Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy
gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they
shall judge the people with just judgment.
Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither
take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the Words of
the righteous. Deuteronomy, Chapter 16,
verses 18-19.
I wish all politicians and judges adhered to rules
like these; not that there aren’t some who do.
It would make everything much easier if nothing interfered with the
political decisions that are made.
I read a book written by someone who used to work in
a prison. He talked about how some of
the prisoners would deliberately make friends with the guards. Being a guard has to be a thankless job. I doubt if any of the prisoners say, “Thank
you so much, Mr. Guard, for keeping me in here to protect society from
me.” Anyway, some prisoners manipulate
guards by planning to have pleasant interactions with them, standing in
distinct contrast to the negative ones they usually encounter.
They get to know the guards pretty well, playing on
that particular guard’s sympathy. When
the timing is right, the prisoner asks the guard to send a birthday card to his
ailing mother, which is against the prison rules. When the guard does this, there is some kind
of rationalization that goes on for the guard to justify his actions to
himself, since this is an unethical thing to do. Once this happens, the prisoner knows he’s
got the guard wrapped around his little finger.
He knows that the guard is even more vulnerable to do other things for
him in the future. (Remember I said, not
all guards or prisoners do this, but it’s an example of how little things can
undermine the clear thinking of those in authority.)
Politicians and judges are just as human. So are teachers, for that matter. It’s probably a lot harder for a teacher to
flunk a child of a very involved parent who volunteers for room parties and
lavishes the teacher with all types of gifts and compliments, on every
occasion. I think that everyone in a
position of power or judgment might become vulnerable when there are gifts or
favors done. I think that God had the
right idea when He said, “For a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and
pervert the words of the righteous.”
That’s definitely something for Wise Christians to think about.
Here are some related passages:
*A wicked man
taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment. Proverbs, Chapter 17, verse 23.
*Many will
entreat the favour of the prince: and every man is a friend to him that giveth
gifts. Proverbs, Chapter 19, verse 6.
Since this is an example of the positive influence God has made on my walk with Christ, this may not reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verses.
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