THE screaming headlines have it daily.
The drama or circus (depending on whose side the onlooker takes) surrounding
the detention of celebrity or non-celebrity PDAF scammers continues to take the
country by storm. Some protest the special treatment they receive; others cry
instead for the improvement of conditions in jails to level up to human
dignity; still others simply shrug their shoulders, saying, “Serves them right
for stealing us blind.”
To me all this simply raises the
question of the consequences of dishonest living. Even the Scriptures speak of
them.
1.
For instance, the NT speaks of the wounding (or severance?) of communion. Tying
honesty with the life of communion in the Body of Christ, Paul urges
truthfulness among Christians, with communion as motivation: “Therefore, having
put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for
we are members one of another” (Eph 4:25). While we should refrain from
reading in the text what isn’t there, this exhortation’s interesting
implication is unavoidable: that a disciple’s dishonesty wounds our life of
communion in the Body of Christ somewhat like a lying child’s wounding of family
unity, hence that child’s earning ostracism from other family members. Let’s
put it this way. Being “members of one another” or being in the communion of
the Body of Christ, according to Paul, should motivate us to be honest with one
another; it follows that a dishonest act, especially one involving millions or
even billions of pesos, seriously violates this communion, either wounding it
or causing the dishonest person to separate himself from this fraternal
fellowship.
2.
There is also the scandal of discovery. In direct language, obviously intended
to warn its audience, the book of Proverbs contrasts the consequences of honest
behavior and its opposite: “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he
who makes his ways crooked will be found out” (Prov 10:9). For reasons relevant
to the Philippines, this ageless observation appears to have anticipated the
present scandal that has been generated by the Commission On Audit’s unearthing
of a cancer. That is, several lawmakers, both from the Senate and from the House of Representatives, had for
many years embroiled themselves in the illegal transfer of public money into
fake Non-Government Organizations or aggrupations. With the power of print and
social media as well as that of television exposing whatever dishonest dealings
or transactions in and out of government and disseminating the information with
the speed unknown or unheard only a few years ago, the impact of any
dishonesty-related scandal could be devastating and lasting.
3.
Rottenness comes from rottenness as corruption is reaped from corruption. Again
we considerer Paul. He categorizes dishonesty among the expressions of our
unredeemed nature or of our human nature outside the influence of, or in a
state of rebellion to, the Holy Spirit. This he terms “flesh”. Says he: “Do not
be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that he will also reap.
For the one who sows for the benefit of his flesh will reap corruption and
death from the flesh, but the one who sows in the spirit will from the
Spirit reap eternal life” (Gal 6:7-8). It is not too difficult to link
dishonesty to the flesh as understood in Pauline theology. For a person who
does not submit to the influence and guidance of the Spirit or who ignores the
Spirit’s guiding light will more readily give in to dishonesty and wrongdoing.
And neither is it difficult to see two more upshots. One, the accumulation of
wealth and power comes with the intended beneficiaries being deprived of
services and essential benefits due them. Two, dishonesty also comes with
habitual flight from responsibility and ultimately corrupts or even damages the
dishonest person’s character and life. Of course, this is just the icing of the
bitter cake. The real death Paul speaks of is the essence of sin itself which
is separation from God, the very anti-thesis of God’s program of eternal life.
4.
The dishonest do a disservice to God’s name. This may be an understatement of
Paul’s denunciation of fellow Jews. He takes them to task because, though
well-versed in the Law of Moses, they conduct themselves in various shades of
rebellion against it. His words apply equally to Christians who live dishonest
lives: “While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say one must
not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob
temples? You who boast in the Law dishonor God by breaking the Law. For as it
is written, ‘The name of God is despised among the Gentiles because of you’”
(Rom 2:21-24). We are all extra sensitive when our family’s name is dragged
into some scandal. We forget the truth of faith that we all bear our heavenly
Father’s name in virtue or in vice: in virtue we give it glory; in dishonesty
we disgrace it.
5.
Finally, there is the believer’s greatest agony: being barred from true riches.
Jesus himself sees the link between dishonesty and being excluded from true
wealth of God’s Kingdom. In the context of the parable of the crafty steward he
draws lessons relevant to the question of honesty: “He who can be trusted in
little things can be trusted in great ones; he who is dishonest in slight
matters will also be dishonest in greater ones. So if you have not been
trustworthy in handling questionable money, who could entrust you with true
wealth? And if you have not been trustworthy in that which is another’s, who
will give you the wealth which is your own?” (Lk 16:10-12). The unmistakable
message is simple: A disciple who engages in dishonest dealings on earthly or
temporal wealth also proves himself untrustworthy of heavenly treasures. No
tragedy could be greater or worse.
Sometimes
we recoil at Scriptural language as too harsh or too crude for our modern ears.
But there is
another side of the coin: why should we sugarcoat the harsh reality of
dishonesty?
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