In those letters she wrote: “Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people. But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them bring charges that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.” – 1 Kings 21:9-10

Today’s Scripture Reading (November 30, 2019): 1 Kings 21

Maybe the word of our day is corruption. Most recently, we have heard a lot about the corruption problem in Ukraine. But there is a level of corruption exists in various governments and businesses. “Transparency International” has published its list of the countries that are perceived to be the most and least corrupt in the world since 1995. Their “Corruption Perceptions Index” defines corruption as “the misuse of public power for private benefit.” In 2018, the least corrupt nations in the world were Denmark, New Zealand, and Finland. At the other end of the list holding down the last four positions as the most corrupt nations in the world were North Korea, Syria, South Sudan, and Somalia. The North American Countries that consider themselves to be the “home of the free” come in on the 2018 list in ninth position (Canada) and twenty-second position (United States). Modern Israel places thirty-fourth on the list. And for anyone interested, Ukraine in 2018 was ranked in 120^th position.

Ahab wanted a vineyard. But the owner of the vineyard did not want to sell the vineyard to the king. Instead, he wanted to use the vineyard and then pass it down to his children, keeping the vineyard in his family. But that was not the answer that Ahab wanted, and so he goes home and sulks about what he cannot do. In the story of “Naboth’s Vineyard,” this is where Jezebel, Ahab’s wife, gets involved. In a classic example of corruption, she decides that if the King cannot get the vineyard through legal means, then she will use corrupt means to get to the King’s goal.

Jezebel plans to hold a gathering and to invite Naboth to it and place him where he can be seen. Beside him, she endeavors to put two people who can be bought to promote a lie. As a result of the lie, Naboth would be executed and removed as an obstacle in the king's plan to acquire the vineyard. The plan exploited the public power of the king to gain a private goal. And it is a plan that angers God.

One thing we need to remember as Christians is that corruption never honors God, no matter what the goal might be that we are chasing. If we can’t achieve our goals through honest means, then maybe we need to rethink what it is that we are doing. Corruption can only bring dishonor to what we do. And for a Christian, how we get there is just as important as where it is that we are going.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 22