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Combating Greed and Corruption

Kingdom Dedication and ReflectionEconomic Policy, Inflation and Protection of the VulnerableWeek 48 · Day 5

Scripture References

Read First

Old Testament

Amos 8:4-8

4 Hear this, you who desire to swallow up the needy, and cause the poor of the land to fail,

5 saying, ‘When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may market wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel large, and dealing falsely with balances of deceit;

6 that we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals, and sell the sweepings with the wheat?’”

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7 The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob, “Surely I will never forget any of their works.

8 Won’t the land tremble for this, and everyone mourn who dwells in it? Yes, it will rise up wholly like the River; and it will be stirred up and sink again, like the River of Egypt.

New Testament

1 Timothy 6:10

10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Thought for the Day

Amos does not speak in generalities. He names the practices of corruption: trampling the needy, rigging measures, selling the poor for a pair of sandals. The prophet’s shock is that worship can continue while scales are quietly falsified. Corruption is not only bribery; it is also a culture that shrugs, a conscience trained to look away.

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Paul’s warning to Timothy is equally direct. The love of money is not a harmless preference; it is a root that sends shoots into every sort of evil. Some, reaching for it, wander from faith and pierce themselves with many griefs. Greed is not only a public sin; it is a private misery that leaks outward.

In public life we often fear ‘corruption’ as scandal, something dramatic and rare. Scripture treats it as a slow habit of soul and system: a thousand small advantages taken because no one is watching, and because the poor are easy to ignore. Give us courage to name what is wrong without learning to love the naming.

Jesus, cleanse our hands and reorder our loves. Deliver us from φιλαργυρία, the love of money. Give to those who investigate, audit, and judge steadiness and courage; and teach your people to be content, truthful, and unbribable, for the sake of our neighbours.

Prayer Points

Respond
  • Expose hidden corruption and protect those who tell the truth at cost.
  • Give auditors, investigators, journalists, and judges steadiness, impartiality, and courage.
  • Cleanse our markets of dishonest weights and quiet exploitation; defend the needy.
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  • Deliver us from the love of money, and teach us to be content and unbribable.
  • Give comfort and justice to those who have been robbed, delayed, or ignored by corrupt practice.
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