W5 - The duped church.

I watched W5 on the weekend - strictly to see the story on Pete McLeod, the youngest pilot in the Red Bull Air Race, who I know.

However, the first story was about people in a church who lost money investing in something that was too good to be true.  This included the church pastor, who invested $15,000 and lost it all.

There was a woman who borrowed $7,500 in order to invest in this get rich quick scheme.  She had no money, so applied for - and received a loan - in order to invest.  Now that her investment scheme didn't pan out, she is whining about having to pay back the loan.  Like the company that helped her out by lending her the money should pay for her foolish decision.

She said "I owe $7,500 and I got nothing for it!"  Wow, that was a lie.  Isn't lying a sin?  You actually got $7,500 from the lender, not nothing.  You threw it away on a get rich quick scheme.  That is not the lender's fault.  It is none of the lender's business what you do with your money.  You qualified for the loan, they loaned you the money, and you gave it away.  What if you instead used the money for a medical operation for a family member?  If the operation does not go well, and the patient dies - do you then expect not to pay back the loan?  No, you got your loan, and now you have to repay it. 

They showed a sermon the pastor was giving, and he was talking about money.  OK, everyone note, this man is not qualified to give advice on money to anyone.  His messages should be targeting greed, and taking responsibility for your poor choices.  Not blaming others for your mistakes.  That is the role of the heathen.

If this is a Christian church, you are supposed to be an honest person and live up to your word.  You borrowed money, and promised - in writing - to repay it at a specified interest rate.  You need to honour you word.  You also need to read what the Bible says about borrowing money.  Had you followed what you claim to follow you would not have made the choices you did.  The love of money is not a good thing, and it certainly should not be promoted from any pulpit.

It is this kind of story that really makes a black mark on the church.  It is bad enough your greed allowed you to get taken advantage of, but you then intentionally try to harm others who were there to help you when you asked for help.

This is not the action of someone walking in the truth.