Genesis 34:18-23: a reflection

18Their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son. 19The young man didn’t wait to do this thing, because he had delight in Jacob’s daughter, and he was honored above all the house of his father. 20Hamor and Shechem, his son, came to the gate of their city, and talked with the men of their city, saying, 21“These men are peaceful with us. Therefore let them live in the land and trade in it. For behold, the land is large enough for them. Let’s take their daughters to us for wives, and let’s give them our daughters. 22Only on this condition will the men consent to us to live with us, to become one people, if every male among us is circumcised, as they are circumcised. 23Won’t their livestock and their possessions and all their animals be ours? Only let’s give our consent to them, and they will dwell with us.”

When Hamor and his son Shechem seek to make an alliance with Jacob's family, they must persuade the men of their own city to agree to the terms. And notice how they sell the plan: not by appealing to what is right, but by appealing to gain. Will not their livestock and their possessions and all their animals be ours? they say. Only give consent, and they will dwell with us. The argument that moves the city is the prospect of profit, the hope of gaining the newcomers' wealth. Self-interest, the hope of gain, drives the decision.

Notice what motivated the decision: the hope of material gain. Hamor and Shechem did not persuade their city by appealing to what was right or good; they appealed to profit, to the possessions they might gain. The prospect of gain was the argument that moved the people to agree. The decision was driven not by principle, but by self-interest, by the hope of what they might get. And decisions driven by such self-interested hope of gain can lead people into things they would do well to refuse.

That is worth taking to heart, for our own decisions can be driven, beneath the surface, by the hope of gain. We can dress up a decision in better-sounding reasons, while the real motive is what we hope to get from it; self-interest, the prospect of profit, can drive us more than we admit. But decisions driven by the hope of gain, rather than by what is right, can lead us astray, as they led Shechem's city. Examine what really drives your decisions; is it what is right and good, or is it, beneath the surface, the hope of gain? Do not let the prospect of profit be the hidden driver of your choices, dressed up in better reasons; weigh your decisions by what is right, not merely by what you hope to gain. Beware of self-interested motives driving your decisions beneath the surface, as the hope of gain drove Shechem's city, and weigh your choices by what is right rather than by what you stand to get.

Lord, when Hamor and his son Shechem sought to make an alliance with Jacob's family, they had to persuade the men of their own city to agree. And notice how they sold the plan: not by appealing to what is right, but by appealing to gain. Will not their livestock and their possessions and all their animals be ours? they said. The argument that moved the city was the prospect of profit, the hope of gaining the newcomers' wealth. Self-interest drove the decision. Show me what motivated the decision: the hope of material gain. They did not persuade their city by appealing to what was right; they appealed to profit. The decision was driven not by principle, but by self-interest. And decisions driven by such self-interested hope of gain can lead people into things they would do well to refuse. Take that to my heart, for my own decisions can be driven, beneath the surface, by the hope of gain. I can dress up a decision in better-sounding reasons, while the real motive is what I hope to get from it; self-interest can drive me more than I admit. But decisions driven by the hope of gain, rather than by what is right, can lead me astray. Help me examine what really drives my decisions; is it what is right and good, or is it, beneath the surface, the hope of gain? Keep me from letting the prospect of profit be the hidden driver of my choices, dressed up in better reasons, Lord; help me weigh my decisions by what is right, not merely by what I hope to gain.