...bribe

“The king establishes the land by justice, but he who receives bribes overthrows it.” —Proverbs 29:4 

Our societies are infected with corruption. One of the most prevalent types of corruption in government is called a “kickback,” a form of negotiated bribery where a government employee helps secure an inflated payment for goods or services that are not needed or sometimes of inferior quality. In return, they receive payment in the form of services, cash, merchandise, or favors. 

Even doctors haven’t been immune to the temptation. Until the Anti-Kickback Act was passed in 1987, many doctors sent Medicare patients to medical providers for treatments and tests they didn’t need. Why? Because these providers secretly reimbursed the doctors for sending them business. 

In case you think I’m only picking on politicians and doctors, many of us struggle at some point with resisting some form of bribery. It’s part of our “old man” nature, and we get an early start. Children commonly try to bribe their friends, siblings, and parents. The Bible is full of examples of bribery as well. Think of Jacob, who took advantage of his brother’s hunger and bribed him for the birthright. The payoff was a bowl of stew.

Bribery (along with his own poor choices) caused the ruin of Samson. When the Philistine lords came to Delilah, they said, “Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver” Judges 16:5. That must have been a lot of money! She took the bribe, and poor Samson took the bait. And who could forget Zacchaeus? He was a Publican, or tax collector, a group hated by most because of their habits of cheating and using bribery to increase their wealth. But meeting Jesus turned his life completely around. And that’s the key! 

Our verse this morning suggests that if a ruler accepts bribes, his land is headed for ruin. That’s not hard to believe. Whether on the giving or receiving end, participating in a bribe corrupts a person. Involving selfish desire and deceit, it violates trust and bolsters greed. The Bible speaks powerfully against this dishonest practice: “A bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous” Exodus 23:8, and, “A bribe debases the heart” Ecclesiastes 7:7.

-doug batchelor