Justice in the Marketplace II

Adapted from Biblical Principles & Business: The Practice by Richard C. Chewning.

This Weekly Insight will continue where we left off last time in our discussion of Justice in the Marketplace. 

Doing Justice to Creditors

I’m thinking particularly of our relationship with our bankers.  Larry Burkett provides this counsel: “According to God’s Word, we are to avoid surety, which means never accept personal liability for any indebtedness.”  He provides an example of buying a $10,000 piece of property with a $2,000 down payment, signing a note for the balance with the stipulation that if I ever cannot pay, the lender has the right to keep what I have already paid and to recover his property, but I owe nothing additional.  Thus, I have no personal liability for any deficiency (the contingent liability is limited to the collateral at risk).  Here, the borrower avoids surety since there is always a definite way to pay (surrender of the property).    

Doing Justice to Competitors

Any means by which we attempt to secure proprietary information from our competitors is not just.  If we are to compete, we must compete fairly on the individual merits of our company.  Intentional attacks on our competitors also qualify as unjust acts.  The Bible is very clear on this (for example, Proverbs 24:17-18).  Competition is good for us and for our customers as it drives innovation and continuous improvement.  Since we are commanded to love our enemies, it is not asking too much for us to “love those who work beside us in the marketplace, offering alternatives to our products and services.”  We are to “acknowledge another’s success, encourage the other’s integrity, and gracefully handle our own successes in the presence of our competitors.”  By doing so we are doing justice in the marketplace. 

Doing Justice to Owners

For managers to profit at the owners’ expense is not ethical.  Managers are truly stewards for the owners and, as such, must not be self-serving in their decision making.  When it comes to executive compensation, doing justice for the owners would mean that “efficiency and productivity should play a more significant role in the evaluation of officers and their financial rewards than they do.”  Directors and managers in large corporations have gotten where they are through means other than ownership and have little accountability.  “This does not create the best climate for doing justice to the owners.”

Doing Justice to Government

God is the establisher of governments (Romans 13:1-7, Titus3:1-2, 1 Peter 2:13-17) and we are to obey government authorities.  As Christian business owners, we would agree that government regulations form a minimum standard to business conduct.  That is, Christian businesspeople should exceed the government’s standards.  We are to make sure that God’s standards of justice are being met. 

Doing Justice to Society

Are Christian business owners acting responsibly (and responsively) on behalf of the larger community interests?  Christians in the marketplace must look out for the general public’s interest.  We need to speak out as community leaders for social justice or economic justice whenever we discern its absence. 

Now What?

What will I do with the thoughts from this Weekly Insight (and the one prior at http://www.daystarconsulting.com/archive/2006/Vol2Issue29.asp)? 

Why not take a blank piece of paper and write down two or three stakeholders and how you plan to “do justice” regarding each one.  As you meditate on this, perhaps the LORD will bring to mind an injustice that you need to deal with regarding a customer, or a vendor, or an employee—or a family member.   

A student visited my office this week and was wrestling with a decision regarding her first job after college graduation.  She laid out both options and I saw a bit of “injustice” in the mix (she had already accepted one position but subsequently another company had offered her a job as well).  As a result, I suggested that she not consider the money, etc. but that she focus on doing the right thing.   

Sometimes “doing the right thing” is a very clear choice and easy to do.  Other times justice may be easy to see, but not easy to do.  And then there are the times when you just don’t know (or don’t think you know) what justice looks like in your particular situation.   Good counsel, the reading of Scripture, extended moments of solitude before the LORD will all help to illuminate your mind during those times. 

After all, God has clearly told us that if we lack wisdom, all we need to do is ask for it:

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. James 1:5 

Being salt and light in the marketplace ought to result in a loving concern for the accomplishment of justice.  That’s one reason God has called us to the marketplace.

Keith

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