Corruption Rides on This

And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. (Luke 3:14)

God’s servants have no problem speaking to power, or at least they are not supposed to have any.

When you see one, or are one and are scared of speaking to power, it really means that you are serving another lord.

Why do people fear speaking to power?

The answer is simple, they have power. Meaning they can snuff you at will.

But they will not only snuff you when you speak against them. Uriah was killed for his commitment to duty. Fearing to speak to power is therefore not as safe as you think.

John the Baptist died for speaking to power. But his message endures to date. And he is the one I want us to look at today.

People want to associate with the man of God. Even power wants to associate with the man of God.

I suspect that John the Baptist did not ambush Herod. He did not break security protocol to speak to him. The probability is that Herod sought John’s audience. Then John issued the indictment that led to his assassination.

What do we see in this verse?

John is preaching in the wilderness and people are flocking there, all kinds of people. Isn’t it interesting that we think people will join us when we take our crusades where they are or where they are comfortable?

Anyway, power looks for him; publicans and soldiers. They want him to address their plight.

Do you realize that he kills corruption with the last statement he makes?

Be content with your wages.

The harassment and mistreatment and harshness have their source in the heart, a discontent heart.

And it goes all the way from parliamentarians to governors to presidents to kings. It even includes ministers like me.

Being dissatisfied with my lot is what breeds corruption and almost every other vice.

I can’t bet if I am content. I can’t steal or handle stolen property if I am content.

Look at this verse.

But godliness with contentment is great gain. (1Timothey 6:6)

I will not reach out for what is not mine if I am content with what I have.

I won’t look for that side chick (imagine being equated with chicken?) if I am content with my wife. And I won’t be all over looking for greener pastures, from lands to continents to investment opportunities if I am content with what I presently have.

This does not mean the death of ambition. Discontent breeds greed instead of the meeting of needs.

That your wife was beautiful when you married her is certain. That there are more beautiful girls being born and showing up all over is also not in doubt. And that the outward beauty of your wife is fading is also certain.

But knowing that your wife has something all other women combined do not have is the treasure most miss. She has your DNA. She has your children and house. She is part of who you are. Like the Bible says she is the wife of your youth.

You are the one who has aged her, either gracefully or otherwise.

Looking elsewhere is therefore an indictment on yourself. It is akin to growing your garden yet in harvest stretching out to your neighbor’s field.

Discontent is the reason we think that grass is greener the other side. It is the reason the neighbor’s TV has better pictures than yours. And it is the reason you must have a new job all too often.

In short, discontent creates a scenario where you stop looking at what you have as you are concentrating on what everybody else has.

Let me paint contentment using this example.

There are two people doing the same job and earning the same salary or wages and one is content while the other isn’t.

Do you realize that the content will effectively budget for that pittance even as his colleague is wasting his looking all over for a break? He will therefore accomplish infinitely more even as his colleague is wasting his searching.

Of course the content will be a better worker than the discontent since the content is at home even as his friend lives in a transit camp.

Due to that, the content will easily see new opportunities since he is not on the lookout for them. They are the ones looking for the diligence in him.

He will have more available money than the discontent since he uses his wisely due to the fact that he is not preparing for any extra. This means that he is able to invest better. His investments also appreciate faster because he is not in any hurry to dispose them. It means that people will many times be pleading with him to sell as opposed to the discontent who will be pleading with people to buy.

He will also be out of debt since he has no expectation or planning beyond his income.

Of course he will be dependable since he can always be found at his post.

These are a few advantages of being content with your wages. Mark you it doesn’t have a starting or ending point for those wages. It means that someone content with earning the minimum wage could accomplish more than someone earning six figures and is not content with it.

And life demonstrates that. How many people do you know who own property yet earned very little when people who were top of the food chain in terms of employment have nothing, unless it is the reward of corruption which washes away when they leave those offices? How many started very lowly and grew very big yet collapsed when greed took over?

Have you ever seen a content person being conned or scammed like they say nowadays?

Discontent breeds greed. And greed breeds these other vices, and of course folly.

And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. (Luke 12:15)

Jesus is rephrasing what John was saying.

Discontent is equated with chasing a shifty shadow when there are moving clouds overhead. Like Solomon stated in his desperate conclusion it is like chasing or grasping the wind.

Contentment creates a healthy work ethic. It makes someone diligent, the kind the Bible says opens doors with royalty. And it will be because royalty will be looking for them, not the other way round. And it is the same that makes a servant divide the inheritance with sons.

Let me give a few scenarios.

Look at two C students with ambition to excel.

The content will work his way to improve his grades, meaning he will improve slowly. His colleague simply buys the A grade. And that trend will go on throughout life.

Or two people are working at the same place. The content will work hard while the other will look for shortcuts at promotion using whatever means they can. The content will grow slowly through the ranks due to his hard work while his colleague will simply catapult through promotions.

Life is the one that will distinguish them as it has no such shortcuts. I can’t buy shortcuts in life.

This is why you will see insanely successful professionals falling into depression, getting into drugs and even committing suicide, many because they hijacked the process.

Contentment gives me the drive to improve on my lot, not move away from it.

If my marriage has issues, I will aim at improving the relationship with my wife instead of looking for another relationship or escape routes like alcohol.

Our children will be the evidence of how we live our life as they will amplify our values.

Ruth did not get married to Boaz because she positioned herself to be noticed. She simply became the best in gathering scraps that she simply couldn’t be ignored. It was her diligence and not her ambition that elevated her.

David did not become king because he was super ambitious. He was simply the best at worshiping God alone with the sheep that someone in the palace knew of an excellent player of the harp who could heal a rejected king.

The long and short of what I mean is that the secret to true success is being content with what we have and where we are. Then, and only then do we have any capacity to improve on it.

Let me close with the verse for us ministers

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2Timothy 2:15)

If you are content and are wondering why you appear to be always last, please read Psalm 73 for the sober dose from heaven.