Prophet Isaiah’s submission and observation of the evil of bribery will form our discussion today. What is a bribe? Who gives a bribe? What form or shape does a bribery look like? What is harmful about bribery? Is it more prevalent in our generation compared to the generation of Prophet Isaiah? Must a Christian take bribe? Have you ever taken bribe? Is it a sin? Or is it a life necessity that is unavoidable? Can bribery truncate justice? Are you ready to bribe to get what you want? What should be the penalty for bribery? How does God view bribery?
In the Bible, we have copious and panoramic documentation of the sin of bribery. As I began to take in these scriptures, what stuck out was: why did God hate bribery so much? And why do many Christians in Nigeria partake in this deliberate sin, thus bringing curse on their destiny? Why is bribery part of the structure of our civil service, dispensation of justice, police and politics or democracy if you like? Why must I bribe to have anything done, though my religion forbids me from taking or giving bribe?
The Almighty opened up with this: “And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.” – Exodus 23:8. Here, God who knows the beginning to the end, warns his children to be discerning enough to know the dangers of bribery. The imagery of blindness here is powerful. A spiritually blind person sees no light. He sees no danger. He ships into immorality at the click of the fingers. He sees nothing as shameful. He has no conscience. Further, there are more evocative passages de-marketing bribery and condemning it.
In Deuteronomy 10:17, the Bible makes it clear: “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.” In another passage: “Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’” Deuteronomy 27:25.
I want my brethren to note Deuteronomy 27: 25 very well. God placed a curse on anyone who takes bribe to pervert the cause of justice. Here we are in a nation where its superstructure is built on bribery and corruption. If the word of God is to be believed, we can say that we are operating under the umbrella of divine curse in Nigeria. Here, the politicians live on bribery and scandalous corruption. The civil servants amass their ill-gotten wealth through bribe. The Police cannot operate on our roads without demanding bribe. The judiciary in Nigeria has turned into a trading house where bribery is the currency of operation among our Judges. The Customs are notorious for bribery taking. What is making Nigeria’s bureaucracy the worst in Africa is the bribery and corruption that are embedded into it. The university lecturers operate under a curse when they take bribes from innocent student for higher marks.
Brethren, it is not a matter of personal sentiment. Nigeria is operating under a curse according to the word of God above. And a cursed nation is a doomed nation. All the signs of a nation operating under a curse is prevalent in Nigeria. God has removed discernment from our leaders. They rule without vision. They operate without the leading of the Holy Spirit. Iniquity is everywhere. Wealth seeking ritualists as young as 17 are paraded for our viewing on television. Politicians vie for dishonour and compete with one another on who has the most outrageous material symbols of bribery and corruption, be it houses or cars. We have mindless bloodbath on a daily basis. Housewives now kill their husbands. Children now kill their parents. Robbers and kidnappers are everywhere.
The man of God is worse. Pastors are becoming wealth seeking ritualists in order to survive. Babalawo power, alebologun power, Guru Maharaji power are in use instead of the power of the Holy Spirit. 419ners, Yahoo-plus gangsters, area boys and olosho ladies populate our urban cities demanding their pound of flesh in a nation that had lost its bearing to God’s curse. From the biblical time, we are made to understand that even the children of our men of God hardly walk or operate under the precepts ordained by God. For instance, the children of Samuel were clear examples of lawlessness. “But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.”
In 1 Samuel 8:3 above, the Bible refers to the sons of Samuel, Joel and Abijah who perverted justice because of their appetite for the good life. We have read salacious stories of the misdeeds of the children of our men of God. It is mind boggling to even think of what they do in darkness. But that discussion is for another day. The damages of bribery and corruption to any nation unfolds in the drama that goes on daily in our polity. Why? The Bible has an answer. “Your princes are rebellious and companions of thieves; everyone loves bribes and follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, nor does the cause of the widow come before them,” Isaiah 1:23.
In Nigeria, because bribery and corruption have been woven into our everyday existence, the benefits that should have gone to the poor, the fatherless and the window have been plundered by perpetrators of bribery and corruption. That is why after almost 20 years of democracy the poor, the fatherless and the widows have no place in our national distribution of resources. In a nation that exists on bribe, the poor get poorer and injustice become widespread because of the operation of a curse in that nation.
Brethren, the time has come for soul searching. The time has come to make a stand and operate under obedience and the law of God. The time has come to hearken to the commandment of God in respect to bribe. We have to forsake bribery and corruption and operate in a higher dimension of obedience and submission to the word of God on this issue. And there is a reward according to Isaiah 33: 15-16. God says, “He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly. He who despises the gain of oppressions, who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil: He will dwell on high; his place of defence will be the fortress of rocks; bread will be given him, his water will be sure.”
The curse of bribery has brought about bloodshed in Nigeria. Our national defence has broken down and Fulani herdsmen are killing innocent Nigerians because of this curse. There is scarcity of bread on our table. Our water wells have dried up because bribery and corruption in high places have both succeeded in placing us under an iron-like curse. Would you still take bribe and bring a curse on your destiny, children and your nation?
. Deacon Oladeji writes from ridet@hotmail.co.uk.
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