Rich and Hellbound

Down and Out: The humiliation of being homeless

Steve Wynn, the billionaire business tycoon who's built several posh Las Vegas casino-hotels, was speaking from the heart recently when he talked about folks who are on the opposite end of the financial spectrum. 

Did Wynn denounce poverty and argue for greater welfare benefits for the poor? Did he decry racism and bigotry as the root causes of the widening disparity between uber-rich people such as himself and those who struggle to keep a roof over their heads?

He did neither. Rather, he said something that was downright insulting and repugnant. But unlike a lot of his wealthy brethren who are complete phonies, he was painfully honest, if not condescending. 

What did Wynn say? He said this: Rich people only like being around rich people. Nobody likes being around poor people, especially poor people. 

Wynn said that in the context of his hotels, which are considered to be some of the most luxurious on the planet. His hotels cater to the wealthiest people in the world who don't want to be in the company of ordinary folks. He elaborated: 

This company caters to the top end of the gaming world. We're sort of Chanel or Louis Vuitton, to use the comparison, the metaphor of the retail business. But unlike Chanel and Louis Vuitton, we are able in our business to cater to all of the market. By making our standards so high...that everybody wants to be in the building. Or to put it in a more colloquial way, rich people only like being around rich people. Nobody likes being around poor people, especially poor people. So we try and make the place feel upscale for everyone. That is to say we cater to people who have discretion and judgment and we give them a choice and we are consistent in that.

Wynn's not necessarily a bad person. He's a job creator who's helped a lot of people earn a good living and live a comfortable life. He may not personally have contempt for poor folks, but he knows that a lot of his rich customers do. And they don't want to be around poor people. Thus, Wynn's hotels are extremely pricey and unaffordable for ordinary folks.

A lot of rich people portray themselves as folks who care deeply about the poor. In fact, they despise the poor and often exploit them for personal and political purposes. 

That's nothing new. Jesus Christ warned His followers not to use the poor to gain glory for themselves: "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full." (Matthew 6:2)

What does the Bible say about vast wealth? Nothing good. Is money bad? Is it a sin to be rich? Absolutely not. Rather, money is an idol that people worship in place of God. The apostle Paul elaborated on that in his first of two letters to fellow apostle Timothy: 

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Timothy 6:6-10)

Christ said that "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." (Mark 10:25) Why? Because wealth is the false god of the rich. 

And wealth is a false god that can't save anyone from eternal damnation. Christ said this: "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." (Luke 16:13)

Throughout history, material wealth has often been used as a measuring stick for personal character and success. Thus, the more money you possess, the greater the person you're considered to be. Nearly 3,000 years ago, the psalmist wrote that "people praise you when you prosper." (Psalm 49:18) And many look down on you when you fail, and they insult you because of that. 

The psalmist went on to say this: 

"This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings. They are like sheep and are destined to die; death will be their shepherd (but the upright will prevail over them in the morning).Their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions." (Psalm 49:13-14)

Hell is populated with wealthy people who believed that their money would buy them eternal life and keep them out of the grave. But it didn't. They snubbed their noses at God and chose to receive their rewards on earth rather than wait for a far-greater, eternal reward in heaven. 

And now, they've become like the people they loathed and despised and ridiculed while they lived on earth in opulent luxury. They've become eternally destitute. 

Though while they lived they counted themselves blessed—and people praise you when you prosper—they will join those who have gone before them, who will never again see the light of life. People who have wealth without understanding are like the beasts that perish. (Psalm 49:18-20)

The New Money

Show me the new money

Though few people--including many professing Christians--take the Bible literally these days, there are those who do and they realize that we're living in the period of time that the Bible describes as the last days.

In what way? In the way of money that biblical prophecy clearly reveals will become quite different in the days preceding the return of Jesus Christ. How will it be different? It will be fully electronic, meaning that cash, coins, checks, debit and credit cards will go the way of the dinosaur.

Nearly 1,900 years ago, the apostle John, who was an elderly man confined by Rome to the desolate island of Patmos for refusing to renounce Christ, received an incredible vision from God concerning the end times. That vision included a one-world government and its wicked leader who will institute a global cashless monetary system.

Though that sounds beneficial, the vision revealed that the ultimate motive for this new, global monetary system will be surveillance and control. Here's what John recorded: "He (Antichrist) also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name." (Revelation 13:16-17)

John's vision didn't make much sense in 90 A.D when he received it. It didn't make much sense for several centuries, prompting some biblical scholars to question whether the Revelation was a myth that should've been stricken from the Bible. Certainly, some ancient kingdoms instituted marking systems to identify their subjects. But on a global scale?

That was practically impossible to comprehend until the advent of the 20th century that saw an explosion of technology with inventions such as the automobile, airplanes, computers, television, satellites and smart-phones. Many folks forget that a lot of the things they depend on these days didn't exist 100 years ago. That's how quickly technology has advanced the world since the dawn of the previous century.

And the technology now exists to implement a cashless monetary system. Those who are promoting this system claim that it will do away with violent drug cartels and street gangs that accumulate most of their income from narcotics. They also claim that it will eliminate robberies and reduce financial scams that target the elderly.

Though smart-phones now transact a lot of the financial business that used to be transacted by paper money and credit cards, they can be lost, stolen or hacked by cyber-thieves. The ultimate system will feature an embedded computer chip or skin-patch containing a barcode that will be synced with a person's DNA to prevent the device from being used by someone else if it's stolen or removed from its host. Does the technology exist to implement such a system? Not yet, but it's not far away.

In the meantime, the world is preparing for this new economic system by making plans to discard the old system. And the first nation that could become fully cashless is Sweden. From cbsnews.com: Sweden was the first European country to introduce bank notes in 1661. Now it's come farther than most on the path toward getting rid of them. "I can't see why we should be printing bank notes at all anymore," says Bjoern Ulvaeus, former member of 1970's pop group ABBA, and a vocal proponent for a world without cash. The contours of such a society are starting to take shape in this high-tech nation, frustrating those who prefer coins and bills over digital money.  
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sweden-moving-towards-cashless-economy

Since cash has become increasingly scarce in Sweden, crime has dropped. According to the AP: The number of bank robberies in Sweden plunged from 110 in 2008 to 16 in 2011 — the lowest level since it started keeping records 30 years ago. It says robberies of security transports are also down. "Less cash in circulation makes things safer, both for the staff that handle cash, but also of course for the public," says Par Karlsson, a security expert at the organization."

Indeed, that sounds like great news. But as they say: The road to hell is paved with good intentions. And the good intentions of a global cashless monetary system will ultimately become the yellow brick road that leads to the gates of hell.