What God Says About Quid Pro Quo. Part [6] 12/23/2025 (Morning thought)

Proverbs 15:27 He that is greedy of gain troubles his own house; but he that hates gifts shall live.

A judge, according to the Bible has to be wary of any kindness in the form of gifts coming from a citizenry, such as tickets to soccer games, dinners, vehicles, or paid vacations, even if such gifts were given to the judge at Christmas time. In fact, even unwarranted gifts from Santa Claws are off limits so as to preserve the integrity of the bench and also to keep a judge’s conscience free and clear void of all bias and pressure to manipulate the law.

In other words, if Santa Claws is coming down every chimney in the judge’s neighborhood, and in every residence he leaves only cheap gifts, and plastic toys from China, but when he reaches the judge’s house, he leaves him a brand new Bentley, that obviously is an unwarranted gift.

That is why the Bible says that gifts will pervert the rulings of judges, and because of this, they are to be strictly avoided. When the following passage is read and understood, you will observe that it makes no mention of good intentions. It says, do not accept gifts or favors, from persons, if you are a judge. However, the command against the practice of Quid pro quo is broader, and more extensive than many people realize, so, for the sake of clarity, let’s revisit the meaning thereof.

Proverbs 19:5 A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape. 6 Many will intreat the favour of the prince: and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.

May The Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!

What God Says About Quid Pro Quo. Part [5] 12/23/2025 (Evening thought)

Exodus 23:6 Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause. 7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.

But if he was to rule in his neighbor’s favor, then he would have to deliberately twist the arm of justice, and in doing so he would deny the injured man his rights. What is he supposed to do, according to the Bible? To find out what the judge is supposed to do we will have to revisit our introductory passage, because it speaks about the dangers of judges taking any gift in the first place.

Quid pro quo is, according to Oxford dictionary: a favor or advantage granted or expected in return for something. Now even though the judge and the mechanic may not have had any ulterior motives at the beginning of their relationship, the Scripture says that judges should not accept favors and gifts from the citizenry because there would always be that potential for a conflict of interest, which could easily morph into a Quid pro quo.

In other words, in order to judge impartially, judges must not have the burden of favors or gifts hanging over their consciences, because the natural, human thing to do will be to return the favor, since in most cases, the plaintiff or defendant who has favorable ties to the judge, will be expecting leniency. In fact, according to the scripture, in the capacity as judge, there are certain things he or she just cannot do, that an ordinary citizen can.

Exodus 23:8 And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blinds the wise, and perverts the words of the righteous.

May God add His blessing to the study of His word. “Good night” and God bless!