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Compromise or Bribery?
Posted on January 5, 2010
Filed Under The State, Worldview | 17 Comments
When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel…But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice. 1 Samuel 8:1,3
My old 1828 Webster Dictionary defines the word “bribe” this way:
“A price, reward, gift or favor bestowed or promised with a view to pervert the judgment, or corrupt the conduct of a judge, witness or other person. A bribe is a consideration given or promised to a person to induce him to decide a cause, give testimony, or perform some act contrary to what he knows to be truth, justice or rectitude.”
And the definition for “bribery” is:
“The act or practice of giving or taking rewards for corrupt practices; the act of paying or receiving a reward for a false judgment, or testimony, or for the performance of that which is known to be illegal, or unjust. It is applied both to him who gives, and to him who receives the compensation, but appropriately to the giver.”
One of the big things that caused me nausea when I was in Washington was the “bribery” that went on there—on both sides of the aisle. Cutting “deals”…you vote for my bill and I’ll vote for yours, or putting “pork” in a bill to get someone to vote for it. There are a thousand ways to “bribe” in Washington and it made me ill.
So, the recent example isn’t new, but it certainly is quite egregious. It has been called the “Nebraska Compromise” and the “Nebraska Kickback”, but it is essentially about a $100 million deal for Nebraska folks at the expense of the other 49 states. The Nebraska senator wasn’t going to support the bill until, well, a deal came along he just couldn’t refuse.
The details really aren’t that important. In reality, the Senate Healthcare legislation includes special goodies for Louisiana, Massachusetts, Vermont, Florida and even Montana. All of these were inserted in order to get the needed 60 votes. One of the key leaders in the Senate, when confronted on all of this stated: “That’s what this legislation’s all about, it’s the art of compromise.”
Well, it is compromise. But when compromise involves “paying or receiving a reward for a false judgment” or “deciding a cause”, my dictionary calls it bribery–regardless of which party is paying or receiving.
It is a stench that should be recognized for what it is and completely and thoroughly scrubbed out of our government. It perverts the judgment and discernment of those in authority and leads to unwise and unjust decisions. Legislation should be passed or killed based upon the merits of the bill itself, not based upon the benefits one receives to support it.
We would prosecute this kind of bribery in any business in the United States. Why not in Congress?
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17 Responses to “Compromise or Bribery?”
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I’m glad that we serve a God that doen’t ompromise
to any sin that is done or said in this world. We
serve a God of Truth and Justice. He sees all things that are happening and knows all things that are done in secret as well.
Praise the Lord!!
Thanks for calling this out. Our culture is so full of this kind of compromise that it no longer calls this type of thing bribery. It’s just business as usual.
We need a voluntary, well organized, prayer-driven, Spirit-directed, truth-based revolution to sweep through every sphere of human activity. TTP is great foundational material and I hope that folks don’t just go through it and say it was great information. For the Lord’s sake, we must put it into practice!
The following passage from Micah could have been written by a modern day prophet concerning our culture as well:
“The godly person has perished from the land, And there is no upright person among men. All of them lie in wait for bloodshed; Each of them hunts the other with a net. Concerning evil, both hands do it well. The prince asks, also the judge, for a bribe, And a great man speaks the desire of his soul; So they weave it together. The best of them is like a briar, The most upright like a thorn hedge. The day when you post your watchmen, Your punishment will come. Then their confusion will occur. Do not trust in a neighbor; Do not have confidence in a friend. From her who lies in your bosom Guard your lips. For son treats father contemptuously, Daughter rises up against her mother, Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; A man’s enemies are the men of his own household. But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy. Though I fall I will rise; Though I dwell in darkness, the LORD is a light for me.”
– Micah 7:2-8 (NASB)
I think the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ will not delay long to rescue the oppressed from the oppressors and those who put their trust in the Lord amidst such overspreading wickedness will not be disappointed. My God is ever true.
Del,
Thank you for stating what we think we know, and stating it so well, so concise, so starkly descriptive of what we are seeing in government largely today.
Hi Del, I’m from Nebraska, and I’ll tell you that most Nebraskans are mad at Ben Nelson for selling us out! The Health Care bill is not in the best intrests for our country! He ruined his political career in this state.
Our form of government is inadequate to govern an amoral people. This form of corruption is so interwoven into the fabric of our government that we’ll never be able to root it out by reform. The ONLY way to resolve the problem would be to elect a government composed of moral, self-regulating legislators. BUT, is the current government a place where a truly honest, moral, just person would want (or be willing) to work?
I was a political science major in college and this blog points out why I did not pursue politics as a career.
like losers on a field…..
I can feel it at my Core…..
the enemy has the ball…..
and he Intends to score!
IGNORANCE…..
the means by which we started to STUMBLE,
like dominoes we’ll simply continue to TUMBLE,
Our GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS ERODE as we FUMBLE,
CONCEDE…..REPENT…..ADMIT…..
emerge HUMBLE.
COMMON SENSE, EVOLVED to TRUE MINORITY…..
BITTER CONCEIT INFECTED our MAJORITY…..
Near UNANIMOUS we mock DIVINE AUTHORITY…..
A PITY POT of DESERVED INFERIORITY.
TO BARRY W.,
Perhaps you should reconsider your withdrawal from politics. You probably know the quote – “All it takes for evil to succeed is for good people to do nothing.” It is not a good reflection on qualified people to withdraw from the political sphere and then point at the corresponding fiasco as the reason. I would rather lose a battle well-fought than to lose with out trying.
Libety, justice, freedom. The opportunity to work hard and provide for ones own family. These ideals are worth restoring. The raging secular ideology that seeks for us to worship an All-Provisional State must be defeated. For the sake of our posterity, the oppressed and the Gospel.
The RIGHTEOUS repent while such EVIL rejoices,
Thank God there’s a plan and the tables will turn……
Just a hint of His wrath…..a Result of our Choices……
The Extent of our suffering…..God will Discern……
Despite voting my Conscience, my candidates lost……
It’s ALL panning out just as we Thought……
It’s Tragic…..this Knowledge of ALL this has Cost…….
ALL our ForeFathers Effort for Naught.
I’m on Gods Team….. GO TEAM!
It “IS” what it “IS” momentarily…..
but INHALE and “IS” becomes “WAS”
once it infects your Attitude…..
there’s no telling what “IS” does!
I CanNot define it…..
it’s Context won’t sync with my head,
but Expressions I’ve watched accompany it,
Leave me Thinking they’d rather be dead.
So negative Leaving the tongue…..
like a worm it Begins as it Ends,
I wouldn’t use it with enemies…..
let alone ever dump it on Friends.
Just slang used to veil True emotion…..
when Life isn’t going your way,
a Statement to Change a subject,
when TRUTH becomes Too Hard to say.
Like Claiming the dog ate your homework…..
or Guessing at Answers on a Quiz…..
under Solemn oath in a courtroom stating,
“It depends on what your meaning of “IS” is”.
Several years ago, before the recent tweeting regarding end times and prophecy, I looked around at our society in general. Paul’s comments mentoring Timothy came to mind. He described how people would be in the last days “lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, without mercy…” I liken our times to be similar to the days of Jesus ministry. Prophecy is exciting but the cultural swings of today very sobering.
Unfortunately our government has, over time, drifted away from the Judeo-Christian values that our country was founded upon. When you take your eyes away from God, where will they fall but upon satan and this world that he is constantly trying to control. Scripture tells us that we must continue to keep our “eye on the prize” and to run the race to the finish. We need to continue to point out what is true, and what is false – to continue to be salt and light to the world – and most importantly to treat these people as the prisoners that they are. We must treat them with patience, kindness, and love as we show them the beauty of God’s truth.
I believe the only way that this act of bribery and even treason can only be stopped if the person on the recieving end stands up and says, “This [insert person] has offered to pay me a bribe for my vote, and I will not sell out my constituents or my integrity.”
Being that the briber and the “bribee” are both guilty, think of all the guilt assigned to the briber (Speaker of the House/Majority Leader of the Senate) when he/she is bribing many members of Congress for just one bill. And what does this say about the President? Not just the current one, but any President who condones the practice.
I have heard there are approximately 3,000 “earmarks” in the healthcare legislation, and according to the State of the Union address, they aren’t giving it up yet.
May God bless America, and help those of us who are trying to shine the Light to repent of our sins, humble ourselves and turn back to Him. Our land definitely needs to be healed.
Those are almost the same words I used when writing our senators. I decried the very corruptness of the above deals and how disappointed I was the actions taken. Our government both sides it seems have no idea what their constituents go through every day just to survive. It is repulsive period.
I feel as the Psalmist did in Psalm 12:1-2. Help, Lord for the godly are no more the faithful have vanished from from among men. Everyone lies to his neighbor; their flattering lips speak with deception.
I speak from what I see in small government and know from being in a family business. Money and Greed seem to be the driving forces for whatever goes; lieing, cheating, deceiving. I feel as you Mr. Tackett, sick to me stomach. That is why I have the words of the Psalmist taped to my wall. It reminds me that THAT IS NOT HOW I WANT TO BE. I guess WE who want to be TRUTH and Live In TRUTH are lighthouses for the others but it becomes a lonely place sometimes.
I have been reading Focus on the Family from the pulpit, especially on the abortion issue. Because you mention democrates, several of the winter visitors thought I was being political and have left our congregation. I also spoke on the Manhatten Declaration and went over the Bible verses to support it and some left because of that. Last Sunday I spoke on what our Founding Fathers said about what is happening in our country ( G. Washington, Adams, B. Franklin, etc.) and what present day American Jewish leaders think about our country. Some will leave over that, but the Lord sends others that want to hear the truth. It is amazing times.