Psalm 15:1-2 (NIV)
1 Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent?
Who may live on
your holy mountain?
2 The one whose walk is blameless,
who does what
is righteous,
who speaks the truth
from their heart;
"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 un easier 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
laptop? 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.
Dear Lord, we pray that we would make wise decisions.
Help those decision be based on Your word and what You want for each of us. In
Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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