Think not that the wrong attempted against you is a small matter, but give thanks to God who has preserved you from the snare. You were asked to labor without wages, and though the test did not proceed, the intention of these men was to exploit your skill for their own gain while giving nothing in return. This is a kind of theft, and it is right that you are grieved. Yet remember the Apostle’s words: he besought the Lord three times to remove a thorn and was told, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” So too here: you were spared the deeper entanglement. Let us not murmur, but give thanks both for comfort and for affliction, for you came into this world with nothing, and no one can strip you of the true wealth of a soul guarded by righteousness.
The men who seek free labor are caught in a far worse slavery. They do things deserving shame and do not even know to be ashamed, and this is a more pitiable state than yours. The end of such deceitful practices is death, while you, having seen their scheme, can walk away with your integrity intact. Do not let bitterness take root and make you old through sin. The rottenness of dishonesty is their disease, but your part is to remain fresh in the newness Christ gave you. Guard yourself from returning any evil for evil, lest you lose that freshness and need a harder restoration, for to bring back the former brightness is not possible where the whole was grace.
Instead, turn this trial into a spiritual traffic. If you are able, pray even for those who would defraud you, not asking God to bless their schemes but to free them from the depth of vice into which they have fallen. Enjoin them, in your heart and in your prayers, to repentance. This is the profit God loves: when we seek the salvation of others rather than their ruin. Do not let the fear of being cheated make you soft or unmanly in your pursuit of honest work. Continue to develop your skill, but cultivate also careful hearing of the word, fortitude, contempt for worldly gain, and deliverance from all anxious care. No one part is sufficient for your salvation.
Consider that the essence of this sin lies in the evil choice, not in the test itself. Their will is corrupted, and by their repeated acts of exploitation they have increased their inclination to deceit, just as a wicked man coming into the depth of vice then despises. But you, by refusing to participate in dishonorable work, strengthen your own resolve to do right. Each act of integrity makes the next one more heartily chosen. God works in you to will what is good, yet He does not destroy your free will. You chose to recognize the scam and pull back, that motion was from your own mind directed toward righteousness. Give Him thanks for that grace, and let it spur you to greater exertion, fearing only to lose the good things He has worked in you.