Fraud - An Unjust Act

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Those who have never suffered injustice cannot easily imagine its effect or how it feels to be cheated. For me, injustice is a knife used to pierce through the heart, leaving the affected alive but without pulling out the knife. Numerous situations abound of injustice in our everyday endeavors, which has roots in our fraudulent nature. For a personal example, I have been cheated by people for close to fifteen (15) solid times in my life during which valuable amount of money and property was lost. The point is that we may recognize and get some of these fraudsters and robbers arrested at numerous times in our lives but never do we recover our properties, even when there was a confession. Nor have we been satisfied with the punishments meted on these criminals and, often, victimized in the process. Injustice is therefore very painful indeed and can only result from a blindly fraudulent and decaying society where the acts are condoned.

Because of fraud; homes, individuals, groups, organizations/Institutions, Government and the country will suffer from lack of progress i.e. stagnation and even retrogression could become the outcome in all spheres of social, political, economic, and technological endeavours. How can a country, or people, progress if they are godless and lawless? Our societies have definitely collapsed.

In spite of the observations made, there are still sincere people in the society, and Government, who publicly denounce fraud. Many Governments of nations, like Nigeria, are attempting, miraculously, some anti-corruption campaigns and clean-ups. In any case, because it involves deceit, cheating, imposture and concealment, fraud is, normally, condemned in public, even if only hypocritical. Thus, one discovers that the society has a system innovation in which fraud sections in-charge of detection and control are conspicuously displayed in public prosecution offices and police departments in-charge of law and order. This wisdom of man was handed over by God but is grossly abused.

God punishes fraud openly and some of the punishments, if our law and order is incompetent, are enumerated and they include:
i. Treasures - In Christianity, one of the arduous tasks of evangelizing is to convince unbelievers of the existence of a "heaven", which the Lord has reserved for the righteousness. Christians, and all sane good people, should aim to be in heaven one day. That being the case, the Lord Jesus Christ emphasized, metaphorically in Mark 10:21 that if we repented and got rid of our fraudulent possessions, then we shall have treasures in heaven. Conversely, if we insist on remaining fraudulent, then we shall lack, individually, treasures in heaven: a residence that we shall inherit at the end if we give a good account of our stewardship on earth. Of course, no one likes to occupy an empty house with no treasures in it.

ii. Disaster - The Old Testament prophet, Elijah, in 1 Kings 21:21, pronounces the punishment of disaster from God for fraud. God states through Elijah that 'I am going to bring disaster on you. I will consume your descendants and cut off every last male - slave or free'.

iii. Shameful death - To affirm God's supremacy over humankind, his own creation or, if you like, creature, he (God) pronounces the punishment of a shameful death as punishment for fraud. In 1 Kings 21:24, God says that 'Dogs will eat those belonging to you who die in the city, and vultures will feed on those who die in the countryside'. A shameful public death also caught up with Ananias and Saphira when they lied to defraud God (Acts 5:5, 10).

Finally, having seen the evil and effect of fraud, it is now our duty to make sure that in the face of fraud; we can stand up and insist on its punishment. It may be emphasized, further, that whether we are leaders or commoners, over-bourgeois by the so-called 'masses', the responsibility is for us to help eliminate fraud today. All leaders are, after all, installed and maintained in office and power by God. If leaders, in whatever position of leadership, do not please Him, they are simply disobedient and dishonest to Him to whom all powers belong. We are required to use our offices diligently, prayerfully and with full submission to almighty God to execute law and order. To eliminate fraud, so that we can map out a prosperous and amiable future for our homes, friends, all loved ones, and our dear countries. The society will then be useful to us, our descendants, as well as future generations. May the Lord God help, bless and guide each one of us in His infinite wisdom. Amen.