03.04.13 The 11th Consequence of Engaging in Corruption

Loss of Assets

Corruption can make a person lose his or her personal assets at a ridiculously high speed as Daudi discovered, the day a sizeable amount of his possessions got seized by the Anti-Corruption Bureau.  At that point, his dream of out-competing his ‘cousins in the diaspora’ sublimed as not only did the farm that he had acquired from a desperate old man ground to a halt, but the Engineer was unable to finish his much-desired apartment block by the lakeside. 

This is exactly what Amos 5:11-13 cautions us about.  That scripture reads (CEV): …You have built expensive homes, but you won’t enjoy them; you have planted vineyards, but you will get no wine.  I am the Lord, and I know your terrible sins.  You cheat honest people and take bribes; … .

In fact, time has told stories of how riches acquired through corruption, fraud, cheating others, dishonesty or injustice dwindled away; leaving culprits in abject poverty.  Proverbs 13:11 warns that wealth accumulated rapidly can easily be misappropriated.  That scripture reads (TPT): …Wealth quickly gained is quickly wasted - easy come, easy go!. 

Further, not only could losses overtake anyone who is greedy, selfish, envious or craving to get rich quickly; corruption, fueled by greed, can cause one to focus on things that do not give him or her mileage; at the expense of those that matter.  See what Proverbs 28:22 says (TPT): A greedy man is in a race to get rich, but he forgets that he could lose what’s most important and end up with nothing.  Little wonder that in his rush to get rich, Daudi lost his salvation; the latter being the most important thing that the Engineer ought to have guarded diligently, with all his might.

To conclude this Chapter, we reiterate that the costs of corruption are real and endless; with short-, medium- and long-term consequences on individuals, organisations, nations and communities.  Some of these repercussions are fatal and their impact may be irreversible; though the fruits may be sweet while committing that sin.  Proverbs 20:17 is spot on when it says (CJB): Food obtained by fraud may taste good, but later the mouth is full of gravel.