Articles
“Can You Be Bought?”
You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit. Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked. And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.
Exodus 23:6-8
A businessman took his seat on the plane next to an attractive young woman. The two struck up what seemed to be an innocent conversation during the long flight. Soon, though, the flirting began. The young woman was flattered by the man’s lavish attention and was genuinely drawn to him. Then the conversation turned lewd—after a few drinks, of course—and the man offered her a surprising proposal. “Spend the night with me for one million dollars.” At first, she was shocked by his audacity, but after a moment’s consideration (when, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed his Rolex and figured he was good for the money) she agreed.
As the couple deboarded the man turned to the woman and said, “I need to make a small amendment to my proposal. I really don’t have that kind of money. Would you consider the same proposition for $100?” The woman scowled and said, “I’ve never been so disrespected in all my life! What kind of a woman do you take me for?” The man responded, “Oh, we’ve already established that. Now we’re just haggling over price.”
This is a fabricated tale but it raises an interesting point. Skeptics argue that everyone has their price. The only difference is the point at which we surrender our convictions. But is this true? Do we all have our breaking point when we would cave in and sell out?
Perhaps most people can be bought. But God calls his saints to have integrity. Defined negatively, having integrity means being uncorrupted, undivided, sinless. Defined positivity, having integrity means being whole, complete, having it all together. A person with integrity is the same person all the time. He is fully integrated. This is the essence of God’s character revealed in his personal name, “I Am Who I Am” (Ex. 3:14). That is, whatever God is, he is that all the time. His character is changeless and eternally consistent (2 Tim. 2:13). With him there is “no variation or shifting shadow due to change” (Jas. 1:17). He “is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8). He doesn’t behave one way with one group of people and behave another way with another group (like hypocrites, Gal. 2:11-13; Mt. 23). He shows no partiality (Acts 10:34; Rom. 2:11; Gal. 2:6).
David was a man of integrity (1 Kgs. 9:4). He even asked God to vindicate him on the basis of his integrity (Psa. 26:1,11) and called upon God to “search” and “try” his heart to “see if there [was] any hurtful way in” him (Psa. 139:23-24). Job was also a man of integrity. Even when the devil tried to tempt him with evil, his wife railed against him and his friends accused him of living in some secret sin, Job held fast to his integrity (Job 2:3, 9; 4:6; 8:20; 27:5; 31:6, etc.). The apostle Paul spent much of his second letter to the Corinthian church defending his integrity because it had been called into question (see 2 Cor. 1:12-24).
Integrity has a direct correlation to trust. It impacts every relationship in life. Friends cease to be friends when they learn that we lied to them, deceived them or acted hypocritically. A loss of integrity forfeits trust. The American public’s trust in their media, in their politicians, and in their beloved Hollywood idols has dissolved because of glaring moral and ethical failings. Every relationship from friendship to government is shaped by the question, “Can I trust them?”
God shaped the nation of Israel with laws that ensured integrity at the highest levels of society. No one was above the law. In places like Exodus 23, he warned them against perverting justice by spreading lies, being a false witness or showing partiality (1-3, 6). They must be careful to show justice and love even to those who hate them (4-5). They were forbidden to take advantage of the poor in a lawsuit (6) as well as showing partiality to the poor in a lawsuit (3). The structure of Israel's civil society was meant to form the people according to God’s character. That’s why the warnings are grounded in God’s judgment: “for I will not acquit the wicked” (7).
These principles of justice and integrity we see in the Law of Moses are consistent with God’s expectations of the church today. We also must “show no partiality” (Jas. 2:1) in any of our relationships (Eph. 6:9; Col. 3:24; 1 Tim. 5:21). We will be pressured, weather with bribes or with threats, to sacrifice our convictions to benefit ourselves. That temptation will be strong so arm yourself against it. It is especially present at work: you may be asked to take bribes in exchange for favors, to lie to cover up an error, give preferential treatment to your friends, receive gifts without disclosing them to HR, show conflicts of interests with vendors and many other under-the-table dealings. These practices can lead to legal issues, damaged reputations, ruined careers and distrust trust in the workplace. But more than that, they are unworthy of our Savior.
“Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.”
Proverbs 28:6
