by Jugal Gogoi
Giving “gifts” is one of the noblest deeds a person can ever do
on this earth; and receiving gifts is one of the greatest joys that a human
being can ever experiences. However giving or receiving “bribe” (which is another form
of “gift”) could be the worst moral/ethical thing for us to do. WHY??? Bribery
has become very important issue in the government as well as business arena.
In most of the cases, it is almost impossible to draw a line between a “gift” and a “bribe” because according to Wikipedia “Bribery is an act of giving money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient.” [1] Which means, a “gift” is something we give without expecting any return; where as a “bribe” is something we give with a motive to influence the receiver. Now, the toughest question is—how can we determine the motive of a giver? Most of the times, even the so called “gifts” are given with some type of expectations or motives. Can we label them as “bribes?”
We see in quite a number of places, in the Bible, enough to prove to us that God hates and forbids bribery—
Exodus
23:8 And you shall
take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of
those who are in the right.
Proverbs 15:27 Whoever
is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household, but he who hates bribes
will live.
Proverbs
21:14 A
gift in secret averts anger, and a concealed bribe, strong wrath.
Even
Jesus had to deal with bribery throughout his live and even after his death—
Matthew 26:15 And
said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him
thirty pieces of silver.
Matthew
28:12-15 And when they had assembled with
the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the
soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him
away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will
satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as
they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.
We know that some “bribes,” especially those that are given in the
government or business level, are quite obviously bribes (its easy to categorize them). But how about
those that we deal with, in our day to day lives? What if you are receiving a gift from your friend and he/she expects some sort of a return from you?
Just for example, suppose you are trying to get your property legal documents done in government office and the officer happens to be your friend. Now, you know very well that in order for your friend to do that job he needs spend some amount of money, i.e. in travel, in fooding-lodging, in meeting people, and other petty expenses. You definitely don't want your friend to spend for those expenses because he is already doing you enough favor by making your legal documents. Will it be wrong to give him a lump sum amount of money for him to do the job so he doesn't have to spend the expenses from his pocket? I know most of us will consider that as a price paid and not as a "bribe." But is that what it is? And there are many similar scenarios like this. Are they not equally ethical issues too? Do they not affect our ethics as well? Is every gift we give or receive a bribe?
Just for example, suppose you are trying to get your property legal documents done in government office and the officer happens to be your friend. Now, you know very well that in order for your friend to do that job he needs spend some amount of money, i.e. in travel, in fooding-lodging, in meeting people, and other petty expenses. You definitely don't want your friend to spend for those expenses because he is already doing you enough favor by making your legal documents. Will it be wrong to give him a lump sum amount of money for him to do the job so he doesn't have to spend the expenses from his pocket? I know most of us will consider that as a price paid and not as a "bribe." But is that what it is? And there are many similar scenarios like this. Are they not equally ethical issues too? Do they not affect our ethics as well? Is every gift we give or receive a bribe?
Dear friends, I would really appreciate your valuable
comments. Thank you!
I think it's more than just expecting something in return (that's pretty broad--what if all I want in return is a smile?). Bribery is dangerous. In the Bible, we know God is against the rich who bribe the governing authorities so that they will judge the case in their favor instead of the poor.
ReplyDeleteIn the Philippines, there are cases where a rich guy would rape a poor girl. The rich guy gets caught but he bribes the judge so the girl has no choice but to keep quiet.
Bribing a traffic enforcer may seem harmless, but it's actually bad once they start abusing their position. They will catch even the innocent and make them pay the bribe so their license will not get taken.
Gifts are given to all persons who are deserving to receive and receipients are not required to return whatever amounts commensurate with the value of the gifts. Bribe is given to a person who have desires to influence others, to get something in favor to their intentions and abitions. Bribers are self serving interests not for the interests of the people around them.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Kuya for your valuable comment! I agree with you. This is a part of my school project assigned to me by our Ethics Professor.
DeleteI for one would love to give gifts and most of all receive them too! Giving and receiving gifts is my love language.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree that there are circumstances where the re would be difficult to draw the line. And in the spheres of government and business, this would be a very weighty issue.
As for the question, "how to determine the motive of the giver," I would have to rely on instinct and the context upon which it is given. If they are my friends, I would have to ask them and put into light all expectations and assumptions. Another thing that we need to put into consideration is the culture.
Most Asian culture would really put great deal of value on "utang na loob'" (reciprocity), specially Filipinos. To some extent, we would "die with shame" if we are not able to reciprocate what was given to us---most of the time on our expense. And we are willing to compromise values and convictions and even our integrity just to be able to avoid the shame and meet the expectations of others ;)
Thanks for writing this Ethical issues, which we do not talk very often in our churches today! According to me all gift are not a bribes. There are people who give generously without mentioning their name in the gift or in the enveloped. How can we say it's a bribe? Yes there are people who want to show to others how much they help one other with money or with material things no one can read their mind and the attitude toward giving it. Any way, who are we to know the mind of others only God can measure it.
ReplyDeleteHello Kuya Jugal and hello TESOL friends! I can say that receiving gifts not all the time is a bribe. Like for me, I am sponsored by Australian missionary. They supported my study until I finished from university. There are things that they want me to return and that is to finish my study and have a nice and productive future.How touching! Right?
ReplyDeleteIf I receive a gift from my friends, I ask them directly why they give me such gifts. Some of them say I am kind, friendly and very approachable. Thank God! I became a good role model to them. Sometimes I don't ask because it's understood that they give me such gifts because they are just very generous or they just really love giving gifts. We should not prejudge because prejudging is not good. We can determine if someone is bribing us or they want something in return. We will know it by their actions and in their words. We are not unintelligent just to know the motives of a person. :)
Well, I personally perceived that bribe may not be another form of giving. Because it has two different thing. Giving is something that is done without any expectation to receive in returns. Whereas, bribe is something that people give in the process of obtaining something from that person or organization.Thanks
ReplyDeleteReceiving make a person obliged and giving it is vice versa, to some extent giving and receiving gifts also have the some expectations. Motives could be selfish or selfless they are there. But giving bribe for desired results and manipulation of others integrity make it moral/ethical issue.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thought proving insights regarding this ethical issue.
I like the article, and it is NOT right to receive a bribe, it is not from God to be so underhand and sly.
ReplyDeleteLet God alone lead you to place in your heart what and how to give
transfer of property or service without hard currency for exchange can be categorized as "gift" or "bribe." the thin dividing line between them is the motive- is it for the untarnished benefit of the receiver or for the future greater advantage of the giver. As Christians, we should be sincere in giving out of love of God and men.
ReplyDeleteBribery is still bribery, it is never a form of gift. Bribery connotes self advancement, selfish motives and manipulation. it promotes obtaining something that expects something in return. I believe that God condemns bribery and Christians must not get into it. Christians should practice giving gifts and never bribe.
ReplyDeletePersonally I have a great time going through the article. Yes I agreed with you in today’s world people often interchange gift and bribe or put them together as one. But to me gift simply means giving to someone out of love which could be unconditional in another word. On the other hand bribe simply means giving to someone with a definite purpose in a sense with a wrong motive.
ReplyDeleteFor me Gifts are considered as things given without a purpose to acquire compensation from the person who receives it whereas bribes are used with the intention to achieve certain unattainable things through unfair means.
ReplyDeleteIn the area of government, if it is a gift, then there should be openness about it. If is it hidden, done in secret, then you can question the motives of both the giver and receiver. In Australia, if it is discovered that a politician received something and didn't declare it, it is considered a bribe, even if they claim it was only a gift. Who needs to hide something if there is nothing to be ashamed of?
ReplyDeleteIn terms of Christians, we can pray for the discernment of the Holy Spirit to help us differentiate between a gift and a bribe, and if in doubt, always chose to be more cautious. For example, if you have a job in government and a friend wants to pay you for expenses occurred doing a job for them, say no. We are to avoid all appearances of evil, and if you chose to do good, God will reward you, not man.
Yes, God hates bribes, but we are to give freely and with joy, so we shouldn't become fearful of giving.
It is interesting to read different cultural views on giving. In Australia there is no strong sense of reciprocation. To give is to bless someone else and to be able to bless someone else is a blessing for yourself. To receive a gift is a compliment, and often gifts are given even with no event (like a birthday) or reason, just because!
Jannah Cooper