Counting Apples

(Pro 15:27 KJV) He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live.

“Gifts" (bribes NASB) (4979) clearly refers to something that is not only bad, but evil.  In this context it refers to using your power to grant favors in order to produce a result that you want.  It isn’t a matter of reasoning.  It is not openly paying for ads in the local newspaper.  This is the kind of thing that we have seen going on in the political scene as politicians, news outlets and churches are heard advocating things that they have always been against.  At least they were against them in theory.  It is possible that desire for personal gain was bribing them even then.

God’s people stand for truth.  Truth does not change based on what benefits you or yours.  Truth in the secular sense is when the number of apples matches up with the numbers reported.  In spiritual terms it means that your statements have a one to one ratio with the standards God has set down.

So?  We live in a world of relativity and chaos.  Part of being salt means that we stabilize the world around us by adhering to God’s word.