I have been dealing with corruption
and how in some societies this malice has been tackled headlong and
successfully curbed. The historical influences that enabled England to achieve
this feat, spanning over 5-6 centuries, starting from 13th to the 19th
century were gone through in the previous blog.
Now the time has come to learn a bit more
about the world-view that enabled these monumental changes in their society,
that is Christianity or simply the teachings of Christ and the ‘Word,’ the
Bible.
Christians inherited the Old
Testament (OT) from the Jews. What was once the exclusive treasure of Jews was
taken by the followers of Christ and made known world-wide. The Judeo-Christian
worldview had been the basis for the legal, political and administrative systems
world over today.
There has been no other book like the
OT especially in ethical teachings and no wonder the Jews are considered to be the
most ethical people in the world even today.
I will quote a few passages from OT, to
sample biblical teaching on corruption. “Do not use dishonest standards when
measuring length, weight or quantity. Use honest scales and honest weights, and
honest ephah and an honest hin.”[1]
Leviticus 19: 35-36
“Do not have two differing weights in
your bag - one heavy, one light. Do not have two differing measures in your
house – one large, one small. You must have accurate and honest weights and
measures, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving
you. For the Lord your God detests anyone who does these things, and anyone who
deals dishonestly.” Deuteronomy
(Deut.) 25:13-16
“Appoint judges and officials for
each of your tribes in every town …and they shall judge the people fairly. Do
not pervert justice to show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe
binds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. Follow
justice and justice alone…” Deut.
16:18-20
“Do not deprive the alien or the
fatherless of justice or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge.” Deut.24:17
“Do not take advantage of a hired man
who is poor and needy … Pay him his wages each day before sunset, because he is
poor and is counting on it.”
Deut.24:14-15
Any number of such verses could be
quoted from the OT, commandments given by God Himself though His prophet Moses.
This God of the OT, whom Jesus called his Father, declared in Isaiah 61:8,
“For I, the Lord, love justice; I
hate robbery and iniquity.” He desires His people to “let justice roll on like
river, righteousness like a never-failing stream.” Amos 5:24
Following such a God led people to be
fair in their dealings; show justice to the poor, fatherless, widows and strangers;
be honest in their business dealings and fear the Lord God, who had given all
these commands, because for them, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
knowledge.” Proverb 1:7
No wonder the countries listed by Transparency
International 2015 as most clean without much corruption, are all in the West, the
once strong Christian countries. The first 10 countries being Denmark, Finland,
Sweden, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, Canada, Germany, Luxembourg and United
Kingdom. The only Asian country to be found among these squeaky-clean countries
is Singapore.
Jesus and His teachings, which are
written in the New Testament (NT) portion of the Bible, reiterate all these
principles and commandments given in the OT and take these to a higher
standard. Jesus mingled with the marginalized in society, gave them a sense of
dignity and self-worth. He died for them, the out-castes, Samaritans, lepers, the
poor, the widows, the prostitutes and the tax-collectors.
The conducts condemned in the NT are “sexual
immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witch-craft, hatred, discord,
jealousy, rage, selfish ambition, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like.”
The desired traits are “love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control,”
towards which every Christian is urged to grow, with the help of the Holy
Spirit, without which it will be simply impossible to be such a person.
God of the Bible, whom Jesus Christ
came to represent on earth, demands a high level of integrity and ethics in
whatever we do in this world, secular or sacred. That Jesus died as a sacrificial
lamb to take away our sins, introduced a major concept into the world, that of
forgiveness.
Forgiveness, loving neighbors as
ourselves, caring for the poor and the needy and the marginalized in society, working
to improve society, dealing honestly even in business, giving people a clean administration,
of justice and mercy, equality, all became the hallmarks of Christian
countries.
The world became a better place to
live in because of the teachings of Christ and the One whom He called Father,
which are laid down in the NT and OT respectively. These had a major influence
in the world through the British Empire, especially in India. Despite all the
ills and exploitation of the colonial power, British rule brought in enormous
benefits to the people of India.[2]
Today the very same Christian
countries have become god-less countries, having thrown away the baby with the
bath water. Having rejected Christ and His teachings, the West is groping for
spiritual solace from Hinduism and Buddhism, developing a new religion, New Age
Spirituality. Is it any wonder morality in the Western countries is on a downward
spiral?
It is urgent that we, “Repent and
return,” to Christ and His teachings, His life and His example. Nothing is
greater in this world, nothing can bring real happiness, peace and spiritual
maturity.
Hinduism and Buddhism couldn’t bring
any values in the country of their origin. Only in-egalitarian caste system, corruption,
dishonesty in business, cruelty to the marginalized, dirt and filth, superstition,
false philosophies, gods and goddesses abound.
After tasting the clean waters of the
Bible and knowing from history how biblical teachings transformed a society for
the better, how is it possible for people to go to murky and muddy waters of
Hinduism or Buddhism, expecting health and strength? Any nation and any society
so foolish to do that, will only end up like these very countries, where these
religions are practiced.
Only Christ and Christ alone can
bring in the desired transformation for the better in any individual, society
and country.
Let us repent and return to Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment