Jeremiah 25:34-38 “’Weep and wail, you shepherds; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock. For your time to be slaughtered has come; you will fall like the best of the rams. The shepherds will have nowhere to flee, the leaders of the flock no place to escape … the peaceful meadows will be laid waste … their land will become desolate …’”
This warning from God came at a time when the leadership and the population of Judah were particularly evil and corrupt.
Principle: Bad leadership, with deception and disobedience to God’s principles, will have serious consequences.
The evil in governmental leadership, society as a whole and in business is always with us. In 2006, there was a flood of evil activity spotlighted in corporate leadership.
In the business field, John Rigas of Adelphia was convicted of fraud and theft. Andrew Fastow of Enron was sentenced to prison for conspiracy, fraud, and money laundering. Edward Ebbers of WorldCom was sent to prison for accounting fraud. L. Dennis Kozlowski of Tyco International was convicted of fraud. Martha Stewart lied about the sale of stock and spent five months in prison. Richard Scrushy spent time in prison for bribing Alabama’s governor. Kenneth Lay of Enron was convicted of fraud and conspiracy. Stuart Wolff of Homestore was convicted of fraud and spent time in prison.
Some of those millionaire businessmen were Christians. To them the Word of God and the Spirit of God should have been the motivators for doing right. The very clear concepts of virtues should be motivation for everyone but sometimes people need the coercion of the judicial system to drive home lessons of dishonesty and deception.
In this era of accountability, perhaps this is the end of soft sentencing such as community service and probation for the rich and powerful. I hope so. I take no pleasure in the imprisonment of any of these lawbreakers, but I think it is a good thing. It sends a warning to others who have lied or think they are above the law.
God will not be mocked. People reap what they sow. Now or later.
Discussion:
1. Have you ever worked for a company run by dishonest owners? How did that work out for the company? For you? For the owner?
2. How does bad leadership by Christians reflect poorly on the character of God?
