Am I the Only Person Who Sees Some Serious Storm Clouds Ahead?

Greed and Profit Still Reign Supreme As the Impending Return of Christ Looms

What Will They Do When It All Comes Crashing Down?

by Minister Paul J. Bern

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Those of you who know me, plus all the subscribers I haven’t met yet, already know that I never miss a chance at connecting current events to the Scriptures. This weeks brings another example of how much I despise the mega-rich and the obscene amounts of money they have accumulated. This past week gives still another example of such an occurrence. Warren Buffet, who is one of the richest persons on the face of the earth, just amassed a mind-boggling $277 billion collars in cold, hard cash. For all this money to be in the hands of one person is downright obscene.

First, My Source

Let me share with you a few highlights of this article posted by Reuters News Agency, which was titled, “Berkshire halves Apple stake, boosts cash to $277 billion as it gets ‘defensive’”:

(Reuters) — Warren Buffet appears to have soured on stocks, letting cash at Berkshire Hathaway soar to nearly $277 billion and selling about half its stake in Apple, even as the conglomerate posted a record quarterly operating profit.

Berkshire’s cash stake grew to $276.9 billion as of June 30th 2924 from a then-record $189 billion three months earlier, largely because Berkshire sold a net $75.5 billion of stocks.

It sold about 390 million Apple shares in the second quarter, on top of 115 million sold from January to March, as the iPhone maker’s stock price rose 23%. Berkshire still owned about 400 million shares worth $84.2 billion as of June 30.

Berkshire also repurchased just $345 million of its own stock, down from $2.57 billion in the first quarter, and none in the first three weeks of July.

You can read the entire article at the following link:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/berkshires-cash-hits-277-billion-123056697.html

The Very Essence of Greed

For any one individual to have this much money while 20% of the global population has no access to running water is an obscenity. For any one individual to have this much money while 20% of the global population has no electricity is criminal. This man has made himself out to be selfishness personified. Warren Buffet is the very essence of greed in all its forms, all at once.

What Is Capitalism?

Capitalism is often thought of as an economic system in which private actors own and control property in accord with their interests, and demand and supply freely set prices in markets in a way that can serve the best interests of society. The essential feature of capitalism is the motive to make a profit. As Adam Smith, the 18th century philosopher and father of modern economics, said: “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.” Both parties to a voluntary exchange transaction have their own interest in the outcome, but neither can obtain what he or she wants without addressing what the other wants. It is this rational self-interest that can lead to economic prosperity, but that prosperity has its limits.

Criticism of Capitalism

Criticism of capitalism is a critique of political economy that involves the rejection of, or dissatisfaction with the economic system of capitalism and its outcomes. Criticisms typically range from expressing disagreement with particular aspects or outcomes of capitalism to rejecting the principles of the capitalist system in its entirety. Criticism of capitalism comes from various political and philosophical approaches, including anarchist, socialist, Marxist, religious, and nationalist viewpoints. Some believe that capitalism can only be overcome through revolution while others believe that structural change can come slowly through political reforms. Some critics believe there are merits in capitalism and wish to balance it with some form of social control, typically through government regulation (e.g. the social market movement).

Prominent among critiques of capitalism are accusations that capitalism is inherently exploitative, alienating, unstable, unsustainable, and creates massive economic inequality. At the same time, it commodifies people, and is anti-democratic and leads to an erosion of human rights and national sovereignty while it begets incentive to imperialist expansion and war, and that it benefits a small minority at the expense of the majority of the population.

Our Debt-Based Economic System Is Broken

In the US on any given night, 42 million people are hungry or they don’t know where their next meal is coming from, and 21 million of them are children. If another country was doing this to our kids, we would be at war. Meanwhile, the US military-industrial complex, spearheaded by American armed forces, has well over 700 military bases around the world. It takes a whole bunch of money to keep those bases stocked up, and to pay all the personnel who are manning those bases. The end result is an entire planet wracked by war and poverty for the benefit of a few.

Here’s What the Bible Says About the Mega-Rich Such as Warren Buffet

First, a few verses from our Lord and Savior: 24) “But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. 25) Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. 26) Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.” (Luke chapter 6, verses 24–26) These are the very words of Christ himself. No additional comment is required. These sacred words speak for themselves.

Here’s another tasty morsel of Spiritual wisdom from the apostle James. “1) Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. 2) Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3) Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4) Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5) You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.” (James chapter 5, verses1–5)

Looking Forward to the Demise of Capitalism As We Know It

The contrast between the mega-rich like Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zimmerman, Donald Trump and others like them, when compared to the teachings of Jesus Christ could not be more stark. I really and truly hope that this article clears up some common misconceptions about wealth and the pursuit of riches. It is one thing to be comfortably prosperous. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that at all. It’s a different matter altogether when $277 billion dollars is in the hands of just one person while untold thousands of people are living out of their cars or trucks because they don’t make enough money to get themselves an apartment. To reemphasize facts stated in the beginning, this is far more then mere inequality. This is criminal, and I look forward to the day when economic inequality finally becomes a thing from the past.

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