03.03.11 The 9th Snare that Causes Some Seemingly God-Fearing People to Succumb to Corruption

9. Dependency on ‘Easy-Come’ Money

The search for ‘easy’ money can cause a good person to become corrupt given that once she or he discovers that a bribe can sort out his or her financial problems, ‘hard-earned’ money starts sound like a long and bothersome route to make ends meet.

This is how some people shift from living a clean life to one that survives on bribes for an income.  Others even view bribery as some form of a ‘blessing’ or financial miracle, ‘thanking God’ that they no longer have to sweat to make money; or, wait for salaries as all they have to do is to drive victims into a corner, then extract money from them.  No wonder Isaiah 1:23 laments that (NKJV): Your princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves; Everyone loves bribes… 

However, there is nothing as bad as launching into an expensive lifestyle, banking on corrupt money as a funding source.  Such a living can be unbelievably money-thirsty; thereby pushing a person to hunt for more and more bribes and other forms of the vice just to stay afloat or ‘fit-in’.

That kind of life can be so addictive to the extent that, just like Daudi, a person budgets for bribe-related financial inflows as if that income was legitimate.