VROT EN OMGEKOOP!?

Daar gaan byna nie ‘n dag verby wat korrupsie en omkopery nie deel van die media of gesprekke is nie.  In sekere gevalle is ons briesend daaroor (soos vir die wat miljoene maak deur tenderpreneurs te wees) en soms giggel ons daaroor (soos wanneer ons vir die verkeersman ‘n paar note “glip”).

Sonder om moralisties te wees het ek ‘n besondere geirriteerdheid wanneer mense geld wil hê vir iets wat hulle elk geval moet doen, om my deur die grenspos te laat, my krag of telefoon gou aan te skakel, of om ‘n afspraak by ‘n belangrike person te bekom.  Daardie misbruik van mag wat jou dwing of om te swig en die geldjie te oorhandig, of om te “suffer in silence”.  Waar omkopery en korrupsie die norm in ons samelewing word, raak dit belangrik om daaroor te besin – sodat jy kan weet wat om te doen wanneer hierdie monster aan jou deur klop.

Die vraag is, hoe bepaal jy of omkopery reg of verkeerd is?  Ek is van mening dat jy hierdie teen jou waarde sisteem of morele kompas moet toets.  Myne is Christenskap. 

Die volgende vraag is dan; wat sê die Woord oor omkopery?  Hier is ‘n paar voorbeelde:

• Die priesterhoofde het saam met die familiehoofde vergader en die volgende plan gemaak. Hulle het vir die soldate ‘n groot som geld gegee en gesê: "Julle moet sê:... (Mat 28:12-13)
• Hy (Feliks) het die hele tyd ook gehoop Paulus sou hom omkoopgeld aanbied om los te kom. (Hand 24:26) 
• Jou vorste is in opstand teen My, hulle is kop in een mus met diewe. Hulle is almal versot op korrupsie en is agter omkoopgeskenke aan. (Jes 1:23)
• Vir wie dit gee, het omkoopgeskenke towerkrag; vir hom moet dit sukses verseker waar hy ook gaan. (Spr 17:8)
• Wie hom verryk ten koste van 'n ander, maak dat sy gesin verstoot word; wie omkoopgeskenke weier, sal lewe. (Spr 15:27)
• 'n Omkoopgeskenk vernietig die goeie oordeel. (Pred 7:7(b))
•  Die Here jou God, …..(neem) ook nie omkoopgeld aan nie. (Deut 10:17)
• Wanneer jy regspreek, mag jy geen omkoopgeskenk aanneem nie, want dit maak dié wat van beter moet weet, blind en laat die saak van die onskuldige skeef loop. (Deut 16:19)

Om korrup te leef en jou aan omkopery skuldig te maak doen jy (1) God oneer aan - want ons is na sy beeld gemaak en Hy aanvaar nie omkoopgeld nie, (2) dit korrupteer jou medemens, (3) jy korrupteer jouself en ondermyn jou eie gewete – terwyl dit belangrik is dat ons met ‘n goeie gewete sal lewe (1 Pet 3:16) en (4) jy verrot die samelewing en die omgewing verder.

Dink so daaroor – die eens magtige Romeinse Ryk met sy uitstekende administratiewe stelsel en ‘n regsstelsel wat vandag nog gebruik word, het deels as gevolg van korrupsie uiteindelik ondergegaan.  Gaan dit by ons anders wees?

Die moeilike vraag is nou – wat staan ons te doen?  Ons kan stof uit hierdie vraag uit redeneer, maar hier is ‘n paar gedagtes:

• Lees weer die teksverse hierbo en doen vandag jou werk met die wete dat die Bybel ons leer dat God van ons verwag om eerlik te lewe en besigheid te doen.
• Paulus het eerder in die tronk gebly as om omkoopgeld te betaal.
• Ek het nie ‘n keuse nie: regtig?

Waar begin ons om hierdie verskynsel en verrottende probleem aan te spreek – elkeen by onsself.  Moenie omkoop nie, leef eerlik, doen etiese besigheid, al is dit hoe moeilik.  Dis wat van ons verwag word.

OF pas ons ons waardes aan en val in by die groterwordende groep wat sê “dis hoe dit is”?

Wisdom from "Tuesdays with Morrie" (Mitch Albom)

Morrie was dying from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).  These were his lessons.

• So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important.  This is because they are chasing the wrong things.  The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.
• America had become a Persian bazaar of self-help.  But there still seemed to be no clear answers.
• Tension of opposites - part of me is scared of leaving school, part of me wants to go desperately.
• "Morrie," Koppel said, "that was seveny years ago your mother dies.  The pain still goes on?" "You bet," Morrie whispered.
• A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.  (Henry Adams)
• If you accept that you can die at any time, you might not be as ambitious as you are.
• If you want the experience of having complete responsibility for another human being, and to learn how to love and bond in the deepest way, then you have to have children.
• Don't cling to things, because everything is impermanent. (Buddist saying)
• Remember what I told you about detachment? Let it go. Tell yourself, "That's envy, I'm going to seperate from it now.' And walk away.
• Each night, when I go to sleep, I die. And the next morning, when I wake up, I am reborn. (Mahatma Gandhi)
• Do the kind of things that come from the heart. When you do, you won't be dissatisfied, you won't be envious, you won't be longing for somebody else's things. On the contrary, you'll be overwelmed with what comes back.
• "Death ends a life, not a relationship."
• No way I can go back (being cured), I'm a different a different self now.  I'm different in my attitudes. I'm different in terms of trying to graple with the big questions, the ultimate questions, the ones that won't go away. "That's the thing, you see.  Once you get your fingers on the important questions, you can't turn away from them."

Thinking about Money and Being Rich

What you think and how you think determines a number of things – but specifically it determines how you act, your behaviour and your attitude.

Being confronted continuously with people complaining about battling, not having enough money and how unfair things are, I decided to do some reading about how financially successful people go about the one thing that does impact on all of us, money.

It is good practice to determine what work and what not, and if one then uses the same principles and practices, you should be able to achieve some degree of success.  Thus, determining how rich people think and go about their money should provide reasonably sound guidelines for how we should think and act regarding money.

Following is the result of my reading about the subject, differentiating between average and rich people’s thinking.

#	Average people …	Rich people ….
1	Think MONEY is the root of all evil	Believe POVERTY is the root of all evil
	Establish yourself first financially so that you’re in the position to help.  You cannot give what you don’t have.  You do not get rich and stay rich by helping everybody carelessly.
2	Have a lottery mentality	Have an action orientation.
	It’s picking the right numbers and praying for prosperity versus solving problems/focus on opportunities and focusing on the future.
3	Think the road to riches is paved with formal education	Believe in acquiring specific knowledge
	Education must serve a specific goal.  It should never be the objective. Stay focused on learning from others.
4	Long for the good old days	Dream of the future
	People who believe their best days are behind them rarely get rich, and often struggle with unhappiness and depression.” The future is only the present waiting to happen. Be ambitious, think big.
5	See money through the eyes of emotion	Think about money logically
	"An ordinarily smart, well-educated and otherwise successful person can be instantly transformed into a fear-based, scarcity driven thinker whose greatest financial aspiration is to retire comfortably" versus money is a critical tool that presents options and opportunities. A compelling vision will allow the rich to find other people’s money to invest. Don’t be afraid to invest. Emotions create dangerous business deals. Leave emotions out of this and turn to logic.
6	Earn money doing things they don't love	Follow their passion
	Do what you love and find a way to get paid for it. Be passionate about what you do.
7	Set low expectations so they're never disappointed	Are up for the challenge
	To achieve greatness you have to dream big. The middle class underestimate their potential, the rich set huge goals “Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there.” Bo Jackson
8	Believe you have to DO something to get rich	Believe you have to BE something to get rich
	Becoming successful is a journey.
9	Believe you need money to make money	Use other people's money
	Ask the question; 'Is this worth buying, investing in, or pursuing? And then find funding.
10	Believe the markets are driven by logic and strategy	Know that markets are driven by emotion and greed
	Understand this in your trading decisions.
11	Live beyond their means	Live below their means
	Simple.
12	Teach their children how to survive	Teach their kids to get rich
	There is balance in everything.
13	Let money stress them out	Find peace of mind in wealth
	Money as never-ending necessary evil versus money as liberator.
14	Would rather be entertained than educated	Would rather be educated than entertained
	What do you watch on TV or what do you read?
15	Focus on saving	Focus on earning
	Being too frugal can let you miss major opportunities. “Your greatest asset is your earning ability. Your greatest resource is your time.” Brian Tracy “If you would be wealthy, think of saving as well as getting.” Benjamin Franklin
16	Play it safe with money	Know when to take risks
	Every investor loses money on occasion. Act in spite of fear.
17	Believe they must choose between a great family and being rich	Know you can have it all
	Decide self if wealth must come at the expense of family time. Think both, not either/or
18	Focus on obstacles.	Focus on opportunities.
	How do you think about things? Are you bigger than your problems?
19	Believes promoting yourself is boastful.	Are excellent promoters, knowing how to promote themselves, their ideas and their products with enthusiasm.
	There is only one you, and only you can promote yourself the best.
20	Work for someone else, they have a job.	Tend to be self-employed, the “own” a job.
	“The richest people in the world look for and build networks; everyone else looks for work.”  Robert Kiyosaki
21	Work to earn	Work to learn
	If you want to be rich, you should be working to learn the skills you need to become rich (e.g. sales).
22	Have things	Have money
	“Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people that they don’t like.”  Will Rogers
23	Believe in hard work	Believe in leverage
	Hard work is a necessity. Hard work alone will rarely make you rich. You can’t become rich by doing it all yourself. You have to use leverage.

What else do they do?

They choose the best employees to get the job done.

They don’t care about what you think of them.

They surround them with positive and successful people. “It’s better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you’ll drift in that direction.” -Warren Buffett

They choose to get paid based on results (e.g. own business or in a commission-based or bonus-based job)

They manage their money well.  Use spare money optimally, avoid credit and only spend on useful things.

Conclusion

Working well with you money and creating wealth is more about the right attitude than it is about money itself.  Consider why a large number of lottery winners go broke after a few years.

Some differences between the middle class and the rich are vast, while others may seem simple and minor. The fact is that if you want to become rich, you have to think like the rich and do the things the rich do. With the wrong mental attitude, it is impossible to become and stay wealthy. (K. Rawlinson)

What is my take on all of this?

I don’t think being rich is a sin.  It does, however, creates a couple of challenges.

You have to define “rich” for yourself.

I firmly believe that nothing great comes without giving something in return – you decide what you really want.

Sources:

Do you think like a wealthy person?  Keith Rawlinson. http://eclecticsite.com/wealthyminded.html

21 Ways Rich People Think Differently. Mandi Woodruff.  www.businessinsider.com

15 Surprising Ways Rich People Think Differently.  http://www.lifehack.org/

17 Things Rich People Do Differently.  Phil Drolet.  Personal Mastery.  Wealth Creation.

10 Differences Between Middle Class And Rich People.  Kalen Bruce.  www.lifehack.org

 

Die onderdrukkers weet ......

Het hierdie stelling noudiedag in 'n film gehoor, 'n film oor onderdrukkers en 'n man wat in daardie gemors as 'n gemartelde vasgevang is.

Hy het gese - "in hulle harte weet hulle hulle gaan verloor".  Later ook - "they can take our bodies but not our minds".

My vraag is: "hoekom leer die mensdom nie?"  

Die hele geskiedenis is 'n storie van mensegroepe wat onderdruk word, wat veg om bevry te word, net om te vergeet waar hulle vandaan kom - en dan in hulle oomblik van glorie en oorwinning die volgende onderdrukkers te word.

En so word die storielyn herhaal.

Die onderdruktes wat veg om hulle kinders in 'n vry wereld te laat grootword, word die onderdrukkers en skep so die volgende bevrydingsbeweging of "isme" waarin hulle kinders en kleinkinders die teikens gaan wees.

Daar is dus 'n nuwe konstante - die lesse van die geskiedenis sal geignoreer word tot nadeel van die volgende geslag(te).

Het jy al vantevore geweet jy is verkeerd, maar jy ignoreer daardie wete en gaan voort?  Jip, ons was al almal daar.

The hunger for power is the ultimate greed. Seg ek!

Wisdom from “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho

Wisdom and/or quotes only have value when they are considered within the context it was created.  This requires from one the ability to read and understand what it was that the other person intended to say, so that one do not interpret and use outside of context – because then it becomes a lie.  For those of you who love to read, this is an excellent read with lots of pearls of wisdom.  For those who do not like to read, here are some thoughts to consider.  Have fun!

People from all over the world have passed through this village, son,” said his father.  “They come in search of new things, but when they leave they are basically the same people they were when they arrived.  They climb the mountain to see the castle, and they wind up thinking that the past was better than we have now.”

Making a decision was only the beginning of things.  When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision.

On dreams –

It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.

I’m afraid that if my dream (going to Mecca) is realised, I’ll have no reason to go on living.

Men dream more about coming home than about leaving.

If someone isn’t what others want them to be, the others become angry.  Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.

People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel that they don’t deserve them, or that they’ll be unable to achieve them.

There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.

“I’m like everyone else – I see the world in terms of what I would like to see happen, not what actually does.”

The world’s greatest lie is that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what’s happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate.

There is one great truth on this planet: whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it’s because that desire originated in the soul of the universe.  It’s your mission on earth.

Here I am, between my flock and my treasure, the boy thought.  He had to choose between something he had become accustomed to and something he wanted to have.

When each day is the same as the next, it’s because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises.

Don’t forget that everything you deal with is only one thing and nothing else.

Don’t forget to follow your destiny through to its conclusion.

“Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you” said the wisest of wise men.  “The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.”

He realised he had to choose between thinking of himself as a poor victim of a thief and as an adventurer in quest of his treasure.  (After all his money has been stolen.)

Every blessing ignored becomes a curse.

People need not fear the unknown if they are capable of achieving what they need and want.

There must be a language that doesn’t depend on words, the boy thought.  If I can learn to understand this language without words, I can learn to understand the world.

There was a language in the world that everyone understood, a language the boy had used throughout the time he was trying to improve things at the shop.  It was the language of enthusiasm, of things accomplished with love and purpose, and as part of a search for something believed in and desired.

“I’ve learned that the world has a soul, and that whoever understands the soul can also understand the language of things.”

The language that everyone on earth was capable of understanding in their heart. It was love.

“Because I don’t live in either my past or my future. (Said the camel driver to the boy.) I’m interested only in the present.  If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man. You’ll see that there is life in the desert, that there are stars in the heavens, and that tribesmen fight because they are part of the human race.  Life will be a party for you, because life is the moment we’re living right now.”

Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.

The future belongs to God, and it is only he who reveals it.

If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it.  And, if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better.

“It’s not what enters men’s mouths that’s evil,” said the alchemist.  “It’s what comes out of their mouths that is.”

Love never keeps a man from pursuing his destiny.

Anyone who interferes with the destiny of another thing never will discover his own.

One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving.

“There is only one way to learn,” the Alchemist answered.  ”It’s through action.”

Listen to your heart.  It knows all things.

The fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.

The darkest hour of the night come just before dawn.

Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out, indeed, to be a threatening place.

Every search begins with beginner’s luck.  And every search ends with the victor’s being severely tested.

When you possess great treasures within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed.

Your eyes show the strength of your soul.

When something evolves, everything around that thing evolves as well.

When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.

When we love, we always strive to become better than we are.

The boy began to pray.  It was a prayer that he had never said before, because it was a prayer without words or pleas.

Everything that happens once can never happen again.  But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time.  (Arab Proverb)

The Alchemist said, “No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world.  And normally he doesn’t know it.”

Maktub – it is written.