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Every time I hear or read about another “victim” of the Nigerian Scam, it drives me up the wall. First of all, the lure of $25 million dollars especially in an economy like this is pretty tempting, but I think it hits a nerve in some of us – the nerve of greed.
As I am getting older, I am realizing how hard it is to be content (the kind of contentment that the Apostle Paul talked about). We are such conditional people. If things are going well, then we are happy. If things are not going our way, then we have a poopy attitude.
Whether it is all the subliminal messages that the world preaches to us (think about all the marketing schemes of telling us what we “don’t” have) or our compulsion to compare ourselves with other people, our hearts are prone to wander.
Maybe it is my cynical side (I am trying to work on this), but when I first heard about the possibility of obtaining $25 million about 4 years ago (via e-mail), I just laughed. I was thinking there are only 2 things that are free in this world – air and the Gospel. Therefore, I just deleted it. But when I start to hear about people who have lost thousands of dollars due to this scam, it really breaks my heart.
Maybe the thought of being “selected” for something big, lures people. Maybe it is the thought of obtaining something so unattainable. Maybe it is the thought of the life that we might have if we got the millions. Maybe it is the thought of eradicating or meeting a specific need. I don’t know what it is, but for some reason people are constantly getting fooled – which by the way, continues to fuel the evil motives of the scammers (translation = they will continue to do it… it is the law of supply and demand). They need to be punished big time!
You can imagine my frustration when I read about Janella Spears, who lost almost everything due to the Nigerian Scam. By the way, I don’t know if Nigerians want to be known for being a people group that scams people – this will be a bad stigma.
I think there might have to be a “Nigerian Scam” recovery group started soon.