He that hastens [runs] to be rich has an evil eye, and considers not that poverty shall come upon him.
Proverbs 28:22
The Bonuses
Now we have the AIG bonuses and other outrages. Everyone is scratching their heads; others cry outrage and some dare to proclaim “immorality.” The lies, untruths and half truths and the greed are profound.
What Is the Root?
Don’t blame Wall Street and don’t blame the banks? Who should be blamed? All these business leaders who everyone vilifies came from the American Culture where the Ten Commandments have been removed. God has been expelled from schools and universities and supplanted with existentialism and nihilistic values and world view. Profit by any means is the rule of the day. Customer service and dedication by the corporate culture (in general) degenerated to so many computer numbers and calculations. Customers are viewed as numbers rather than people. Now we see the results.
Here’s something to consider. Many point to Wall-Streeters, the bankers and others as the source of all the corruption, along with many in government who have close associations with certain Capitol Hill Lobbyists as the bad guys.
No, you got it all wrong. Wall-Streeters, bankers and the politicians are only the pimple on the skin of a diseased body. Those guys came from the American Culture. They come from a nation who for years rejected standards of Biblical moral righteousness, which French philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville attributed to the base of America’s greatness.
Moral Disintegration
For years, America descended down the slope of moral depravity and a corrupting culture of self benefit rather than self sacrifice. For years America has been fed the “drug” of sexual depravity, feeding the passions of immediate pleasure and ignoring the consequences. The economic collapse was the result of this value base; i.e., profit without consideration of consequences.
For years, the political and moral Left have told us that morality cannot be legislated. They said that those with traditional Biblical morals should not impose their morals upon others. Well, some of those Wall Street boys and politicians believed it and have been acting on it. No wonder we have the problems we do. Oh, by the way, now we hear outcries of “where’s the morality?” I’ll tell you where the morality is: It lay at the gates of Hell and I fear the worst is yet to come unless there be a national repentance.
God, Morality and the Economy
Many try to disengage the connection between Godly behavior and standards with fiscal prosperity. Nice try, but “no cigar.” The two are inseparable.
There is an inseparable connection between Biblical morality and financial success or ruin. Not only does God promise prosperity to that nation whose God is the Lord and who adopt His values as theirs, but He also pronounces a curse of poverty on those who reject them (read Deuteronomy 28 and 29).
In Genesis 4, God cursed Cain, who killed his brother Abel. Today, what will God do in response to 50 million aborted children? Will he continue to prosper the nation that commits such abomination?
James Chapter 5 declares a curse on employers who rob the wages of their employees; in I Timothy 6 the Apostle Paul clearly states that the “love of money” is the root of all evil; in Proverbs 12:22, God says that liars are an abomination to the Lord, but they who deal truly are His delight.
The Book of Job tells a great story of a man’s wealth earned by honesty and integrity and even when the evil one struck him he recovered, and God made him four-fold the wealthiest man in the world. Proverbs 28:22 speaks to the consequences of greed: “He that hastens [runs] to be rich has an evil eye, and considers not that poverty shall come upon him.”
The Founding Fathers understood this connection between Biblical morality and financial/governmental success when they declared:
We therefore the representatives of the United Colonies assembled, in Congress, submit the rectitude of our intentions to the Supreme Judge of the World.
Declaration of Independence
Stimulus to Create More Jobs
Jobs created under the stimulus package are not long term, but temporary. They are not business related, but isolated jobs. However, it does make for good politics.
Typical liberal thought makes decisions on immediate perception and not long-term effect. This stimulus package will not build permanent jobs because it doesn’t build business, which is the key to long-term economic recovery. Paying for “infrastructure” may be fine, but the money provided is to accomplish certain projects and then the jobs go away. How does this build perpetual business jobs and the economy? It doesn’t. It may look good for an election, but not for long-term economic growth and development.
True Stimulus that Works
If Obama and Congress want to rebuild the economy, they must provide incentives for the grass-roots business sector and set policies that will encourage new small businesses. True economic recovery must be in the grass-roots business which is ongoing and permanent, not just temporary employment. But then again, the stimulus package does make good politics for a short-term vote.
©2009 by Tony Nassif, President and Founder of Cedars Cultural and Educational Foundation (President@cedarsfoundation.org). For interviews and speaking arrangements, please call 818-848-7522.
