Deuteronomy 17:14-17 — When thou art come unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the Lord hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.

But they did … As soon as the Israelites chose a King, he started to go astray. By the time it got to Solomon we can read “And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.” (1 Kings 4:26 KJVA)
I don’t know if you’re a historian. If not, you’ll have to take my word for it. If you are, here’s a challenge. How many kings (or even presidents) can you think of who didn’t abuse their power. I don’t think you’ll find many!
So is this just an easy “political” blog — a cheap shot at the big shots? Well no — that’s not the idea.
Here are a few questions. Did you ever take something you weren’t really entitled to, just because you could? Did you ever treat one of your colleagues better than another, just because you could? Did you ever take a little gift to do a little favor? Did you ever … well, you get the point. The thing is, given a little power, we’re all at risk of abusing it. The English historian, politician, and writer Lord Acton famously wrote in a letter “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” He might also have said “small powers beget small abuses”.
So much for the observation, and the analysis — but what about the explanation?
There’s a good definition of corruption in Martin Manser’s Dictionary of Biblical Themes: “A state of spiritual decay and moral dishonesty, arising from the effects of sin, which expresses itself in disobedience towards God.”From this it follows that all of us are corrupt by nature, tainted by the original sin of our father Adam, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” (Romans 5:12 KJVA)
What’s the cure then, for corruption? There isn’t one, of course. All we can do is be vigilant. Watch ourselves, keep the rich and powerful as accountable as we can … and then be ready to confess our sin, and rely on the beloved remedy, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-8)