Exodus 23:8 – You Shall Take No Gift

     And you shall take no gift: for the gift blinds the wise, and perverts the words of the righteous.

                                                                                    - Exodus 23:8


Thoughts on Today’s Verse…

“And you shall take no gift.” This is the decree set forth by Jehovah God which must be kept by the Israelites. In this verse, God told us the consequence of taking bribes. Since everyone has greediness and puts profit first and cannot withstand the temptation of money, fame, and fortune, so they easily take bribes. After they took bribes, they cannot fairly treat other people or deal with things properly. They will probably act against their consciences, forsake morality, and cannot uphold truth or side with the righteous, and then make the wrong judgment. I once watched a music video, which tells the story of a doctor who has always worked with the belief that a doctor should heal the wounded and rescue the dying with benevolence. However, one day a drug company asked him to help them sell their medicine and offered him a kickback. Driven by the interests, he agreed. Afterward, he was no longer an ethical doctor. He clearly knew in his heart that cheap medicine could cure patients with a minor illness, but he prescribed for them the expensive medicine of that company. Although there is blame on his conscience, he is unable to overcome the temptation of interests. It makes him uneasy and unhappy. In the end, it is God who saves him from the abyss of sin. This matter shows us that when we take bribes, our conduct and dealing with others is beyond our control, and we start to do everything for those who have offered us bribes. Sometimes we have crossed the moral baseline and done something so inhuman, and are spurned by others. In fact, there is always someone taking bribes or bribing others in our daily life, for everyone has greediness and is without reverence for God. As Christians, what exactly should we do to stay away from such temptations and avoid doing anything against conscience and morality?

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