In a British crime show, a con man who had duped multiple university investment funds and absconded with millions, did his time and wrote a successful book about it.
He made real and honest millions off the book, and he became the darling of fans across the country. In an interview he explained that he hadn’t hurt anyone. His reasoning was that the schools overcharged everyone, and the money he stole was covered by the exorbitant fees charged the next semester’s incoming freshmen.
To commemorate his fame, the Student Union at one of the duped universities invited the successful author to the campus to speak to their group.
In the crime show the con man was killed by one of the students who invited him to speak. The boy’s father had managed the school’s investment fund, and when the money went missing, the boy’s father killed himself, leaving him and his mother in near poverty. He was angry and wanted revenge at any price.
The story is fictional, of course, but the repercussions are not. Manipulating the system always hurts someone.
1 Kings 21:13 tells of Naboth. He’d done nothing wrong, except to own a vineyard that King Ahab wanted. His wife Jezebel worked the system, using liars and cheats, to have Naboth stoned to death. Finally, Ahab could claim the vineyard for his own.
Jezebel worked the system, and she got what she wanted: the field of Naboth for her husband. She also brought down a curse on her head and the head of her husband.
God declared revenge at any price. Even Ahab’s sincere repentance only brought temporary respite. Someone had to pay the price, and this time it fell to his wife and children. Verse 29 tells us God would spare the kingdom during Ahab’s life, but he would bring punishment on the king’s wife and children after Ahab was gone.
The rules are there for a reason. When we work the system, there’s someone who has to absorb the loss, even if we never see the damage we’ve done.
When we stick to God’s rules, the results always lift us up, and they elevate those around us, also.
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Code: FGO.E.17.15b.vp