Morning Devotional

September 18, 2003

"Juan Barrena"  

by Don Emmitte

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Choose a good reputation over great riches, for being held in high esteem is better than having silver or gold. The rich and the poor have this in common: The LORD made them both. A prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. True humility and fear of the LORD lead to riches, honor, and long life. The deceitful walk a thorny, treacherous road; whoever values life will stay away. Teach your children to choose the right path, and when they are older, they will remain upon it. (Proverbs 22:1-6 NLT).

While reading the headlines recently I saw an article on the top five “cons” of all time. It was interesting reading to say the least. One involved Juan Barrena. Operating in Mexico in the 1930s and 1940s, Barrena worked the "Spanish Prisoner" con. Hooking up with American tourists, a distraught Barrena would claim that a wealthy relative had been wrongly imprisoned. If only the good-hearted gringo would help, Barrena would gratefully give him or her half of his relative’s vast financial cache. Sounds impossible that people would actually give him any money. However, before he was finally arrested and sent to prison, he had collected thousands of dollars from sympathetic tourists.

Berrena's pitch sounds a lot like a tear-jerking letter from a wronged Nigerian government official that many of us have received in recent years. Well, Barrena went well beyond a pleading e-mail. He also employed a colleague to pose as the jailer holding the unfortunate relative — a police officer who, remarkably enough seemed to soften with the more money the mark ponied up. One gullible American businessman reportedly handed over tens of thousands of dollars. Barrena and his associate were hailed as heroes by the Mexican press, which called them "patriots" looking to right the financial disparity between the United States and Mexico.

There is a wonderful lesson for us in this story. Solomon speaks to this truth in our reading this morning. We ought to be concerned with our reputation. We may learn this lesson from Robert E. Lee, After the American Civil War the managers of the infamous Louisiana Lottery approached Robert E. Lee and asked if he’d let them use his name in their scheme. They promised that if he did he would become rich. Astounded, Lee straightened up, buttoned his gray coat, and shouted, “Gentlemen, I lost my home in the war. I lost my fortune in the war. I lost everything except my name. My name is not for sale, and if you fellows don’t get out of here, I’ll break this crutch over your heads!”

How’s your reputation? Are you known for qualities that would point to Christ? If not, make your commitment today to be more like Him! That’s the reputation we should all desire to have.