March 13, 2009
Ponzi Scheme
When I’ve studied Jesus’ warning about storing up our treasures on earth, I’ve always focused in on the phrase “…where moth and rust destroy”. Obviously I can’t take any wealth with me when I die, so who cares if it’s eventually destroyed by moth and rust. Most of us are working on storing our treasures in heaven, but with the Bernard Madoff fraud scandal this verse has taken on an expanded meaning. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.” (Matt 6:19 NIV) I don’t know about you, but I hadn’t given much thought to thieves making-off with earthly wealth before I die.
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Gail;
-----Proverbs 10:15 says, “A rich man’s wealth is his strong city; the poverty of the poor is their ruin.” Even the ant stores up for winter. Everyone faces the risk of losing his productivity, and to have ample supply for support through profitless times is wise. Everyone pays at least some mind to it. In itself, it is not immoral. But it can be a gateway if the gate is not secured. Bernie Madoff said he encountered some hard times in the early 1990’s. So he unsecured the gate to get a little supply from the wrong side of the fence, but of course, only until things got better. Bernie knows where things went wrong from there. Another clump of grass always lay not too much further into foul territory, and it’s easy to think, “I’m in this far; a few steps deeper to get to that grass too, makes little difference.” Soon you will lose sight of the fence. I feel a bit sorry for Bernie, because he came into his misdeeds as a good man seeking a bad solution.
-----I feel much more sorry for all the folks he scandalized, but I blame them a bit as well. Bernie didn’t tell these people they could earn a respectable rate of return on their money, he promised them a hefty profit. Proverbs 13:11 says, “Wealth hastily gotten will dwindle, but he who gathers little by little will increase it.” Maybe some left their money with Bernie just because he was a friend, and maybe some just found his a handy place to invest. But most wanted his promised, phenomenal returns. If in building their strong cities they had sought to lay the walls brick by brick, they would not have had the get-rich-quick mentality a Bernie Madoff appeals too.
-----Bernie Madoff was supposed to take the money of his investors and secure it in accounts that belonged to them, accounts that would be there for their needs. He was supposed to build for them those strong cities. Instead, he took the money of one investor and gave some of it to another who wanted his investment back. Then he used the difference for his own purposes. There were no cities built. Bernie Washington said he would take our money and secure it in an account that belonged to us so we would have it when we needed it. He said he would build for us a strong city. But he too has been taking money from one investor, giving some to another in need, and then using the rest to further his own interests. When George W. Bush tried to make Bernie Washington put some of our money into accounts that belonged to us, Bernie Washington’s lap-dog media inspired most of the little ants to throw a ridiculing, conniption fit. These same little ants who are so gleeful to see Bernie Madoff sent to jail are desperate to see Bernie Washington in control of building their cities. Now, when I look up, I see an inescapably giant magnifying glass, and I know that shortly we are all about to be toast.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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