In former times bank robberies were conducted from outside the bank. The attackers were easily identifiable by their clothing and weapons. Now it seems that robbers can also come from the inside, be well dressed and have their password to the computer system!

In fact our banking system seems to have supported quite a few of the latter variety whose annual bonus would have made the old style of armed robber green with envy. Their protests of innocence chime badly against the fact that these bonuses were being awarded while their banks were sinking beneath a mountain of dodgy loans.

But that was yesterday. In the real world of today it was encouraging to learn from one Bank CEO that he was taking a pay cut of €900,000. This praiseworthy act was tempered by the knowledge that he still had an income of €2,000,000 to get by on!

The culture which says its OK for one bank to window-dress the balance sheet of another bank by a temporary loan of multi-billions, but the way it was done i.e. disguising it as a deposit from a client, was wrong, needs a beginners course in ethics. The claim that it was in the national interest to shuffle the cash around, to create a false impression of growth, can only come out of a society which believes the only crime is in being caught.

You don’t need a bloodhound to sniff out self-interest of a high order.

The Bible has never had much time for greed. Jesus said: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” St Paul draws out the meaning further in his letter to the Church at Colosse when he likens greed to the sin of idolatry.

Those in our society who follow our culture instead of Christ need a radical conversion to Christ. Only when He opens their eyes can modern idol worshippers see the enormity of their sin and turn to Him for mercy. If they do then they, like the robber Zacchaeus in Luke’s gospel, will find pardon and acceptance. In their delight they too may be led to get rid of the possessions that have possessed them for so long.

Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”