“Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household, but he who hates bribes will live” – Proverbs 15:27
All of us have a desire to be successful in whatever venture we pursue. If we are in school, we have a desire to get good grades. If we are an athlete, we have a desire to win a championship. There is nothing wrong with desiring to be great. However, if left unchecked, that desire could lead to unwise decisions. An unchecked desire to get good grades could lead to cheating on tests and assignments. An unchecked desire to win a championship could lead to taking performance enhancing drugs in order to gain a competitive edge. Those decisions, while they may give the person the initial success they desired, will inevitably lead to ruin. Depending on the nature of the crime, the impact can affect more than just the individual.
In this passage, Solomon warns us to not be greedy for gain, not because desiring to achieve success is wrong, but because greed fueled desire can lead to terrible decisions and consequences. We are all called to work hard and strive for excellence. Solomon tells us what the reward for hard work is:
“A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich” – Proverbs 10:4
“Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men” – Proverbs 22:29
Hard work over time leads to success. However, working hard is rarely fun. Because it rarely is fun to work hard, it becomes tempting to find ways to cut corners to get the rewards that typically come through hard work. This is where the temptation to take a “bribe” comes in. Oftentimes, when we think of a bribe, we think of a corrupt politician who receives money to vote a certain way. While that is an example of a bribe, when Solomon uses the word bribe in this passage, he is using it in a bit broader sense. A bribe is when you are offered a desirable benefit for doing a wrong deed. Many times, the person offering you the desirable benefit isn’t another individual but your own self. For example, an A on a test would be a bribe if the proposed deed is cheating. Typically, no one is offering us that A we want. But we have a desire to achieve it, and we are willing to cheat to get that grade. If we are tempted to cheat in order to get that A grade, we have turned that grade into a bribe. Solomon is trying to instruct us that if we hate those types of bribes, then we won’t create problems for ourselves or the people we care about in the future.
There isn’t enough time to talk of all the people who have had their lives completely ruined because they accepted a bribe in order to gain. In the world of drug dealing, the allure of making a lot of money is there. However, what tends to be the ultimate end for drug dealers is not a lot of wealth, but either death or a lengthy prison sentence. In athletics, we have heard of countless Olympic athletes stripped of their medals because they tested positive for steroids. Bernie Madoff grew fabulously wealthy scheming people through his investment Ponzi scheme. However, it all caught up with him and, in 2009, he was sentenced to 150 years in prison for his crimes. While cutting corners or doing shady things may lead to you getting that bribe, it will eventually lead to ruin.
Admittedly, it is unappealing to work hard, save a little from each paycheck, and wait for the results. The results of hard work aren’t oftentimes seen immediately, but when they come, the results are lasting. The results that come from scheming come quickly, but they never last.
“Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow” – Proverbs 13:11
Continue to strive for greatness in your work; only don’t let it consume you to the point of thinking that accepting a bribe will lead to the success you want. While cutting corners and taking bribes may give you quick gain, hard work will give you lasting gain.