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In January, trials were held for seventeen people accused in connection with the melamine scandal that rocked the Chinese food industry in September 2008. As a result of drinking milk tainted with this substance, over 300,000 children have developed kidney and urinary tract complications, with over 50,000 being hospitalized and at least 6 infants dying. Even as the trials started for those involved in the milk scandal, 1,500 boxes of cookies shipped from China to Hong Kong and Singapore were also found to contain melamine. The Chinese courts sentenced two men to death for their parts in the scandal, and the then chairwoman of the milk company involved was sentenced to life in prison.
In 2007 food containing melamine labeled as wheat gluten and rice protein was shipped from Chinese manufacturers to pet food companies in the U.S. and elsewhere. After a Canadian pet food company announced it was voluntarily recalling food that was sickening pets, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration fielded thousands of similar complaints across America. Soon afterward, a myriad of pet foods from china were recalled from the market, but not before thousands of pets had died from renal failure potentially linked to melamine.
Short–term profits, long–term harm
Melamine is commonly used in coatings, laminates, wood adhesives, ceiling tiles and flame retardants. The chemical is a byproduct of plastic manufacturing and can be used to mimic high protein additives. It can be used to make products appear more nutritious by certain unscrupulous food companies since it shows up as protein. Some food companies have been using it as a cheap and abundant filler substance for products ranging from pet food to eggs, and now tragically, even baby formula. When added to watered–down milk it makes it appear to have higher protein content.
WHO Food Safety Scientist, Peter Ben Embarek attributes much of the problem to, what he calls “the incredible pace in the development of food, agricultural, and industrial production in China over the past few decades. He says the agencies in charge of setting the rules and monitoring food safety in the private sector are not developing at the same pace.”
He feels this unbalanced growth between production and regulation has “opened the gates and the door to all kind of… misbehavior and incidents and criminal and intentional acts like we have seen in this case…The large scale of this event ensures that it was clearly not an isolated accident. It was a large–scale intentional activity to deceive consumers for simple, basic, short–term profits.”
While this is a terrible thing going on in China, making big profits illegally, causing suffering and even the death of some, it is not a practice confined to one part of the world. We have heard of illegal business dealings and scandal right here in America.
Does the Bible, God’s inspired word, give any insight into why something like this would happen? In I Timothy 6:10 we read: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
This is not a verse to just casually read over. Notice what Paul was inspired to write here! Money is one of the big sources of evil. All kinds of evil! He also mentions that when greed is involved, it leads to many sorrows. Doesn’t that fit the description of this tragedy involving melamine being put into formula and pet foods? It involved trickery, deceit, greed for more money and sorrow for the recipients as well as those responsible, who are now facing stiff penalties.
All kinds of evil
Let’s examine this in Timothy more closely to see if what it says is true. Of and by itself, money is not evil. We all must have money to survive in this world. It is the misuse of money, the wrong desire for it and the evil acts committed to obtain more of it, that is the problem.
If we stop and think about all of the crimes that are committed in the world each day, many are committed with greed for money as the main motivation. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1,500 bank robberies took place in this country between October 1, 2007 and December 31, 2007 and over 23 million dollars was taken. That is only three months! The Bureau of Justice reported that 447,403 robberies of all kinds took place in the United States in 2006. Do you think greed for money was a factor?
The Internal Revenue Service states on their website that “the daily news is proof that the crimes dealing with or motivated by money make up the majority of criminal activity in the nation. Tax evasion, public corruption, health care fraud, money laundering and drug trafficking are all examples of the types of crimes that revolve around money.”
The fruits show plainly that money certainly is a root of all kinds of evil. Greed, the motivation behind this evil, brings sorrow to many, including those who commit these crimes.
Origin of greed
Where did greed originate? Before God created the first man, he created angels (Psa. 148:2–5, Job 38:4–7). One angel to whom God gave tremendous responsibility was Lucifer. He was given a throne to rule over all the angels God had placed on this earth (Isa. 14:13). Ezekiel describes Lucifer as “perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you” (28:15). God created the angels with free moral agency, just as He has given human beings. But Lucifer used this freedom of choice to rebel against God: “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High’” (Isa. 14:12–14).
Did you notice all of the I’s in those verses? Lucifer wanted to take over the throne of God. He was competing against God to be number one. God had given him wisdom, beauty, riches and position, but he wanted more. He failed and was cast back down to this earth (Rev. 12:9).
After the fall of Lucifer, God created man and Satan was right there to influence him. We can see in Gen 3:1–6 that he succeeded, and he has been deceiving mankind ever since, as the apostle Paul under inspiration from God wrote: “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (II Cor.4:4 KJV).
When Jesus Christ was a young man, Satan tried to tempt him with greed and lust for riches: “Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me’” (Matt. 4:8–9). Satan did not succeed in swaying Christ, but he has been successful in swaying many others through the years since Adam and Eve. Satan is referred to as “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2). He is a spirit—you can’t see him—he sends out his thoughts and attitudes of lust and greed to unsuspecting individuals. This leads them to disobedience, to do things opposite to God’s law.
God’s law, which is summed up in the Ten Commandments, is one of love toward God and love toward your neighbor. This attitude of having a love for money out of greed to fulfill our own desires, not caring for or about others, comes from Satan. It is a trap that leads to destruction: “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition” (I Tim. 6:9).
Give instead of get, gratitude instead of greed
What can we do to avoid falling prey to this greed for money and riches? Our first step should be to ask God to help us avoid this trap in keeping with the example found in Proverbs 30:7–9: “Two things I request of You (deprive me not before I die): Remove falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches—feed me with the food allotted to me; lest I be full and deny You, and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ or lest I be poor and steal, and profane the name of my God.”
Another thing we can and should do is to thank God daily for what we have. Paul instructed Timothy to remind the brethren not to trust in their riches, but in God “who gives us richly all things to enjoy” (I Tim. 6:17–18). It is not wrong to have money—many of God’s servants had wealth, including Abraham and Job. The problem is the wrong pursuit of money, obtaining wealth in a wrong way. We need to daily remind ourselves where all of our blessings come from. If God shut off the rain, no food would grow, the water would dry up and our money would do us no good whatsoever! But if we will strive with God’s help to live his way, the way of give instead of get, God will give us great riches in his soon coming Kingdom: “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son” (Rev. 21:7). If we will seek that Kingdom now, God also promises to provide all of our needs in this life (Matt. 6:31–33).
The only solution to the global problem of greed is the institution of the Kingdom of God. Until then men will continue to find ways to make money at the detriment of innocent victims. When God’s government, led by Jesus Christ, is set up on this earth, there will be honesty, fairness and outgoing concern for fellow man as part of government policy: “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Jer. 23:5–6). And all people will be taught to live this same way (Isa. 2:2–3).
Yes, the time is soon coming when there will be no more scandals or evil acts to obtain money at the expense of others. There are no solutions now, but there is living hope in an everlasting government based on love, which is soon to come to this earth, led by Jesus Christ the King. God speed that day!