Today’s Devotion
Topic: “Gravel Bread”
Text: Proverbs 20:17
Food gained by fraud tastes sweet, but one ends up with a mouth full of gravel. Amen
Fraud is explained as the wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain. It is interpreted to mean the deceit, trickery and intentional perversion of truth in order to induce another to part with something of value.
Guess what, many people, young and old, have made a lot of wealth by this means. They have lands, buildings, investments, cars and bread because they were smart enough to defraud unsuspecting fellows, and not because God has blessed the works of their hands.
Fraud allows them to make wealth even faster than to wake up each day and toil till sunset just to get a little. It also grants them fulfilment to know their intelligence is being put into great use; since a lot of it is required to outsmart the unsuspecting.
But what is wealth if it can not satisfy hunger? So at the end of the day, each fraudster goes to the baker and orders for fresh bread that is made of wheat flour. Actually, it is the usual bread we all know and love. The hungry little children in the neighbourhood buy a loaf each to satisfy their hunger; and are not disappointed.
The fraudster buys this bread too. Initially it tastes magical in his mouth, affording him the good feeling that he has enough money to buy and enjoy more of this any day, anytime. However with time, each delicious bite becomes the awful and painful taste of gravel in his mouth. GRAVEL, YOU ASK? YES GRAVEL- HARD STONEY GRAVEL.
How else would you know there is a God in heaven who abhors deceit and honours honesty and hard work? Why should others suffer at your deceit and trickery and imposition so that you enjoy “fresh bread”? God will never let it happen. Each attempt to enjoy the ill-gotten wealth will only bring temporal satisfaction. After which comes the regret and pain, not only of your inability to use it, but also the burden of getting punished for it. That sounds like chewing gravel instead of bread, anyway.
Therefore, warn the fraudster to desist from his ways, for it is “Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice” (Proverbs 16: 8). He may deceive and make money but can never be satisfied by it. In the end, the ill-gotten wealth becomes a burden far heavier to carry than the hunger or quest for success that pushed him to defraud in the first place.
After all, is hunger not better than the pain of chewing gravel to satisfy it? Begin to pray therefore. Intercede for all fraudsters. Pray that they come to the understanding that godliness with contentment is great gain. Ask for the grace and strength to cause them to desist from their ways and work hard for their gain.
Truth is, it is the blessing of the Lord that maketh rich, every other means is a “wind-chase” with “gravel bread” for dinner.
