Just Business

Christian Ethics for the Marketplace

Alexander Hill

• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Year: 2009
• ISBN:
  9780830875917
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Etica aziendale
• Index: Business

"An ethical man is a Christian holding four aces." So said Mark Twain. But practicing Christians, at least, want to be ethical in all areas of life and work--not just when they are holding four aces. To those faced with the many questions and quandaries of doing business with integrity, Alexander Hill offers a place to begin.Alexander Hill carefully explores the foundational Christian concepts of holiness, justice and love. These keys to God's character, he argues, are also the keys to Christian business ethics. Hill then shows how some common responses to business ethics fall short of a fully Christian response. Finally, he turns to penetrating case studies on such pressing topics as employer-employee relations, discrimination and affirmative action, and environmental damage. This is an excellent introduction to business ethics for students and a bracing refresher for men and women already in the marketplace.

CONCEPTS

A CHRISTIAN ETHIC FOR BUSINESS

An ethical man is a Christian holding four aces.

MARK TWAIN

Man is too complicated. I would have made him simpler.

FEODOR DOSTOYEVSKY

You must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.

JESUS

Christianity has not so much been tried and found wanting, as it has been found difficult and left untried.

G. K. CHESTERTON

Maria manages a small division within a manufacturing corporation. Roughly 60 percent of the division’s annual $250,000 budget is allocated to the salaries and benefits of Maria and her three subordinates, Abe, Barb and Carl. Maria’s supervisor informs her that $40,000 to $50,000 needs to be cut from next year’s budget. Since nonpersonnel expenses constitute only $100,000 of the budget, Maria is inclined to lay off one of her employees.

Before the company moved Abe to Seattle from Chicago last year, Maria told him over the phone that his employment would “no doubt be a longterm arrangement.” This was not written into his contract and is, Maria thinks, quite ambiguous. Abe has not worked out as well as Maria had hoped. His work is mediocre at best, and his interpersonal skills are poor.

A long-term employee, Barb was divorced from her husband two years ago. She is now a single parent of three small children, and it is evident that her work performance has suffered.

Carl works hardest of the three and regularly receives the highest annual evaluations. Another employee has informed Maria that Carl recently inherited a substantial sum of money from his parents’ estate. Maria believes that Carl would have a much easier time finding employment elsewhere than either Abe or Barb.

What should Maria do?

IS A CHRISTIAN ETHIC POSSIBLE IN BUSINESS?

Managers regularly confront such nerve-wracking, heart-wrenching and (often) guilt-producing scenarios. In their quest to do the “right thing” for both shareholders and subordinates, they may experience a deep sense of uncertainty. Why? Because when the “shoulds” of life are dealt with, values and relationships are brought to the forefront. Ethics—the study of “shoulds” and of doing the “right thing”—attempts to provide a valueladen framework, a grid through which real-life decisions can be made.

Christian ethics is the application of Christian values to the decision-making process. What counsel does this perspective 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 and, bingo, the two pieces fit like a puzzle.

While this strategy works fine 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, must she heed Jesus’ admonition to “give to the one who asks you” (Matthew 5:42)? What if Barb and Carl then make similar requests? Or what if Abe assaults Maria when he learns of the possible layoff? Is she to “turn the other cheek” (Matthew 5:39), or should she demand restitution and even bring criminal charges against him (Exodus 21:23—22:14)? 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 has led one philosopher 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—for example, don’t talk to strangers and no singing at the dinner table.1 While this criticism misunderstands the heart of Christian ethics, it should give pause to those who would take a 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 strict codes of ethics actually are cited more often for breaking the law than their counterparts without such spelled-out rules.2 Perhaps either human nature rebels against minute regulations or a rule-keeping perspective provides little guidance in morally ambiguous situations. Ethicist (and theologian) Dietrich Bonhoeffer was bluntly uncharitable toward such an approach, labeling it “naive” and those who practice it “clowns.”3

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 between eighteen hundred and three thousand years ago, largely in the context of an agrarian economy. Israel’s entire gross national product under King Solomon was no doubt less than the net worth of Google or Microsoft. What significant insights, they ask, can Scripture give Maria in deciding the fates of Abe, Barb and Carl? Indeed, is the Bible relevant to leveraged buyouts and software copyright infringement situations? Using Scripture as a business rule book, they contend, would be like using ancient medical scholars such as Galen and Hippocrates to train modern doctors.4

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 they are wrong.

GOD’S CHARACTER

The foundation of Christian ethics in business is not rules but the changeless character of God. Scripture describes God as being the creator of all things, perfect, preceding and superseding all things. It also tells how we as human beings were originally created to emulate God. Christianity operates on the notion that ethics (the study of human character) logically follows 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 egoism (promotion of individual pleasure via material goods or career success), utilitarianism (the option that best maximizes pleasure and minimizes pain for all involved) or deontological reasoning (the keeping of moral rules such as “Don’t harm others”).5

This is not to say that Christian ethics rejects all of these values. To the contrary, there is much overlap between Christian ethics and many human-centered ethical systems. The major difference rests in its central priority. 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, the great Catholic saint Ignatius Loyola was eulogized as follows: “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.”6 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.7

HOLINESS-JUSTICE-LOVE

If being ethical in business 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, 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.8

2. God is just.9

3. God is loving.10

Each of these qualities will be explored in much greater depth in the following three chapters. Here 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 ...