Sunday, December 05, 2010
Reflection after Wed nite bible study
After some exchange of views on Wed nite I went back to read my August 6, 2007 posting. You may also want to go to my August 24, 2007 posting.
August 6, 2007 posting:
These days to do business in some neighboring countries you need to bribe. Even locally it may also be the case. It is not that I condone bribery or pretend that it does not exist, but Christian business people must see its reality and then factor in as a cost. If this cost still makes sense and the risk worth taking, then perhaps one may proceed depending on one's conviction. If you wait for the normal process, the business may out of vogue or the product not in demand anymore. You may have missed the opportunity to make a good profit.
I searched the Bible and in all cases the offender in the bribery case is often the accepting party. The warning or the trespasses of bribery seemingly is always on the acceptor of the bribe, rather than the giver.
This is plausible as it is those in authority who had placed the premise in which business is run, or how permits are to be issued. There is a deluge of such scriptures that condemns the person accepting the bribe (Ex23:8; Duet 16:19; Duet 27:25; 1 Sam 12:3; Job 36:18; Ps 15:5; Pv 17:23; Pv 21;14; Eccl 7:7; Isa 5:23; Mic 3;11). as his judgments on business permits and practices should be impartial.
In contrast, there is only one verse that implicates the giver of the bribe. This is found in Pv 17:8, "A bribe works like magic. Whoever uses it will prosper!". As I read the different translations of this verse, there seem to be no hint of wrong-doing on the giver's part. Rather, this scripture seems to acknowledge it power and privilege, if not its acceptance.
The above sharing may sound like that of an iconoclast, but lets face the truth. In some countries, it is standard business practice, and all the spiritual warfare won't budge the system. It may be seen as subsidizing the officers' paltry salaries. In some countries like Honduras, some government servants have not been paid for over 10 years. Yet they turn up to work everyday. Taking illicit money is their only means of survival. If we give to them a small sum it can be seen as a blessing rather than a bribe.
I can imagine if the Pharisees had asked Jesus the modern day version of Caesar's taxes which includes some illicit bribes and state taxes as we see in Matthew 22:17 , what his response would have been. Even then the tax collectors were unjust and were hated by the subjects in those days. Zacchaeus was one of them who prospered from imposing unjustly from the public.
I can imagine Jesus saying literally and metaphorically, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's" (Mt 22:21). In some business cultures, a bribe however significantly small or big is the way of business. That is why Pv 17:8 says it works like magic and you will prosper. I find no implicit punishment mentioned. The Lord abhors different weighing scales yes, but the one maneuvering the scales is the person in authority and power. The giver is the victim of the system and not the perpetrator.
I was told by some elders that even the Jews who have prospered and are the upper echelons of the business society practice Judaism but with much grace, in spite of the legalistic candidness of its laws and teachings. I am sure the same goes for successful Christian businessmen. Following strict edicts won't get you far at times. Perfect principles are for a perfect world. Some of them you can't apply to an imperfect world such as ours depending on the circumstances.
August 6, 2007 posting:
These days to do business in some neighboring countries you need to bribe. Even locally it may also be the case. It is not that I condone bribery or pretend that it does not exist, but Christian business people must see its reality and then factor in as a cost. If this cost still makes sense and the risk worth taking, then perhaps one may proceed depending on one's conviction. If you wait for the normal process, the business may out of vogue or the product not in demand anymore. You may have missed the opportunity to make a good profit.
I searched the Bible and in all cases the offender in the bribery case is often the accepting party. The warning or the trespasses of bribery seemingly is always on the acceptor of the bribe, rather than the giver.
This is plausible as it is those in authority who had placed the premise in which business is run, or how permits are to be issued. There is a deluge of such scriptures that condemns the person accepting the bribe (Ex23:8; Duet 16:19; Duet 27:25; 1 Sam 12:3; Job 36:18; Ps 15:5; Pv 17:23; Pv 21;14; Eccl 7:7; Isa 5:23; Mic 3;11). as his judgments on business permits and practices should be impartial.
In contrast, there is only one verse that implicates the giver of the bribe. This is found in Pv 17:8, "A bribe works like magic. Whoever uses it will prosper!". As I read the different translations of this verse, there seem to be no hint of wrong-doing on the giver's part. Rather, this scripture seems to acknowledge it power and privilege, if not its acceptance.
The above sharing may sound like that of an iconoclast, but lets face the truth. In some countries, it is standard business practice, and all the spiritual warfare won't budge the system. It may be seen as subsidizing the officers' paltry salaries. In some countries like Honduras, some government servants have not been paid for over 10 years. Yet they turn up to work everyday. Taking illicit money is their only means of survival. If we give to them a small sum it can be seen as a blessing rather than a bribe.
I can imagine if the Pharisees had asked Jesus the modern day version of Caesar's taxes which includes some illicit bribes and state taxes as we see in Matthew 22:17 , what his response would have been. Even then the tax collectors were unjust and were hated by the subjects in those days. Zacchaeus was one of them who prospered from imposing unjustly from the public.
I can imagine Jesus saying literally and metaphorically, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's" (Mt 22:21). In some business cultures, a bribe however significantly small or big is the way of business. That is why Pv 17:8 says it works like magic and you will prosper. I find no implicit punishment mentioned. The Lord abhors different weighing scales yes, but the one maneuvering the scales is the person in authority and power. The giver is the victim of the system and not the perpetrator.
I was told by some elders that even the Jews who have prospered and are the upper echelons of the business society practice Judaism but with much grace, in spite of the legalistic candidness of its laws and teachings. I am sure the same goes for successful Christian businessmen. Following strict edicts won't get you far at times. Perfect principles are for a perfect world. Some of them you can't apply to an imperfect world such as ours depending on the circumstances.
