Corruption and Official Office

By Dr. Derek Carlsen

“There is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

Scripture provides an overwhelming amount of data that alerts us to the existence of corrupt actions and judgments flowing from official offices. Why does Scripture show this?

Firstly, we are being reminded that officials, like all people, are inclined to sinfulness and so it is a fallacy to assume that just because someone holds a respected office, that they are immune to corruption.

Secondly, we are being reminded that the office doesn’t define truth, but rather, that truth (God’s truth), defines the office and its responsibilities and thus sets the standard—forever.

Accountability

Believers have a God-given duty to keep officials accountable. How accountability is maintained will vary according to the specific circumstances, but the principle of identifying, calling out and opposing unrighteous in official offices is a constant necessity.

Biblical Examples

The following list is not meant to be exhaustive, but merely to show that such corruption was commonplace in both Testaments, which in turn, underlines the importance of this topic. When God emphasizes something, wisdom carefully considers it.

Eli

We are told in 1 Samuel 2 that Eli, who was both high priest and judge, had two sons who held priestly offices, but they were corrupt. When the people appealed to them, they ignored these appeals, thus the people brought the problem to Eli who weakly rebuked his sons. Eli’s sons ignored him and thus the Lord judged both father and sons for violating their offices.

Samuel’s Sons

When Samuel was old, he made his sons judges, “But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.” (1 Samuel 8:3). Thus, the people in the nation rejected their rule, however, the people then also erred by insisting upon a solution independent of God’s will.

Jonathan and David

When King Saul abused his office by seeking the life of David, who was innocent, Saul’s son Jonathan and David both justly defied the king’s office: Jonathan, by refusing to obey his father’s command to bring David in and David, by fleeing from the king (1 Samuel 20:31,42).

Ahab

King Ahab is an example of a magistrate turning a blind eye to a crime in order to satisfy his own self-serving desires. Ahab’s wife Jezebel organized false witnesses to testify against an innocent man who was then put to death (1 Kings 21). Ahab’s feigned ignorance about the plot was exposed by the prophet Elijah (1 Kings 21:19).

Jeremiah

Jeremiah was not the only prophet persecuted by officials, but his example supports this article’s topic. The prophet was persecuted for proclaiming God’s truth about corruption in both the religious and civil realms and was persecuted by officials from both realms (Jeremiah 20:1-2; 37:13-15).

Pharisees

In response to the many wonderful signs that Jesus performed, the chief priests and Pharisees were afraid about the future of their official offices and so they came up with a plan to kill Jesus. They reasoned that it was honorable to murder a good, innocent man if that guaranteed their privileged positions (John 11:47-50). “Then, from that day on, they plotted to put him to death.” (John 11:53).

False Witnesses

When the religious leaders, at last, put Jesus on trial, the verdict had already been determined, nevertheless, they still wanted to give an appearance of judicial process, which meant condemning Him by two or more witnesses. Jesus, however, was innocent and so the leaders tried to pin false testimony upon Him (Matthew 26:59). The only “evidence” they had against Jesus was fabricated and these lies were used, knowingly, in an official courtroom. 

Propaganda and Intimidation

“The chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.” (Matthew 27:20). The crowd reasoned that all these respected leaders couldn’t be mistaken in their opinions about Jesus and they certainly wouldn’t be lying, so the crowd embraced the false narrative propagated by those in office. Surely people in such revered positions wouldn’t lie, deceive, intimidate, and murder in order to preserve their own self-interests?

Pilate

The highest judicial official in the land was held by Pontius Pilate who, after questioning Jesus, determined that He was innocent. Pilate had also concluded that the Jewish leaders had delivered Jesus up because of envy (Matthew 27:18). Pilate asked the crowd what he should do with Jesus and they responded, “Crucify Him” (Matthew 27:22). When Pilate asked what evil Jesus had done, the crowd screamed louder that He needed to be crucified, at which point Pilate, in order to preserve his own political privilege (Matthew 27:24; John 19:12), handed Jesus over to be crucified, though he again acknowledged that Jesus was without fault when he claimed to be innocent of His blood by washing his hands.

Stephen

The same official mentality that “got rid” of Jesus appeared again in Stephen’s “trial” whereby false accusations were used against him (Acts 6:10-13), reinforcing the fact that official ideas and agendas trump facts and reality.

Application

It is naïve, at best, to presume that leaders and officials in our days are not capable of the same bias that Scripture, over and over again, alerts us to. Not to be scrutinizing the agendas, actions and policies of our present-day officials is willful ignorance, which materializes when people embrace one or more of the following traits: indifference, greed, stubbornness, or cowardice. Ultimately, these negative traits can be summed up as self-serving (i.e., self-interest), which greatly impacts our Kingdom effectiveness.

Self-serving Leaders

It is only possible to make sense of the disconnect in our days between narrative and reality when we realize how dark self-serving can become. When self-serving is the goal, then everything is forced into the mold that best advances that goal—blatant lies, contradictions, betrayals, and blackmail are merely tools and thus used unashamedly. This is the only way to understand the surreal madness of our days.

Conclusion

Being salt and light is the believer’s God given duty which touches every area of life because the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof (Psalm 24:1). Scripture does not allow us to ignore injustice and lawlessness in any office in our nation. When people stop holding every branch of government and every office accountable to the rule of law, they have forfeited their liberty. Gaining and preserving liberty has never been cheap and it will never be otherwise while the spirit of tyranny exists.