Be Still And Know

Exodus 23:8 'Take no bribes, for a bribe makes you ignore something that you clearly see. A bribe makes even a righteous person twist the truth.' I had never really thought about bribes until I spent two years living in India. There we spoke about bribes on a regular basis because bribery was a normal part of life. Soon after I arrived, a servant girl was murdered near where we lived. Her body was found at the bottom of a well. I was very alarmed by this, and was relieved when my Indian host told me that the murderer had been found. I asked what would happen to them and my gentle, gracious Christian host explained in a very straightforward manner that nothing would happen because he had bribed the police. I am not for a moment suggesting that our justice system is perfect, but I was really shocked. Bribery takes place in many countries on a regular basis. In India, it was well known that the only way to get a delivery of full gas canisters was to bribe the driver. Bribery was just a normal part of life an