Greed is Good?!?

Any enterprise that fails to account for human sin is bound to fail. That was a recognition that I came to in college. The old adage that "people are basically good" does not define what "basically" actually is. But, given the news today that the federal government is bailing out the loan industry with a buyout expected to be one half trillion (that's t-r-i-l-l-i-o-n) dollars, I think it is safe to say that human sin has once again reared its ugly head (Follow this link for Yahoo article) What sin am I referring to? Greed, with a capital "G." We have let the moneylenders run the temple for so long that we have become dependent on them for our livelihood. But, they have proven (as they have time and time again) that they cannot be trusted. In the movie "Wall Street," Michael Douglas as Gordon Gecko told a group of stockholders, "Greed...is good." His basic premise was that greed is the fuel that runs the engine of the American economy. And that is true. But, it is also true that greed is a sin (one of the seven deadly ones, as I recall). And being a sin means that by its very nature that greed cannot be trusted. Greed makes people lie, cheat, and steal. It makes them loan money to people that aren't ready to borrow at higher than average interest in order to line the coffers. Greed must be kept in check. If not, the temple will be turned over to the moneylenders, and the moneylenders will show their moral weakness - yet again. But, the problem is not with the moneylenders, they are doing only what greed dictates they do. The problem is with us - the people that allow the moneylenders so much power, the people that buy into "greed is good" when we are doing pretty well. But, here is the sad reality. Greed is not good. It is o.k. on its best day. There are virtues that can also drive the economy. Any enterprise that fails to account for human sin is bound to fail.And when our system fails to account for the tendency to greed of the moneylenders, than we are asking for trouble. And that is exactly what we have got.