Bribes are gifts from someone who feels they have a unique possession to give someone else. In other words they feel they have something that no one else possesses.
"A bribe is like a bright, precious stone that dazzles the eyes and affects the mind of him who gives it; [as if by magic] he prospers whichever way he turns." Proverbs 17:8, Amplified
A bribe is intoxicating to the possessor in that he feels empowerment. He has a corner on the market and he is ahead of the game. With his gift (as the New King James calls it) where ever he turns, he has success.
The bribe soon only has an affect on the possessor. When I read this ring I think of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the effect of the ring on Golem.
It is interesting how the Bible does not seem to condemn the bribe. Should it really be called a bribe are is it really a gift? Strong's Concordance is inconclusive as to which it really is. Is the prospering felt only in the mind of the possessor or does he actually prosper? I have never given a bribe or felt compelled to give one in that it is illegal.
This is one of the hardest verses I have come across because it seems to be so ambiguous. In Moral Maxims: Virtue and Vice, George Washington wrote, "Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder." He meant that every man has a price. Is that why the briber seems to prosper because every man has a price tag within the depths of his eyes? Can all be bought? I guess I will never know.
I just want to be clear about one thing. Though there seems to be no condemnation against bribery in the Bible, I absolutely do not feel that the Bible condones bribery.
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