–– Joe Shoko
The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.
In most African countries, when citizens see the police, they turn the other way or pass them begrudgingly. Instead of feeling safe and secure around their supposed protection unit, people would rather risk driving into the drainage ditches, fleeing from their assailers. This is the reality that every Zimbabwean, believer or non-believer, must live with: the fact that they are likely to be arrested, extorted, and harassed on trumped-up charges.
It is no secret that Zimbabwe is one of the most corrupt countries in Africa. The logic follows that a country with leaders who selectively apply the law is policed by lawless men and women. In 2017, for example, the head of police was arrested for failing to prove how he acquired his seven-million-dollar mansion and other properties, despite being a mere civil servant.
The fall of man in Genesis 3 was and always has been the source of all cases of corruption and extortion throughout the ages. In Luke 3, when John the Baptist preached the message of repentance, he addressed different groups concerning true repentance. Some soldiers who were present asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”
It is critical for the Christian and the church at large to make a distinction between bribery and extortion. Both are sins, but bribery usually has both parties benefiting, whilst extortion has the perpetrator taking advantage of the victim, who has nowhere to flee. African Christians are often careful when treading on these discussion grounds, because they have the potential to build or break fellowship amongst believers.
The Bible strongly condemns bribery as an act of untruthfulness and injustice. The examples of corruption are plentiful, with drugs being smuggled through airports or university students exchanging sex for distinctions they did not work for and thus did not deserve.
Extortion is an equally grave sin. Of the top 10 most corrupt nations in the world, 6 are African. Many countries you visit are rife with immigration officers, policemen, and soldiers threatening people who are unfamiliar with the surroundings and have no choice but to part ways with their hard-earned money.
Here are 3 evil effects of extortion on society;
- Impoverishes the hard-working
Extortion impoverishes the hard-working, but enriches those who have not worked and gives them an unfair advantage. Those who, by the Grace of God, are in authority must be watchful in how they use their power, because everyone will one day be called to give an account to God Almighty. Could this be one of the reasons why many African countries are wallowing in abject poverty? The Bible teaches that when a thief gets converted to Christ, he must stop stealing but work hard so that he might have something to share with the poor.
- Impels the ordinary to follow suit
A little leaven leavens the whole lump. People learn by example, and the masses are usually forced to behave the way those in higher authority carry themselves. We bemoan the state of the nation in how it is corrupt, and yet the fish usually rots from the head. The decay of any society is measured from the top. In biblical times, the kings and those in high places set the tone for the rest of the ordinary folk; the great examples we see are from the books of Judges, 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles. Time and time again, we see that the Kings who took over from their predecessors ‘did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.’
- Intensifies suspicion of authority
The Governing authorities are installed by God to punish evil doers and reward the upright (Romans 13:1-7). Just like a wife under an evil and unrighteous man, or a child who is subservient to an authoritarian parent, would find it difficult to be subject to those above them, so it follows that a citizen cornered by greedy officials will always be suspicious of those that God has placed above them.
In conclusion, the Bible pronounces a terrible ending for all those who are in the business of extortion. They will not inherit the Kingdom of God. They may build large mansions, but they have no room in the Father’s house that our Lord Jesus Christ has gone to prepare. They may instil great fear in those who are momentarily helpless, but their day of reckoning is at hand. The words of Micah 6:8 offer a way out of this darkness into God’s marvellous light, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?