Micah 6:10-12, 14-15 “’Am I still to forget your ill-gotten treasures … and the short ephah, which is accursed? Shall I acquit someone with dishonest scales, with a bag of false weights? Your rich people are violent; your inhabitants are liars and their tongues speak deceitfully. You will eat but not be satisfied; your stomach will still be empty. You will store up but save nothing, because what you save I will give to the sword. You will plant but not harvest; you will press olives but not use the oil, you will crush grapes but not drink the wine.’”
In the first part of the chapter, the Lord states His case against Israel and concludes with the command to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God. Then He nails them for their dishonesty and delivers His unique judgments which are perfectly suited to the situations.
Principle: God observes dishonesty and judges it appropriately and timely.
Dishonesty often starts as lack of integrity in transactions and morphs into more grievous behavior.
Business executives and owners start with cheating customers, government, employees or stakeholders in a number of ways. If it continues, God causes business failure. Look at Enron, WorldCom, Tyco and other recent examples.
Management has opportunities to steal by spending current budget dollars unnecessarily, allowing inefficiencies or errors to go unreported or uncorrected, using company equipment for personal, family, or other activities, ignoring leadership priorities in favor of doing other work, etc.
Employees have dozens of ways to cheat employers. It may be common, allowed or even encouraged, but God condemns it. The list includes intentionally working slower, misrepresenting productivity, making personal telephone calls, wasting time, extending breaks and lunch hours, arriving late and leaving early, claiming sick time when well, stealing company property, ignoring management priorities, etc.
If you are a business leader – act justly, walk humbly, and watch the ripple-down affect.
If you are an employee, work with integrity and see how that good influence will affect employees around you.
If you are an owner or executive, do an internal and external integrity check to see if that is the cause of low productivity.
Discussion:
1. What downward progression have you observed in a company that started with cheating customers?
2. Was the company profitable and successful for a period?
3. What upward progress have you observed in a company that puts integrity first?
