation or abuse of authority. In the film 'Wall Street', Michael Douglas' character Gordon Gekko delivered the above now-famous speech at a shareholder's meeting. Gekko was trying to woo the shareholder's to accept a bid that his company was making to takeover the Teldar Paper company. His sales pitch was that the current Teldar management was bloated, wasteful, and borderline incompetent. Either that, or they were intentionally abusing their positions to ensure their own personal gain, the shareholders be damned. Gekko flat out says in his speech that the management was not greedy enough. They were not nearly as interested in turning a profit for the company, and increasing it's value for the shareholders, as they were in enjoying "steak lunches, hunting and fishing trips, corporate jets, and golden parachutes." But while Gekko painted himself as a "liberator" of companies, the fact is that his greed was every bit as dangerous for the company and the shareholders as any inappropriate or incompetent acts of the current management. The film highlights the many subjects in play in recent corporate scandals such as the Enron Corporation and Arthur Anderson accounting firm debacle, and today's collapses and bailouts involving Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers, AIG, and Merrill Lynch. Big business, finance, mortgage, and insurance companies playing fast and loose with what is often other people's money, thinking that they have the system so securely managed that nothing can burst their upwards bubble, and not concerned if the bubble does burst because either they will be bailed out by the government, or be able to personally escape with few ramifications as individuals, or both. Fact is that financial speculation comes with risks. If a company or individual manages their finances well, and makes good, sound, stable decisions, they will usually come out ahead in both the long and short terms. If decisions are made on a more short-sighted basis that results in high financial rewards for both individual loan and account managers, as well as for customers, but also exposes all to greater risks, then the fact is that if the worse case develops everyone is going to take a financial hit. In fact, history would say that in such speculative periods the more appropriate word would be 'when' the worse case develops, not 'if'. So lots of bad loans were made, many speculative investments were made, over a number of years, and finally, inevitably, these markets have not been able to hold up, at least not in the short term. Companies and institutions are being sold or folding, or the government has been forced in to prop them up or outright take them over with public money. We the taxpayers have become the owners of mortgage and insurance companies. Much as the management of the fictional Teldar Paper, their poor decisions are coming home to roost. And much as the fictional Gordon Gekko, many of the big money men have proven too big for their britches. But most of them will soar off into the sunset without individual responsibility, some with those golden parachutes that Gekko spoke of in the film. In the end, it will be you and me, the regular tax payer, who will foot the bill for their poor business decisions, and that is not how our system is supposed to work. You can debate the importance of these institutions and their solubility from now until doomsday, but the fact remains that the winners are supposed to take it all, and the losers are supposed to take the fall, based on their business decisions. If it takes a few big businesses going under, if it takes a ton of money being lost, to straighten out what has ultimately become a house of cards, then so be it. Incompetence and greed, which despite what Gekko said is not good, should never be rewarded. The results of both deserve to be left to suffer the consequences, as educational for both the participants and for the rest of us.