This year's event has found the Delhi police (and also the Mumbai police) unearthing several rackets of spot and match fixing. Three bowlers were skillfully tracked down to show how, in return for several lakhs of rupees, to bowl badly and give away runs which in turn led to matches being lost.But it did not end there. These revelations led to network of corruption- team leaders, umpires, bookies and the mafia - a whole web of deceit and bribery and theft.
What seems to have happened is what the Word of god has stated very clearly and succintly, where it says in I Tim. 2: 10 that the love of money is the root of all evil. The IPL players and coaches and other staff were right from the beginning given fantastic contracts and salaries, and as the dean of Indian criket, the renowned Sunil Gavaskar stated in a brief news paper article, they were overpaid. That abundance of money which of course comes from the millions of fans who crowd the vast stadiums of our land when there is a cricket match,is what goes into making the IPL the richest, or one of the richest, sports tournaments in the world. Thus, in turn, greed and desire for power has developed to almost all corners of the enterprise resulting in both players and managers of all sort resorting to corruption to increase their already overflowing coffers. And as daily news reports keep revealing, there seems to be no area of the game which has not been contaminated with spot and match fixing, bribery of officials and players, and so on.
Greed and power go hand in hand. And though some officials are considered innocent for they have not indulged in acts of bribery and the like, they have let power within the organizaion become their goal. This has led, and is still leading to bitter disputes and accusations and counter accusations, and the result of all this is that the once noble game of cricket is now nothing more than an industry in which to invest in, or within which, through good or bad means, you might become rich.
Greed for wealth as well as undue accumulation of wealth should not be part of the Christian's life style. Likewise l*st for power is not the Christian's way of living which instead is that of a servant. (Matt.20:26-28). And in this we must consider some areas which easily lead to the evils of greed, avarice, power seeking and so on. The whole area of AMBITION needs to be analyzed and carefully looked into. Are my ambitions based on Christian principles, or are they seemingly harmless but yet very earthbound and hence carnal? I read the true story of a godly man whose ambition to succeed in this business life led little by little to greed neglect of a close walk with the Lord, indulgence in ungodly practices to fulfill his ambition, and an ultimate consequence of losing his faith altogether. Being ambitious might be good for motivation to work hard and to accomplish things, but it also comes very close to earthly greed and avarice.

Similarly, we should be aware of the dangers of seeking SUCCESS. So often those who pursue dreams of success in any endeavour and fulfill those dreams are feted and applauded for their efforts and are acclaimed as self-made men. Here again this appears as both good and harmless. But what about the motivation that leads to these dreams? Do they include the, They Will be Done,factor? Is the Lord anywhere in those dreams? Would we be ready to abandon them for something where we might not have earthly success but would be instead pleasing to God? Earthly success is fraught with temptations leading to greed, hunger power, covetousness and even, perhaps, consequential ungodliness.
The criketing world will never be the same again. The enjoyment of seeing eleven men compete with bat and ball is to me forever tainted. What was a delightful sport became a business and an industry and has been consumed with the evils of greed, avarice, power lust, and even more. It can happen though in any endeavour could be beset with those evils. Let us seek to have the guidance of God's Holy Spirit in all we do for as the Bible says we must do all to the glory of God. (I Cor. 10: 13).

DR. LEONARD W. THOMPSON
Christ Indian, May- June 2013