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To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his. Job 12:13

Recently I’ve attended a business breakfast, a sponsor lunch and participated in a forum at TV show website, all of which have been discussing the topic of Ethics in Business. And then just this week a presentation at the OIVAC about Business Ethics.

The fact that this topic is being discussed in many places recently indicates to me it is something that is at the top of people’s minds of late. It is probably always there but so many things have been raising their heads globally that it’s got people thinking. Not just in business but in politics, in churches, in social networks, on websites. There seems to be so many ’shades of grey’ today that people are lulled into thinking that whatever it is they are doing, or thinking, is ok – because ‘times have changed’ and so many others are doing it. Are ethics really to be considered as ‘old fashioned’? I hope not!

When does it get down to what is right within? Do people truly not have a conscience anymore? Is it more a collective conscience that rules rather than an individual one?

As business operators there are two things we need to have in mind – what is right for our clients and what is right for us as individuals. Sometimes those two things appear to clash. What we do in business reflects on us as a person and that might mean we have to say ‘no’ to a client sometimes, even at the risk of losing their business. I’ve been in that position and I know that others have too and it can go both ways. I heard this morning at a presentation about business ethics of someone, a client, who did the wrong thing by the person providing them a service and moved to a competitor who poached them when actually acting on behalf of the service provider. The competitor also did the wrong thing but the client showed their lack of loyalty and their desire for opportunism. To me it showed they really both deserved each other and the other service provider was better off without this client, but it still leaves bad feeling all round.

There are some decisions that are tough calls and if you cannot make a decision that sits right within then perhaps you need to seek someone to whom you look up to for advice. This could be someone who’s been in business longer, or perhaps a colleague, a mentor, a teacher, a parent, someone in your church, or perhaps even the person who leads the business network of which you are a member. Don’t let it get to the point where it stresses you severely and you get sick as a result. You then stand to lose your health, lose business and not be there for your family as they have need. Your health is important, and dare I say as well, the ‘health of your ethics’. But more importantly you should be looking to God’s Word and find out what He says in the Bible. Because, as it says in Job as listed at the top of this post, ‘To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his’. Holding fast to your ethics and not letting a client waiver them, even if it means you might lose business, in the end is what will help you stay in business and maintain integrity. People do notice, even when you think they are not watching. KMT

business ethics, ethics in business, guidance, seeking counsel, integrity