And the name of the game is..greed

Man is sometimes insatiable. The ambition to make a profit easily gives way to the drive to top last years dividends. And so the hunt is on for the big prize, the short-term success of yet another bonus, yet another big pay-off.

And so we seem to not learn from past mistakes. because sooner or later that ladder into the skies comes crashing down on us, and we're left reeling from the shock of seeing our dreams collapse: the value of our shares did not reach record levels after all, but plummeted unnervingly quickly to rock bottom.

The boat of world finances has been rocking for quite a while now, but only now are we able to appraise the full-scale consequences of the incessant push for (almost) instant satisfaction: individual nations very nearly going bust (Iceland), large corporations crying out for government rescue packages (American car industry), household consumption grinding to a near halt (Europe), and suddenly the up-beat spirit of yesterday has been ousted by the nasty presence of the twin menaces of pessimism and apprehension.

TIME: "Blame it on the greedy"

Am I unperturbed by all of this, immune to the crack-down that is taking place? Certainly not. My wallet will also, to a certain extent, be made to feel the full force of this man-generated failure. Interestingly enough, even TIME, the American media giant, seems to blame the current crisis partly on human greed. But as always, the underdeveloped world is the major victim of rich-world selfishness.

Really, this will probably lead some advocates of Soviet-style planned economy to raise the standard again. But I'll never follow in their lead. As much as I believe in the need to make legal provisions for curbing the worst effects of human greed, I also very much believe that both Bible and experience teach us something fundamentally different than outright socialism when it comes to how to handle money.

Making room for the diligent

In the wisdom of the Word: both the diligent and the sluggard must be allowed to reap the fruit of their endeavours - or non-endeavours. So, it follows quite naturally that we should make room for the enterprising minds, and those willing to risk their savings to either create businesses or reach the goal of their life. Yes, we're selfish alright, but not all capitalism is bad capitalism. There is a way of handling money, making it grow, that provides bread for the poor man and bread for the rich. And in the not too distant future I'll relay the story of one such man.

But for now, let's not panic even while our financial assets seem on the verge of being flushed down the toilet. Because there is a book where someone says that while all the world's systems are being shakened, we as believers can remain calmly assured that we're receiving a Kingdom that isn't prey to the whims or cataclysms of man.