I was reading the sample of Rob Stennett’s book The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=14854847893) when I saw mention of something that I had never had any conviction about until now.

The book mentions Christians expecting other Christians to give them good deals. To do them favors. To do their work for less than the market justifies. I have been guilty of this in the past, but I didn’t notice. In fact I gave Christians good deals as a part of normal business. Probably explains why so many of my clients were Christians… hmmm.

It dawned on me for the first time in my life, that this is a root of corruption. I live in a place where bribes are a part of every day business and the lengths people will go to extort their bribes are insane by American standards. The people doing it think it is just normal business.

I know of one case where a man has been in prison for 6 months for being broadsided by a speeding motorcycle. He was not moving at all. He is being held because he is with an organization that officials believe will pay for his release. Another well known story here is of a woman who was arrested and held for an accident. When she produced the bribe and was released she was almost immediately re-arrested and extorted for a second bribe. After paying the second time she fled the Country. As an American we are somewhat protected from these most unjust things but we are certainly not immune, and do we really want to be? Should we be? Does God not expect that we act justly and love mercy, and that to every person? We should, but we don’t. (Many have said that media, by measure of exposure, place the value of westernized life as much as 1000x that of non-westernized. I may mention this in another post.)

If I accept a favor strictly because of my position in the community, I have taken part in a cycle that only results in trouble. This temptation comes in many forms, have you ever heard something like this? “For you, a 25% discount”… Why for me? Why not for someone else? So what do they want? They want me to tell their friends about them. In fact they may even do a better job for me… but then the people I tell about them may well be treated quite poorly. It’s just business right?

Wrong! I have just been bought and paid for. That person now expects something from me. They didn’t “give” me a 25% discount, they bought advertising and I suddenly feel a responsibility to them. Maybe I will say good things about them, tell my friends about them, maybe have parties to promote them… (just a cheap shot at quickstar). I now work for them. I’ll tell my friends just what they want me to. I think, what’s the big deal? Well… the big deal is my friends ask my advice because they trust me, not necessarily the person that bought me. They trust me to give them good advice period. Of course at a 25% discount and their best effort I can suggest this “other Christian”… but should I? Maybe I shouldn’t have taken the “gift” in the first place. Then, just maybe, I could recommend them.

I have always done my best to not be bought by anyone, this comes in dozens of forms but the result is the same. Gifts with strings are not gifts. Nor are relationships based on those gifts. The strings usually appear shortly after the “gift” as you find yourself being bullied in directions you would not have gone before. Friends can give you advice. They may even hope you take their advice. However, real friends don’t EXPECT you to follow it. The only thing I can do at this point is bail out, no matter how painful it is. We are each responsible before God for our own actions, no matter what the circumstances. I’m quite certain that “but they paid me to do it” is not going to be an acceptable excuse.

Now lets follow the pattern out. After all, no big deal, this acquaintance did me a favor because we’re both Christians. What’s wrong with that? Well, think it through… So one Christian does a favor for another Christian… but of course it is not a favor unless it is something better than what they do for others. That’s why there is so much secrecy surrounding the exchange. Don’t be fooled, when secrecy is required there is probably something unjust happening. The church is a hot bed for people whispering slander and quietly spreading dissent.

This keeps happening in one form or another, Christians do favors for Christians. Christians expect favors from Christians. Christians become politicians, pastors, policemen, …. People expect innocent favors. They get used to the favors. Now they not only expect the favor, they require it… Then, after that, they don’t just require it, they enforce it. Then they put price tags on each of the favors. Then after that… well you better just hope you are a Christian (or whatever group has now taken control via injustice) when you get arrested by that cop.

Justice is BLIND! We Christians should be blind when it comes to anything to do with everyday life, service, and respect. As independent adults we need to be just, and to be just, we give every man the same place (dependants are in a different position). Jesus was hated for His lack of homage to the Pharisees. I’ve been hated for the same reason. Under all the pain of going against the flow and being hated there is a constant still quiet voice that says: “this is right.” Don’t be fooled, even certain Americans expect homage. That is how the world does things. This is not how Jesus did things. This should not be true among Christians.

Our Christian supporters ask only that we do what we have already set out to do. No strings. Thank God for that fact. Thank God that He provides friends like this. Please Lord, help us to shun corruption even when it appears innocent. Help Your other servants who are tangled in those strings.