Proverbs 11:1, in the message paraphrased, tells us, “God hates cheating in the marketplace.”
God cares about unethical business practices. He hates it when people are dishonest. But the same verse goes on to say, “He loves it when business is aboveboard.”
I can choose to live according to the values of the world or according to the values of the Word. Christ followers who make the decision to follow the teachings of Jesus believe they will receive an eternal reward for having done the right thing. Others choose to go the way of the world — lying, cheating and stealing every chance they get.
It really isn’t all that difficult when you stop to think about it. There is no short-term advantage that is worth incurring the eternal wrath of God. I think deep down inside, all of us want to behave in our professional lives in a way that brings a smile to the face of the God.
It just makes sense when you realize that God will bless you for doing the right thing. Many of his blessings are obvious, but even if you are suffering for doing the right thing, 1 Peter 2:20 makes this promise: “God will bless you if you have to suffer for doing something good.”
I don’t want to minimize the fact that there is sometimes a price to pay for doing the right thing. Sometimes, we’ll have to make some very difficult, painful and costly decisions, but character doesn’t have a price tag.
You can choose to be a trustworthy person who models integrity. You can give your kids an example to look up to. We can choose to live consistently, and we can all decide to do the right thing in all things. These are very personal decisions that all of us can make.
May I challenge you to decide right now how you will respond to any moral or ethical dilemma that may come your way in the future? That way, you will be ready when it happens. You will already know what to do because you will have already made your choice.
This is about upholding God’s standard. He will give you power to overcome temptation, to resist ethical shortcuts and to pursue what’s right instead of what’s expedient. With God’s help, we can do the right thing.
We’ve looked at the why. Next week, we’ll get started looking at some very practical ways we can maneuver through the ethical minefields we are all forced to face.
You may read Steve Greene’s blog at pastorgreene.wordpress.com or you can email him at [email protected].