By Peter Kennedy
“When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath." – Joshua 7:21
Michael Lock grew up in his grandfather's church, Unity Gospel House of Prayer, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He started preaching from an early age. His brother Marlon is the current pastor of the church.
But somewhere along the line, Lock became greedy for money and power. For over a decade, he ran a criminal outfit in Milwaukee known as the "Body Snatchers" that sold drugs and kidnapped, tortured, and sometimes killed rival dealers, burying them under concrete. He used his prostitutes to lure his victims into traps. At the height of his crimes, Lock was making $100,000 a week.
In 2009, Lock, age 39, was convicted of homicide, kidnapping, drug dealing, and mortgage fraud, receiving multiple life terms.
"We have opened up a window into the life of Michael Lock," Assistant District Attorney Kurt Benkley told the jury in his closing argument. "What we have seen is a man of utter moral depravity. This man has a godless contempt for the dignity of human beings."
Greed and covetousness are sins. Today in prayer, confess any sin of covetousness and seek Jesus with all of your heart.
“Covetousness is perhaps the most serious sin in the West today, and no covetous person will inherit the kingdom of God.” – Ron Sider
God’s Word: “Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." – Luke 12:15
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