By Tom Shanklin

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. (Ezekiel 34:20-22, KJV).

The recent Enron debacle serves to remind us of a great malady in America.

In spite of all of our great wealth and abundance, or perhaps because of it, there is a great tendency to push the weak and the poor down and out of the way. There is a selfishness and a greed which goes far beyond a healthy ambition and desire to improve one’s life.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for capitalism, and prosperity, and even the accumulation of wealth—if a person has their heart in the right place. Thank God for the American dream, and that even the poorest, the weakest, the least, can achieve success and greatness.

But too often success is achieved at the expense of others. The Enron officials, apparently, as they began to see their company falling apart, began to sell their shares of stock in the company. Many Enron employees, who were not privy to the knowledge of the company’s potential demise, were left holding the bag.

Worthless shares of stock translated into the loss of life savings and retirement programs  overnight. Truly these folks were victims of corporate greed.

Perhaps we could say that the employees and other investors should not have been so trusting, and that investors in Enron were themselves responsible to know the state of the company. However, if the truth be known, Enron employees and investors simply got ripped off.

But greed and selfishness are not limited to huge corporations or to businessmen with 10 million dollar homes. It is found in every arena of life and every community of our fair nation. Who among us has not fallen victim to some wisely-crafted scam to separate us from any excess of cash that we might have?

My son, for example, recently called the telephone company to ask for the numerous services (such as call waiting, caller ID etc.) to be removed from his telephone account. These services, as you know, are sold to us as a “necessity” by aggressive telemarketers. However, one thing that these sales people fail to tell us is that there will be a service charge to remove the services once we decide to have them removed. They get  you coming and going.

Last year we were all gouged by the energy industry on our heating bills. And OPEC continually plays its little manipulative game to keep us spending the maximum at the gas pump. It just seems like, the little guy always gets “took.”

I see this all too often in my pastoral work. Little people—kind gentle, nonaggressive people—get pushed around by the fat cats. You know who I mean. . . the money grubbers, the power pushers, the demeaning “I’m better than you” people, the intimidators. . .the ones with the ability to make the little guy feel “littler.” Yes, they push people around, they push them down in the dirt, and often-times for personal gain.

It’s a sin!

Oh no, you may say. It’s just business. Everyone’s got to make a buck.

But the prophet says that God will judge between the fat cattle and the lean. . . between those who are pushing people around and those who are being pushed. You don’t think the Lord knows, or cares, but believe me, He is watching, and He will settle the score.

One day Jesus went to lunch with one of these fat cattle. His name was Zacchaeus. He was a tax collector. The tax collectors were notorious scoundrels in those days. But while he was having lunch with Jesus, he experienced the love of God. He felt a presence that he had never known before.

And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. (Luke 19:8, KJV).

When Zacchaeus experienced the true and living God, he repented. He turned from his wicked ways. He said he would restore the money that he had conned people out of, and he would give to the poor.

Thank God for people of wealth who use what they have to help others.

When Jesus heard Zacchaeus’ statement, He knew that something had taken place deep in his heart. . . something powerful and life changing. Selfishness and greed had been displaced by the love of God. Zacchaeus was converted. He was saved from the wages of sin—eternal destruction.

And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:9-10, KJV).

Jesus came to seek and save the lost. We often think of lost drug dealers, lost prostitutes, lost murderers, lost drunks in the gutter. But God knows there are business people who are consumed with greed and selfishness who are just as lost and in need of a Savior.

The answer to the problem of selfishness and greed is not socialism. The communists have demonstrated what a farce that notion is. No, the answer is a true social conscience, born out of a relationship with Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Jesus died to forgive our sins and change our hearts.

All of us should examine our hearts to see if we are thrusting our neighbor in the side. . . hurting others in our desire to get ahead. If so, thank God there is forgiveness and redemption in the Lord Jesus Christ. We can change! Repent and believe the Gospel!