Man is forever filled with greed. He always wants more than he has. He is never satisfied with what God had provided for him and his needs. It could be called ambition but to have more just for the sake of having it is not sufficient reason for wanting it. Throughout the course of time men have cast their greedy eyes on what their neighbor has. The tenth Commandment clearly says, “You shall not covet your neighbors house . . . your neighbors wife . . . nor anything that is your neighbors” (Exodus 20:17). Yet from the earliest days the greedy eyes of man have ever looked out beyond this and has sort to colonize his neighbor’s country and the wealth that it would bring.
This has been the history over the many centuries and men have been at war killing and stealing the possessions of their neighbors. The plunder taken from the losing side included not only the physical wealth of gold and silver, but anything precious such as silks or timber. Not content with taking these precious things, the able-bodied men and women were taken into slavery. Mighty empires were created and covered vast areas of the known world. Egypt and Rome spread their laws and religions over the land and converted the people by whatever means. Nothing lasts forever but the mighty held sway for thousands of years until circumstances changed and they in their turn were conquered.
The British Empire was conceived by the Victorians, as the British Navy ruled the waves and allowed global travel to take place and huge areas of land were opened up as explorers took charge of countries in the name of Queen Victoria, who was happy to be also hailed as an Empress and worshiped in distant lands, such as India and Australia. Where the conquers went they were soon followed by the missionaries, who taught the Gospel and built their churches, so that the new region was born in the name of the conquers. During the Second World War troops were sent to fight with the British Army against the evils of the Nazis, who practiced canonization in Europe and joined together with Italy and Japan.
Genocide was practiced against the Jews and their wealth was stolen. They were put in camps and used as forced labor until they were too old or too weak to work and then they were gassed in huge numbers. There are many other examples of Genocide in the modern world, most famously in Rwanda where in the 1990s a civil war led to mass murders of the local people. Mankind does not take much notice of the Commandments but kills and steals for what he wants. Colonization is now happening in space, where there is rivalry for domination between the Americans, the Chinese and the Russians. Mars has been targeted and already exploration has taken place. May God’s peace be established in space or none of us will be safe in this world or beyond it.
Thursday, 29th April 2021
No comments:
Post a Comment