The purpose of the Discussions is to examine the ethical values displayed in various organizations and view such in light of Scripture, the course text, and scholarly research. For ea

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Chapter 1

S A CHRISTIAN ETHIC POSSIBLE IN BUSINESS?

Managers often confront such nerve-wracking, heart-wrenching and guilt-producing scenarios. In their quest to do the “right thing” for shareholders and subordinates, they often experience a deep sense of uncertainty.

Why? Because the “shoulds” of life bring values and relationships to the forefront. Ethics—the study of doing the “right thing”—attempts to provide a value-laden framework, a grid through which real-life decisions can be made. What counsel does Christian ethics, the application of biblical values to the decision-making process, have for Maria? Does it provide a simple solution to her dilemma?

One approach is to view Scripture as a book of rules to be applied to specific situations: simply find the right rule and match it with the current problem. While this strategy may work well in relatively simple situations—such as when a worker is tempted to steal or an executive considers slandering a competitor—what about more complex situations like the one confronting Maria?

If Abe approaches her first, seeking to keep his job, should she heed Jesus’ admonition to “give to the one who asks you”? What if Barb and Carl then make similar requests? Or what if Abe were to assault Maria when he learns of the possible layoff? Is she to turn the other cheek, or should she demand restitution and bring criminal charges against him?1 Taking this line of reasoning a step further, is there a scriptural rule that provides guidance to Maria’s company in deciding how many units to produce or in which geographical areas to seek expansion?

Attempts to find easy answers to such enigmatic situations have led one skeptic to label Christian ethics “infantile.” He compares the “rule book” approach to the types of absolute commands typically given to children between the ages of five and nine, such as don’t talk to strangers or sing at the dinner table.2

While this criticism misunderstands the heart of Christian ethics, it should give pause to those who would take a simple rules-based approach. In ambiguous cases, it is clearly deficient in its capacity to give precise answers in every situation. Ironically, research indicates that corporations with highly detailed codes of ethics actually are cited more often for breaking the law than their counterparts without such explicit rules.3 Dietrich Bonhoeffer was bluntly uncharitable toward such an approach, labeling it “naive” and those who practice it “clowns.”4

Other critics attack the idea of a Christian business ethic from a different angle, arguing that Scripture has nothing relevant to say about business today. After all, they point out, the Bible was written two to three millennia ago, largely in the context of an agrarian economy. No doubt, Israel’s entire gross national product under King Solomon was less than the net worth of Google today. What significant insights, they ask, can Scripture give Maria in deciding the fates of Abe, Barb and Carl? Indeed, is the Bible even relevant to leveraged buy-outs and copyright infringement? Using Scripture as a business rulebook, they contend, would be like using ancient medical texts written by Galen and Hippocrates to train modern doctors.5

If the critics are correct in arguing, first, that the Bible is rule bound and, second, that it lacks relevance, we need not proceed any further. If they are right, Scripture has minimal applicability to modern business practices. However, if it can be demonstrated that Christian ethics is rooted in something much deeper, then these critics are wrong.

GOD’S CHARACTER

Christianity operates on the notion that ethics (the study of human character) parallels theology (the study of God’s character). When we behave in a manner consistent with God’s character, we act ethically. When we fail to do so, we act unethically. All of Scripture—from the law of Moses to Paul’s list of virtues and vices—serves to illustrate behavior that is congruent with God’s moral character.

This approach is quite different from human-based ethical systems, which generally focus on (i) egoism (promotion of individual pleasure), (ii) utilitarianism (maximize pleasure and minimize pain for all involved) or (iii) deontological reasoning (keeping moral rules such as “don’t harm others”).6

This is not to say, however, that Christian ethics totally rejects these approaches. To the contrary, there is much overlap. While concerned with human happiness and the fulfillment of ethical obligations, Christian ethics does not see these as its ultimate goal. Rather, it prizes the life that seeks to emulate God’s character.

Thus, Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, was eulogized: “The aim of life is not to gain a place in the sun, nor to achieve fame or success, but to lose ourselves in the glory of God.”7 In a similar vein, reformer John Calvin wrote:

We are not our own: in so far as we can, let us therefore forget ourselves and all that is ours. Conversely, we are God’s: let us therefore live for him and die for him. We are God’s: let his wisdom and will therefore rule all our actions. We are God’s: let all the parts of our life accordingly strive toward him as our only lawful goal.8

HOLINESS-JUSTICE-LOVE

If being ethical is reflecting God’s character, then the critical question becomes, what is God like? Christianity’s answer includes such common responses as God’s orderliness and artistry in creation. It also goes much further, however, focusing on God’s self-revelation as recorded in Scripture and through his son Jesus Christ.

Three divine characteristics that have direct bearing on ethical decision making are repeatedly emphasized in the Bible:

1.God is holy.9

2.God is just.10

3.God is loving.11

Each of these qualities will be explored in much greater depth in the next three chapters. For now, it suffices to say that a business act is ethical if it reflects God’s holy-just-loving character. Such hyphenation is appropriate because the three qualities are so intertwined that it would be just as accurate to describe God as being loving-just-holy or just-loving-holy.

The human body provides a helpful illustration. If holiness is comparable to the skeleton in providing core strength, then justice is analogous to the muscles ensuring balance and love is similar to the flesh emanating warmth. Obviously, all three are needed in equal measure.

Just imagine a body with only a skeleton (or a business with only a code of ethics); it would be rigid and immobile. Or picture muscles without a skeleton and flesh (or a business steeped in detailed procedures and policy manuals); they would be cold and improperly focused. Finally, consider flesh unsupported by any infrastructure (or a business trying to meet every need); it would be undefined and undisciplined.

Christian ethics requires all three characteristics to be taken into account when decisions are made. Holiness, when untethered from justice and love, drifts into hypercritical legalism. Likewise, justice that loses its attachment to holiness and love produces harsh outcomes. And finally, love when left on its own lacks an adequate moral compass.

Each of the three contains a vital ethical ingredient. Christian ethics does not involve either-or analysis—as if we could choose among holiness, justice and love—but rather a synthesis in which all three conditions must be met before an action can be considered moral. Each, like a leg on a three-legged stool, balances the other two (see fig. 1.1).

Highly respected clothing maker Levi Strauss has four core values. Interestingly, two of these—integrity and empathy—directly mirror the biblical principles of holiness and love. Significantly, former CEO Robert Haas discarded the corporation’s thick ethics rulebook because “it didn’t keep managers or employees from exercising poor judgment and making questionable decisions.” Instead the company opted to focus on core principles and conduct extensive employee training.12

Figure 1.1

FLAWED HUMANITY

Unfortunately, being holy-just-loving is easier said than done. A quick glance at the deception and broken promises common in the marketplace indicates that something is fundamentally wrong. Why is it that, despite our noblest intentions, we seem so incapable of living as we ought? Why, after a massive tsunami hit Indonesia, did ten Oxfam charity workers tasked with rebuilding destroyed homes end up colluding with local contractors to steal from those in great need? The result was tragic: homeless Indonesians were forced to move out of their second residences due to shoddy workmanship.13

The why questions go on and on. Why does a typical company lose 5 percent of its revenues annually due to employee fraud? On a global scale, this translates into losses of nearly four trillion dollars annually.14 Why did industrial powerhouse Toshiba systematically overstate its earnings by $1.2 billion?15 Why did Sanjay Kumar, former CEO of Computer Associates International, backdate over $2 billion in sales?16 On a smaller scale, why did a Bay Area dry-cleaning-business owner engage in systematic identity theft, scamming loyal customers of hundreds of thousands of dollars?

Scripture labels the fundamental human flaw “sin.” At its core, sin is the refusal to emulate God and instead set our own independent agendas. This attitude of elevating self to godlike status results in spiritual alienation. The apostle Paul goes so far as to call fallen humans “enemies” of God.18

Analogous to cancer, this moral disease infects us, clouds our moral vision and alters our character. J. I. Packer describes it as “a perverted energy . . . that enslaves people to God-defying, self-gratifying behavior.”19 The result is a chasm between God and us. While he remains holy-just-loving, we have become dirty-biased-selfish.

An important distinction must be made between the concepts of sin and sins. While the former term describes our defective moral character, the latter focuses on actions that naturally follow—lying, promise breaking, stealing and so on.

Two sports metaphors describe our condition. First, like archers with poor vision, sin has affected our ability to properly focus. The bad shots that follow—we often fail to even hit the target—are like sins in that they are the natural outcome of our bad eyesight. Second, we are comparable to high jumpers with broken legs. Try as we may, we cannot even come close to clearing the standard. As Reinhold Niebuhr wryly observed, “The doctrine of original sin is the only empirically verifiable doctrine of the Christian faith.”20

Our fallen natures are like petri dishes in which sinful actions flourish. This is particularly problematic in the marketplace, where financial stakes are high, career destinies are decided and the temptation to rationalize unethical behavior is strong. How else can one explain the Medicare scam carried on by a Houston doctor who repeatedly gave patients tests they didn’t need?21 Or PricewaterhouseCoopers partners who overlooked financial problems in audits for scandal-plagued companies such as Microstrategy in order to procure them as clients?22

Lest the finger of accusation be pointed too quickly, we must all acknowledge our own susceptibility to the temptation of justifying unethical or imprudent behavior. Lewis Smedes correctly observes: “Self-deception is a fine art. In one corner of our mind we know that something is true; in another we deny it. . . . We know, but we refuse to know.”23

For example, despite alarming evidence against him, Adelphia Corporation’s president persisted in self-deception by insisting on his innocence to accusations of fraud and conspiracy. He was later found guilty of all charges.24 In a recent survey of college-bound students, a quarter rated themselves in the top 1 percent in their ability to get along with others.25 Fooling ourselves is too easy.

A MIXED MORAL BAG

Imagine a society operating entirely under the paradigm of sin. Sellers and purchasers could never trust each other, so deals would be difficult to transact. Managers would constantly spy on subordinates to prevent theft and laziness. Slavery, child labor and bribery would be common. Since “might makes right” would be the guiding principle of business, companies would hire armed personnel to protect and pursue their interests. Prisons would be full and new ones would be needed at an accelerated pace.

Society would so distrust business that government regulators would be assigned to every company. These bureaucrats would in turn be inept and corrupt. As a result of all these factors, the costs of doing business would skyrocket and the very foundations of capitalism would be undermined. While some pessimists view this as an accurate description of the direction in which our culture is heading, it is clearly a bleak picture.

Thankfully, as Henry David Thoreau chided his generation, this paradigm is not the complete story of Christian ethics: “Men will lie on their backs, talking about the fall of man and never make an effort to get up.”26 At least three factors encourage us to arise from the moral morass.

First, despite our sinful nature, our spiritual core has not been erased; we retain the “image of God.”27 We continue to aspire to wholeness and regret when we fall short of our ideals. Our conscience, though less reliable than originally designed, is still operative.28 We also remain capable of reciprocal kindness—of providing for those who in turn give something to us.29 Hence, we ought not be surprised by acts of managerial benevolence toward hard-working, loyal employees.

Second, God has established social institutions such as government, the legal system, family and business to check human sin, preserve order and provide accountability. Human authority and tradition provide the framework necessary for communal living: government punishes wrongdoers, law requires fair play, parents discipline their children and businesses provide societal order.30 Without such institutions, anarchy would reign. Reformed scholars call this “common grace” because these protections extend to all members of society, regardless of whether they acknowledge God.31

Of course this is not to say that all governments, parents and employers are ideal. To the contrary, authority figures often abuse their power; they too are infected by sin. Rather, common grace merely affirms the general principle that human authority is necessary in an imperfect world and should ordinarily be respected.

The third force for good are those whom Jesus identifies as the salt and light of the world.32As salt prevents decay and light illuminates the darkness, so Jesus expects his followers to positively affect their surroundings. Corruption is to be confronted, and high moral standards are to be set.

Examples of business leaders who serve as salt and light in the marketplace include Bob Lane, who led manufacturing giant John Deere for a decade. Emphasizing “gritty ethics” and “uncommon teamwork,” he sought to bring lasting positive change within the corporation. “When employees see their everyday work not just as assembling a tractor, but as building a lasting business that serves to feed coming.

Dan Amos, president of insurance giant Aflac for thirty-five years, states: “Faith is important at Aflac. . . . Almost all of those principles [in the employee ethics manual] come in some way from Scripture, adapted for use in the workplace. . . . Really, that’s all we have—our word—so how we fulfill that promise is how we carry out those principles of Christianity, which we do to reinforce the body of Christ, makes all the difference in the world.”34

Likewise, David Browne, past CEO of LensCrafters, led the company using the servant-leadership model of Jesus. “At first,” he reflects, “I was a classic numbers-only butthead. . . . But now I want to serve folks, to help them be the best they can be.”35

These leaders, while realistic about human nature, have not based their careers on the half-empty-glass paradigm of sin. Rather, they have seen the glass as being at least half full, with opportunities to be holy-just-loving in one of the most challenging arenas of all, the marketplace. This book is an exploration of how we might follow their lead in wrestling with tough, real-world issues.

CREATIVE MORALITY IN AN IMPERFECT WORLD

To summarize, Christian ethics recognizes that the vast majority of humans are neither wicked nor angelic but fall somewhere in between on the moral continuum. It also acknowledges that it is difficult to be holy-just-loving, not only because of human foibles but also because worldly institutions are marred.

This brings us back to Maria’s dilemma in dealing with Abe, Barb and Carl. Economic realities require that the budget be cut. In God’s original plan for a perfect world, such a decision would have been unnecessary. But since humanity and its various systems, including the market, are imperfect, difficult choices must be made.

It is quite probable that the final solution for Abe, Barb and Carl will be less than ideal but may represent what is possible under the circumstances. Like an optometrist during an eye exam, Maria’s task is to line up the three lenses of holiness, justice and love so that they align as much as possible.

It is imperative that Maria not constrict her range of possible choices too hastily. While it would be simple to frame the problem as having only three options—fire Abe, Barb or Carl—she should opt to emulate God’s creativity instead.

Rather than abandoning us in our moral failure, God lovingly devised a plan for our restoration. It is important to note here that in doing so, neither holiness nor justice was sacrificed. In a stunningly creative move, God took the radical step of substituting his own son for us, casting our punishment on him. The roughly analogous act in the situation involving Abe, Barb and Carl would be for Maria to fire herself!

A more modest integration of holiness, justice and love might lead to some type of job sharing, joint reduction in hours, a deferral in capital spending, or, at minimum, a severance package for the dismissed employee. In any event, Maria should explore all options before acting and choose the one that is most pure, fair and benevolent to all involved.

Chapter 2

HOLINESS—THE CONCEPT of single-minded devotion to God and absolute ethical purity—is a predominant theme in Scripture. Cited over six hundred times in the Old Testament, it is also strongly emphasized in the New Testament, particularly by Jesus, Paul and Peter. John Wesley, father of the Methodist movement, considered it to be the linchpin of Christian ethics.1

During the Middle Ages, holiness was understood to mean separation from ordinary life for otherworldly contemplation. Hence business—perhaps the most fleshy of all human enterprises—was viewed as being antithetical to holiness. Though this attitude is less prevalent today, many still consider the marketplace to be “dirty.” Others associate the concept with either unrealistic moral expectations or a condescending attitude (“holier-than-thou”).

Is this perspective fair? Holiness is, after all, an ideal standard, whereas business is conducted in the rough-and-tumble environment that beckons players to think in terms of “survival of the fittest.” In the midst of Darwinistic competition, is it really possible to be simultaneously holy and successful in the marketplace?

Holiness is composed of four primary elements: zeal for God, purity, accountability and humility.

ZEAL FOR GOD

 CASE STUDY 

Churning and yearning. Last year Jill was hired as a stockbroker. Working seventy-hour weeks, she was under great pressure to increase sales. Her manager motivated her with visions of a yacht, expensive cars and a lakeside home. Affluence was the name of the game and she was determined to succeed. Seeing less and less of her husband and child, she also permitted her spiritual life to atrophy.

When a dry spell of fewer sales occurred, Jill decided to conduct unneeded trading on some accounts—“churning,” as the practice is known. Her sole purpose in making these sales was to increase daily performance. Her manager congratulated her and made no inquiries about methodology.

However, three months later, when one of Jill’s clients questioned why she had been advised to sell high-performing stock, Jill’s manager immediately fired Jill and held her up to other brokers as an example of “what not to do.” Jill was devastated and felt betrayed.2

At its center, holiness calls us to zealously make God our highest priority. It demands that all other concerns—such as career goals, material goods and even personal relationships—be considered of lesser importance. The Old Testament compares God to a spouse who demands faithfulness from his mate and who is understandably jealous when rivals are entertained.3

This theme is echoed in the New Testament when Jesus warns that “no one can serve two masters” and that our greates