Lord, who may dwell in Your sanctuary? Who may live on Your holy hill? He whose
walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his
heart. ~ Psalm 15:1-2
"I cannot believe they are not going to honor my bonus agreement," said the
executive who was about to take another position in a new city. Her
understanding of her present work agreement called for a bonus at the end of the
year. Management saw the situation differently. "It's not right. I am entitled
to that bonus," she complained.
It was time to leave. The company had given her a laptop to use. However, when
she left, she decided that because the company was not going to pay her the
bonus she was entitled to, she would simply keep the laptop as compensation due
her. "And they would never miss it," she reasoned. She was now in the employment
of the new company. As each day passed, she grew uneasier about her decision.
She could not get it off her mind. Finally, she concluded that the Holy Spirit
was telling her this decision was wrong and that she needed to call her former
boss to confess her action. She called him and confessed what she had done and
why she had done it. Her boss accepted her confession and forgave her. Strangely
enough, he allowed her to keep the laptop computer.
Truth never changes. It is absolute. When we make decisions based on other
actions that are taken, we move into making decisions based on the situation,
not truth and righteousness. The executive may indeed have been wronged, but she
had to address the wrong in the appropriate way. Trying to compensate for the
wrong by doing something that violates another scriptural principle is called
situational ethics. If the employer had never wronged the executive, do you
think she would have felt justified in taking the computer? Probably not. When
you isolate the two situations, you see that one action was taken in response to
the other action.
Have you had any experiences in which you have used situational ethics? The Lord
desires His people to have a higher standard, even at the cost of being wronged.
Ask the Lord to reveal any business practices that may indicate situational
ethics. You might be surprised what will happen when you do the right thing.
Excerpted with permission from the book TGIF Today God Is First, by Os Hillman,
copyright 2000, Destiny Image Publishers, Reprinted by permission. For free
daily email subscription to TGIF Today God Is First marketplace meditations,
visit www.marketplaceleaders.org (Os Hillman)
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