Successfully Fighting Corruption With Bible Truth

What can move a person to make a change? The same force that  moved Paul to renounce the life of a Pharisee to become a stalwart follower of Jesus Christ.  "The word of God is alive and exerts power,"  he wrote. (Hebrews 4:12) Today, Scriptural truth still promotes honesty,even among those who have been deeply involved in corruption.  Consider an example.

Not long after finishing his military service, Alexander who is from Easter Europe, joined a gang that practiced racketeering, extortion and bribery."  "My assignment was to extort protection money from wealthy businessmen," he explains.  "Once I had gained the confidence of a businessman, other members of our team threatened  him with violence.  I then offered to handle the matter - for a hefty price.  My 'clients' thanked me for helping them deal with their problems, when I was actually the cause of them. Strange as it may seem, this was an aspect of the job that I liked.

"I also enjoyed the money and the excitement that this life-style offered me.  I drove an expensive car, lived in a nice apartment, and I had the money to buy anything I wanted.  People feared me, which gave me a sense of power.  I sometimes felt that nobody could touch me and that I was above the law. Any  problems with the police could be solved either by an expert lawyer, who had ways of getting around the justice system,or by a bribe to the right person.

However, loyalty rarely exists among those whose life depends on corruption.  One of our gang took a dislike to me, and I found myself out of favor. Suddenly, I lost my flashy car, my money, my expensive girlfriend.  I even got badly beaten up. This reversal made me think seriously about the purpose of life.

"A few months earlier, my mother had become one of Jehovah's Witnesses, and I began to read their literature.  The text at Proverbs 4:14, 15 really made me think:  'Into the path of the wicked ones do  not enter, and do not walk straight on into the way of the bad ones. Shun it, do not pass along by it; turn aside from it, and pass along.' Passages  such as this convinced me that those who want to lead a criminal  life have no real future.  I began to pray to Jehovah and to ask him to guide me in the right way.  I studied the Bible with Jehovah's Witnesses, and finally, I dedicated myself to God. I have lived honestly ever since.

Of course, living by honest standards has meant earning a lot less money.  But now I feel that I have  future, that my life has meaning.  I realize that my former life-style with all its expensive trappings was just like a house of cards waiting to collapse at any moment.  Formerly, my conscience was insensitive. Now, thanks to my study of the Bible, it pricks me whenever I am tempted to be dishonest- even in small matters.  I am trying to live in harmony with Psalm 37:3, which says: 'Trust in Jehovah and do good; reside in the earth, and deal with faithfulness.' "

Next time: "He Who Hates Bribes Will Live"

The Watchtower, 2000