We’ve all heard that or some iteration of it.  It came to mind reading that Andrew Madoff had died from cancer.  While I’m sorry for him and his immediate family, I do remember that his father was Bernie Madoff, who infamously stole billions of dollars from his clients.

The appropriate punishment for Bernie would have been to be locked in a room with his victims, each holding a rubber hose.  Of course, in our polite society, the victim is the government, not the people who actually lost their life savings.  And, the government’s need for justice was satisfied by providing Bernie with a lifetime of free food, housing, support, and even health care, all at taxpayer expense.  That is certainly a mysterious way for the Lord to work.

Then, his wife divorced him.  Then, his eldest son committed suicide, in shame of his father’s illegal actions.  Lastly, his youngest son died of cancer.  Although Bernie was spared any physical discomfort, I cannot image the emotional agony of losing all your children.  While I would not wish that on anybody, it wouldn’t bother me if Bernie Madoff suffered intense emotional agony for many years, before dying a miserable death.

Maybe, when the legal system fails us, it is true that: