Did you know that a recent report indicated that an
estimated $1 Trillion (that’s a big amount!) is lost in bribery, corruption and
tax evasion by the developing world each year?
In Africa alone the cost of corruption represents about 25% of the
continents GDP. Putting it on a more
personal level, the average woman in Africa will have to pay $22 in bribes for
maternal services.
It would be wrong to simply point the finger at the developing
world when it comes to financial misdealing, when we live in an age of
fraudulent expense claims and corrupt banking practices. Nevertheless it is often the poorest and the
weakest who suffer the most from the impact of corruption.
In the light of this and in response to government
legislation, as a mission agency we have just agreed a Bribery and Corruption
Policy. The nature of my working
environment is often one in which policies are prepared and issued for action
and this can lead to a certain degree of frustration – “Not another policy!” And yet in this case the policy is not just a
matter of semantics, but rather about the living out of Kingdom values. The teaching of the Bible is that we are to
live distinctive lives and this should impact how we face settings in which we
encounter corrupt attitudes and behaviour.
More positively we are to be people who seek actively after a world that
is just and fair. Micah 6 vs.8
encapsulates this challenge with these words – “He has showed you O man what is
good. And what does the Lord require of
you? To act justly and to love mercy and
to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6
goes on to talk about the injustice of dishonest scales and false weights.
When we pray, “Your kingdom come”, we do so believing that
this will challenge the way that we live in this world and impact our attitude
and actions relating to finance and power.
