http://www.rollingstone.com:80/culture/news/17389/233391
I recently stumbled upon this article from Rolling Stone magazine and it got me thinking. The article, titled "Sex, Drugs, and the biggest Cybercrime of All Time" was about a young man, Albert Gonzalez, and his posse who decided that they wanted hack into the databases of about 250 companies- including Barnes and Noble and 7-Eleven. The 25-year-old Albert thought he had everything under control. He was working as an informant for the secret service for four years. He helped federal agents identify and bust rogue hackers. The double-life he lived gave him all the information he needed to know how the feds try to safeguard the the nation's computer data. All of the information he gained just reinforced his sense of confidence in the crime he and his friends were about to commit. Although the story itself is extremely interesting, the one thought that kept coming up in my head was, "How does that much greed overpower one person?"
I'm sure there are plenty of people who, like myself, see things sometimes and want them. I know how I feel when a new Marc Jacobs bag comes out, but my reaction to it is not to go out and steal it or someone's credit card to purchase it. And although I want to believe that Albert Gonzalez was just born with a heart filled with greed, I know that he had to have had instances growing up where he had the choice to fulfill his own pleasures rather than care about how it would affect others. Luke 12:15 says, "Then he said to them, 'Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.'" I think that people forget that sometimes. We live in a society where presenting yourself in a specific way is more important than the person you are. It's not all about the things we have but our relationships with others and with God. It's interesting when you meet people who don't have very much and see how happy and giving they are. They don't care about their material possessions, but would rather make sure that their guests are happy and that they are enjoying each others company. They do it without reward and are not boastful or even sad that they no longer have whatever it is they gave away. It's kind of sad that there have to be promotions so that people will go out and do something kind for others. Like Disneyland's "Give-A-Day, Get-A-Day" promotion. Yeah, it was a good idea because then they'd have helpers, but people shouldn't have to get something in return to want to help someone. Perhaps one day people will stop to think about how they can help someone else without having to receive something in return to do it.
