The New Testament reports that the Christian couple Ananias and Sapphira were the first documented 1st-century church members to attempt to perpetrate a scam in God’s household. But when they attempted their nefarious act, they were caught and had to pay with their lives. Nothing has changed. There are still people even today who have decided that it is to their benefit to prey upon their fellow members of their congregations.
Of all the ways scammers can steal your money, experts agree the most difficult frauds to combat are the ones that seek to turn your own faith against you. Law enforcement officials call them affinity frauds — targeting victims through a common bond, most often religion. While nationwide statistics are hard to come by because the scams are so widespread, it’s fair to say that affinity fraud losses run into the billions of dollars per year. “People want to trust,” Jenice Malecki, a New York securities lawyer who specializes in affinity fraud cases, said in an interview with CNBC’s “American Greed.” “Especially in affinity situations, where people feel more comfortable for one reason or another, be it a church or an ethnic community, they tend to not look as hard as they should at what’s in front of them.”
CNBC: AMERICAN GREED: Religious Based Financial Fraud Is Rampant.
My furniture maker was no exception. Criminals and scammers will try to take advantage of others under any circumstance. But when there is a raging economic crisis to give them social cover, their actions become even more brazen. The theft of money under a false premise is one thing. The trauma experienced when the victim realizes that he was targeted because of his location among the supposed followers of Christ. It is simply heart-rending. I could have had him arrested because that’s how fraudsters are handled in Ghana. Or I could have reported him to the elders of the church. I did none of the above. I simply spoke with him, prayed, listened to his excuses and rationalizations, and gave him time. But it was all to no avail. As we read in scripture:
“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.” Luke 6:27-28 (NKJV).
My good intentions fell by the wayside. The pursuit of my high ideals took me to nowhere. After I had exhausted all of the scriptural injunctions enunciated by The Master Himself, I started to pray. “Lord,” I asserted, “I’ve done everything you told me to do; where do I go from here?” The following morning, the answer came while I was resting in bed. It was clear, audible, concise, and taken directly from scripture: “Cast your bread upon the waters, For you will find it after many days. Ecclesiastes 11:1 (NKJV). I heard The Spirit clearly. What exactly, however, did He mean by those words? Since it’s impossible to second-guess The Lord, I would just have to wait patiently to see. About six weeks passed, and one day, while walking, I saw a religious pamphlet on the road directly in front of me. One mind prompted me to kick it further down the road. Another thought, however, counseled me to pick it up instead. I obeyed the latter, picked up the piece of literature, placed it in my bag, and took it home. After I arrived home, I took the small pamphlet out of my bag. I opened it and proceeded to examine it, and to my great amazement, two crisp one hundred US bills were staring up at me. The Ghanaian equivalent was 2000.00 GHS, the same amount I had paid to my unscrupulous furniture maker. I could barely believe this experience.
So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper. 2 Chronicles 20:20. (NKJV).
Yvonne Nelson is among the most beautiful and accomplished Ghanaian actresses and celebrities I know. Yet she could not prevail upon Ghana’s current President, Nana Dwanka Akuffo Addo, to change the nation’s immediate but downward economic trajectory so that, in the end, she and others could continue to enjoy their past standard of living. Of course, he tried, as did the Minister of Finance, but ultimately, national and international events overtook them all and imposed impotence upon them.
The UK High Commissioner to Ghana, Harriet Thompson, has expressed concerns about significant levels of corruption in Ghana, emphasizing its impact on the nation’s progress. During a media interaction at the 75th birthday celebration of King Charles III at her residence, she lamented Ghana’s corruption perception index standing, highlighting the potential for faster advancement if funds were utilized effectively. “Corruption is one of the things holding Ghana back. It’s not only a problem in Ghana, but also a problem in many other countries,” she said. “If all the money that comes into Ghana were used for the purpose for which it was intended, Ghana would be making faster progress,” she added.
CNR: CITI NEWSROOM: Corruption Is Holding Ghana Back, UK High Commissioner, By Fred Duhoe, November 23, 2023.
Ghanaians, like Nigerians, are infamous for a variety of frauds and chicanery of every kind. Unfortunately, some people are unaware of an invisible moral order in this universe. No sin goes unpunished! We are all beneath the supervision and sovereignty of an omnipotent God: “But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” Exodus 21:23 (NKJV).
“Is this not laid up in store with Me, Sealed up among My treasures?
Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; Their foot shall slip in due time;
For the day of their calamity is at hand, And the things to come hasten upon them.” Deuteronomy 32: 34-35 (NKJV).
Like a helpless child, The Republic of Ghana was bent over, crouching beneath the punitive blows proceeding from the staff of an angry providential parent. The descending stripes continued unabated. Blow after blow fell upon the almost bared back of the country. There seemed to be nothing the nation could do to avoid these severe and punitive strokes. The prices of sardines, sugar, chicken, and all imported goods skyrocketed. The cost of yam, sweet potatoes, and onions didn’t lag far behind. Were the COVID-19 pandemic and the war between Russia and Ukraine really the precipitating factors for this dire economic crisis? How many people in Ghana will finally understand? If they repent and stop lying, stealing, robbing, scamming, and appropriating other people’s property to themselves, then things will finally change? How many Ghanaian young women will conclude that these things are happening because they won’t stop sleeping with three different men?
“And after all this, if you do not obey Me, but walk contrary to Me, then I also will walk contrary to you in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.” Deuteronomy 26:27-28. (NKJV).
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” Galatians 6:7-10. (NKJV).
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