Putin’s Russia and the Dutch Disease Curse

In the world after the Cross, God has planted a mechanism of self-destruction into every institution of authority, be it family, church, or state. And every institution of authority, when it trespasses God’s boundaries for it, triggers that mechanism, and it starts ticking. Whether it is Putin’s Russia, or the Islamic State, or Saudi Arabia, or the Obama administration, any political potentate who wants to get more power has to do it through acts that are ultimately suicidal for himself and for his plans. The greater the thirst for power, the greater the danger. And the more history progresses, the faster this mechanism ticks. Eventually, the wicked will find their plans thwarted even before they are put to action. Far from losing hope, all we as Christians need to do is what the Psalmist says in Psalm 91: “You will only look with your eyes, and you will see the reward of the wicked.” Book of the Week: – Dissent on Development: Studies and Debates in Development Economics, P.T. Bauer