WHY
POLITICAL
CORRUPTIONOnly Moral Integrity
Can Produce Political Integrity[Y]ea, happy is that people,
whose God is the LORD [Jehovah].
(Psalms 144:15)By Forrest L. Keener (CB)
It seems that in the last 30 years political
corruption has flourished as though it were being
fertilized and the last decade of that period has
probably produced as many cases as the other two
combined.
I have lived in my city for thirty-six years and in
that period we have seen the county sheriff, the
chief of police and the city investigator go to prison
for criminal acts of corruption. There have been
others caught with their 'hands in the till'. Others in
high city and county positions have been tried and
acquitted for lack of evidence. In some of those cases
guilt was certain, but the proof was covered up or
was hard to come by.
This, of course, is not limited to our city.
Congressman, governors, state senators, etc., etc.,
etc., have been accused, tried, convicted, acquitted
and what have you, until we are absolutely unable,
in our hearts, to really trust any man, who for very
long holds a place in the political arena. Within the
last twenty years we have seen both the President
and the Vice President resign because of criminal
charges being held over their heads. Congressmen
have been removed from office for crimes. Others
have resigned to avoid prosecution, and many more
of them should be in prison right now. Candidates
for offices from the president on down have been
forced out of races because of proven immorality or
vice. The mayor of the nation's capitol city has
recently been caught in a variety of disgusting sin,
crime and vice. Such episodes are repeated by the
thousands nation-wide. In the case of Richard Nixon,
we can't help but wonder how much arm twisting
was done in how many areas. I do not defend Rich-
ard Nixon in my mind but the men who accused
and convicted him are of equally questionable
character. Who can help but wonder how many
impeachment votes were bought with promises of
future favor, and how many were acquired by
holding the threat of exposure for past illegal acts
over the congressmen's heads? I wish I could, but at
this point I can't help but doubt that ten percent of
the people in politics are honest enough to carry out
any action of any kind without an ulterior motive.
We can't help wondering if any honest man ever
runs for office, or if he can stay honest in office, if he
should run and win. Whether you agree with me
in all this or not, you'll agree that political cor-
ruption is literally everywhere and the question
echoes from every mouth, Why? Why? Why?
Some are saying the answer is infinitely com-
plex. I answer NO! it is ridiculously simple. . The
reason for political corruption is MORAL
CORRUPTION.READ YOUR BIBLE FOR THE ANSWER. Proverbs 8:12-17 speaks thus, "I wisdom dwell
with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty
inventions. The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride,
and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward
mouth, do I hate. Counsel is mine, and sound wis-
dom: I am understanding; I have strength. By me
kings reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes
rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth. I
love them that love me; and those that seek me early
shall find me."
This passage clearly indicates that if kings are to
reign justly and princes decree justice, it must be by
the leadership of God (verse 15). Verse 14 states
that counsel and sound wisdom must come
from God. This virtue, of union with God, is miss-
ing in our politicians today. When men consider
qualifications of a candidate today, this characteris-
tic of a vital union with God is not what they seek;
they look for secular education, human experience,
political pull, and more frequently someone who they
hope can and will do favors for them. It is, there-
fore, inevitable that they will elect thugs and
not patriots. Not only so, but men of moral
stature and Godly character are shunning the
responsibility of government. They will not shoulder
the adversity of taking a vocal stand for right, when
their friends stand for wrong, or for nothing. They
will not hurt, or embarrass, or convict a personal
friend, for the sake of a Godly principle. This is
terribly, terribly wrong. We forsake the responsi-
bility of speaking out in behalf of good principles,
and of always trying to acquaint ourselves with
candidates and issues, and then voting accordingly.
Godly men seldom seek office, for the sake of
promoting right principles. This ought not to
be.IMMORALITY IS WINKED AT In Exodus 18:21 we have a statement of proper
standard for men who are to be rulers or leaders.
"Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people
able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating
covetousness; and place such over them, ..." This is
God's principle, but we have abandoned it. The fact.
is, America has hated and scoffed at this principle.
George Washington was astonished and
disappointed at the report that, "within his army
profanity was being used", but today the ranks of
our military officers are filled with men whose
mouths fester with obscenities and profanities. Not
only so, but we knowingly elect to all kinds of public
offices just such shallow hearted, filthy mouthed,
filthy minded rats as this, and apparently expect
them to turn 'honest', 'upright', and to be a 'sacrifi-
cial crusader' for all the right causes, when they
come within the sacred frame of the judge's cham-
ber, congressional seat, sheriff's office, etc., etc., etc.
Abraham Lincoln said that legalized liquor
was a curse to any society. We never-the-less
elect to office men who are known social drinkers
and re-elect them when they have become known
"alcoholics." Nobody wants a drunk for a chauffeur
but apparently he is okay for a senator.
A married man can swim out of a sunken car in
the wee hours of the morning, leaving an attractive
secretary drown or drowning, under very question-
able, political circumstances, and people don't care
enough for the moral questions implied, to prevent
such a senator from being a popular selection for
presidential nominee; and we wonder why we have
political corruption everywhere. Baloney!
I am reminded of a man who goes to the sale
barn and buys a mangy billy goat for three dollars.
He then expects that three dollar goat to wear a
saddle like a Palomino, run like a Quarter horse,
and pace like a Tennessee Walking Horse. Friend,
he is just a goat and you are a fool to expect
him to be anything else.
The same is true with politicians. If you elect a
filthy mouthed, wife cheating, cocktail sipping,
bribe taking, lie telling, politicking charlatan
to office, you are indulging in fantasy to expect
him to be a statesman or a patriot, once the
elective title is draped across his worthless
carcass. All you can possibly have is the same de-
praved moral character you elected. The sad differ-
ence is that now he is an authority. He can broad-
cast his moral dung all over you, your children and
your grandchildren. He will overnight become a
victim of his own devices. He could not turn to
honesty and uprightness if he wanted to. But don't
worry much about that problem, he won't want to.
I've known of bums who boasted of getting drunk
with the deputy sheriff. The deputy was elected to
the sheriff's office, and the bum went to jail. You
could have changed places with them and had the
same results.IS THERE AN ANSWER? Yes, there is and it lies in two areas. First is the
basis of legislation, the second is the basis of
election. I seriously doubt that the American people
will ever follow this pattern, but if they would, the
problem could be solved in our generation.THE BASIS FOR LEGISLATION I've heard it said for years, "You can't
legislate morality." I've never been quite sure
what this meant. If it means that good laws passed,
will not make men morally right, I certainly agree.
The statement need not even be made, because the
possible results in men's conduct should have no real
bearing on what laws are made. If it means what
I think most people intend to state, "that we
have no right to pass laws according to moral
standards of right and wrong." I answer, "Hog-
wash." We have no right to legislate according to
any other standard whatsoever, unless God has died,
or we have successfully wrestled control of this
world out of His hands, and He has lost His right to
dictate human conduct.
What a blessed land and society we would have,
if we had legislators and judges and supreme court
justices, who meditate always in God's word and
searched it for counsel, and made and enforced laws
accordingly.THE BASIS FOR ELECTIONS The second area of remedy for the great problem
of political corruption, is the basis upon which we
elect public officials. Usually, when this is consid-
ered we hear men talk of an official's qualifications.
They are referring to education, experience, ability
to speak effectively, etc., etc., etc. It would lead one
to think that we were a 'last days generation', "Ever
learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of
the truth." (II Tim. 3:7).
Special interest votes place many scroungy
characters in office. If you vote for a candidate,
simply because you think he will push a raise for the
employees of your profession, or some such thing,
you are asking for, and you deserve, a crook in
office. Moreover, if you are stupid enough to think
that this or any other government or any govern-
ment official can ever help you economically, you are
too mentally dense to even understand what I am
talking about. God can help you, but preachers and
government officials can't.
The Bible most clearly states that the fear of the
Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). It
would seem then that sober and sincere people who
claim to believe the Bible, would look for a man
whose running platform was the fear of God, and
who had a record of faithfully glorifying God by ser-
vice in the local church, and whose moral character
was above reproach. Such a man would be a wise
man in legislation, administration and law
enforcement. His wisdom would not lie in
secular qualifications but in a vital and con-
stant union with God. Political corruption would
be virtually stamped out, and our land would be
happy and prosperous under God, led by such men.
Only moral integrity (the Bible kind) can
restore and preserve political integrity.
"Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange
children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their
right hand is a right hand of falsehood:
That our sons may be as plants grown up in their
youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones,
polished after the similitude of a palace:
That our garners may be full, affording all
manner of store: that our sheep may bring forth
thousands and ten thousands in our streets:
That our oxen may be strong to labour; that there
be no breaking in, nor going out; that there be no
complaining in our streets.
Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea,
happy is that people, whose God is the LORD."
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