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My son, if sinful men entice you, do not give in to them. … These men lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush only themselves! Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the life of those who get it. Proverbs 1:10, 18-19
The glow from Davi’s smartphone was more of a torment than a distraction. Every scroll through his feed was a reminder of his failure. College friends showing off their new cars, trips abroad, newly purchased apartments. Meanwhile, he shared a studio apartment with a roommate, and his student loan statement looked like a phone number.
“God, I just need a chance,” he whispered to the moldy ceiling. He was a good programmer, smart, dedicated. But the market was saturated, and his salary barely covered his bills.
The “chance” appeared in the form of Fábio, an old college acquaintance who always seemed to have it easy. Fábio invited him for coffee in an upscale neighborhood, speaking with the confidence of someone who had already “made it.”
“Davi, forget that mediocre job of yours,” Fábio said, gesturing with an expensive watch on his wrist. “I’m on a new project. Big stuff. An investment app that uses a… let’s say, a ‘specialized’ algorithm. The return is insane.”
Davi’s eyes lit up.
“What kind of algorithm?”
Fábio smiled, a smile that did not reach his eyes.
“That’s where you come in. We need someone with your talent to make a few ‘tweaks’ to the platform. Nothing illegal, of course. It is just a way to… anticipate market trends. A shortcut.”
He opened the photo gallery on his phone, showing cars, parties on yachts, an apartment with a breathtaking view.
“Come with us, Davi. In six months, you will clear your debt. In a year, you will be living in a place like this. We are going to have it all!”
Fábio’s words were like music. A siren song that promised to drown all his financial worries. The invitation was for a second meeting, to meet “the other partners.”
Davi went home with his head spinning. The offer was far too tempting. That money would solve everything. He could finally help his parents, have a decent life, stop feeling like a failure. “Nothing illegal, of course,” Fábio’s phrase echoed, but with a false note his conscience could not ignore.
On Sunday, he went to the small church he had attended since he was a child. The pastor, a simple man, was preaching from the book of Proverbs.
“The wide path that seems right to a man,” he said, “often leads to a trap. Greed whispers that you deserve more, that you deserve it now, that you deserve it easy. But wisdom knows that a hasty harvest is often bitter.”
Every word was an arrow to Davi’s heart. He saw himself at a crossroads. On one side, Fábio’s path: wide, paved with promises of instant wealth. On the other, the path he knew: narrow, steep, but with the peace of a clear conscience.
During the week, the pressure from Fábio increased. Text messages. Phone calls. “So, are you going to count pennies forever?”
On the night of the scheduled meeting, Davi got dressed, his heart hammering in his chest. He looked at his reflection in the mirror. He saw the weariness in his eyes, the anxiety creasing his forehead. And then, he remembered the verse the pastor had quoted, “Such is the path of all the greedy; whoever follows it brings about his own destruction.”
He would not just be programming. He would be becoming an accomplice. He would be building his success on the losses of others. He would be setting a trap for his own soul.
With trembling fingers, he picked up his phone and typed a message to Fábio, “I appreciate the opportunity, but I’m out. This isn’t for me.”
The reply was immediate, full of scorn, “Your choice, sucker. Stay poor.”
Davi took a deep breath, feeling an immense relief, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He might not have the apartment with the breathtaking view, but he would have peaceful nights of sleep. He had protected himself from that path.
Months later, a financial scandal was all over the news. An investment app was, in fact, a sophisticated pyramid scheme that had defrauded thousands of people. The photos of the “partners” being arrested were released. Among them, the pale, shocked face of Fábio.
Davi looked at the news on his computer screen in his humble studio apartment. He did not feel joy at another’s misfortune, but a deep, serene gratitude. He understood that true wealth was not in the assets one accumulates, but in the troubles one avoids. He had been tempted, but he had not consented. And that night, his pillow had never felt so soft.
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