Let Christ's light penetrate corruption

Say the phrase “bribery and corruption,” and many people will think of the developing world, especially Latin America, Africa, Asia. But one thing I’ve learned from living in several different countries is that corruption isn’t a geographical problem—it’s a human problem, and isn't limited to any level of economic or social development.

It’s more blatant, however, in the developing world, where struggling entrepreneurs are harassed by government officials for bribes and kickbacks, and, in countries where I’ve lived, ordinary citizens are routinely shaken down for “contributions” by police. This cycle of behavior can become an accepted, expected way of life, and can hold people in a cycle of dishonesty, greed, and poverty.

Corruption—the misuse of power for selfish ends—involves a predator and a victim. In such cases, the options for the victim appear limited: give in or lose.

But does that mean corruption always wins—that it is ultimately more powerful? Not at all. I have learned that corruption is not part of God’s plan, and we aren’t forced to take the victim’s role. Prayer can break the pattern. Mary Baker Eddy, who founded the Christian Science Church, reminds me in her major work, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “Prayer cannot change the Science of being, but it tends to bring us into harmony with it.” This harmony-adjustment on the human level is a result of a deeper understanding of God. It actually benefits all around us, like a ripple effect that embraces and enriches the whole atmosphere.

I find it’s helpful to start my prayer by affirming that God does exist; that God is all-good, the only cause; and that nothing unlike God exists that could ever subvert this cause.

This gives me a radiant confidence that evil cannot undermine God’s work. It keeps me from fear. It opens the door of my thought to the Christ, the divine agent that brings healing and salvation to humanity. Knowing the allness of God in this way opens my heart to hope in Christ, God’s message of love for each of His ideas—for you and for me. The power of Christ gives me a basis for action that nothing else can.

God didn’t make us to be victims—that's a spiritual fact. He never even made the role of victim.

There are assurances of God’s protection and restorative power throughout the Bible. One passage that has comforted people for millennia comes after David has escaped the treachery of King Saul.

He wrote, “In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears. … He brought me forth also into a large place: he delivered me, because he delighted in me.” God’s loving response is to bring us to a place where we find ourselves delivered—and where oppression cannot be hidden.

It’s also important to realize that, just as God never made a victim, neither did He ever make a criminal mind. Evil impulses that give rise to exploitative behavior are not from God, but spring from a false conception that good is limited, and that morals have no value.

Predatory impulses seem to be part of the human mental atmosphere. They can make us afraid and lead us into actions we know are wrong. But prayer can deprive these impulses of their alleged power.

Here's an example of this prayer in action. When we were living in a small city in the Middle Eastern Kingdom of Jordan, we received a notice from the post office that a package from home had arrived for us. When we went to collect it, it was evident that the clerk was expecting an extra payment before he would give it to us. He clearly thought we were going to make his day with a huge “contribution.” We smilingly showed the notice, but didn’t offer a bribe. The clerk started to cause a scene, screaming and shouting, which I imagine was supposed to intimidate us.

At first it was unsettling, but then the thought came to me that the man God created is not carnivorous. I thought about what this implied—that there was no victim and no predator in God’s kingdom.

Mary Baker Eddy uses the word carnivorous only once in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “The individuality created by God is not carnivorous, as witness the millennial estate pictured by Isaiah:— The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, And the leopard shall lie down with the kid; And the calf and the young lion, and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them.”

I realized that we couldn’t be victimized in God’s kingdom, and that no one could be tempted to play the part of the “predator.”

It seemed right to leave the building, so we spent a few minutes outside praying. Then I went back in, this time armed with prayer. I went to the same man, presented my notice, and he cheerfully gave me the package without a problem. It was as though the previous scene had never been played.

By keeping my thinking as close to Godlike as I could, I had found a solution. Quiet prayer, rather than a loud protest, had an immediate effect. This answering touch of the Christ is the remedy for the threat of corruption in any form, and it is always ready for us.

It's a small example, I’ll grant, especially in the face of the larger, more destructive cases of corruption that happen around the world and keep people in the trap of poverty. But it was a starting point for me, and I realized that by keeping my thinking directed solely toward God and His perfect creation, I couldn’t be victimized.

In the years since, I have used this as a basis of prayer when I’ve had to deal with the demand for bribes and other dishonesty, and it has not failed me. It has also been useful when I read media accounts of lack of transparency and other forms of corruption because it reminds me to pray for the whole world, not just my small community.

For anyone living under the cloud of corruption, I would offer this guidance: keep your thoughts focused on God and take a spiritual approach to everyone you meet. By facing each challenge with love and with prayer, you’ll find hope and justice. A ray of light—the Christ—will pierce that cloud and bring an answer of peace.

Before becoming a Christian Science practitioner, Jeremy Carper had a career in public affairs, serving in United States embassies abroad. He now lives in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

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