“Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weights or quantity. Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt.” NIV….
Amos: Leadership Stories from the Bible
Bad Business
By Brent Garrison, Director of Relations, CEO Forum
Hear this, you who trample the needy
and do away with the poor of the land, saying
“When will the New Moon be over
that we may sell grain,
and the Sabbath be ended
that we may market wheat?”
Skimping on the measure,
boosting the price
and cheating with dishonest scales,
buying the poor with silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
selling even the sweepings with the wheat. 8:4-6 NIV
In the cited passage, we see that businessmen as far back as the 8th century B.C. used unscrupulous business practices. In this case, the wrongdoing was taking advantage of the poor by using dishonest scales. This goes against God’s standard of accurate measurements (e.g. talent, shekel, cubit, and homer) outlined in Leviticus 19:35-36:
“Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weights or quantity. Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt.” NIV
Scales in biblical times lent themselves to dishonest standards, since they were primitive devices, and the standards for weights were somewhat subjective. The shekel, which means “to weigh,” equals .41 ounces, but archaeologists have discovered differing amounts that range from .41 to .35 ounces. Such a small variance seems insignificant, but it becomes significant as product amounts increase.
Other passages in the Bible speak to dishonest scales, such as Micah 6:11. In this passage it appears that the businessman is using weights that appear to be correct but are inaccurate. This same idea of false measurements is described in Malachi 3:8-10, where God accuses some of lying about the amount of food they brought to His storehouse.
Lying about the value of something reminds us of the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. This couple was involved in a real estate deal with good intentions. They sold their property with the intent of giving the proceeds to their church, but when Ananias gave a different amount from the sale price, Peter asked him why he lied. Apparently, this couple collaborated about their story, because Sapphira repeated the same amount of the sale as her husband. In this case, their bad business practices brought untimely death. We are told that their deaths reverberated through the fledgling church (Acts 5:5) and certainly were deterrents from similar practices.
Amos calls out businessmen who are using faulty scales, but bad business practices can take on a plethora of forms. A business leader can allow bad business practices through false financial statements, shortcuts in manufacturing that knowingly impact the quality of a product, slow or non-payment of a supplier, or breaking the terms of a contact. You no doubt can add to the list from personal experience, but I pray you have never been the leader who allowed bad business practices on your watch.
Forbes, and the Ethisphere Institute, a New York City think tank, have for the past five years assembled a list of the World’s Most Ethical Companies. The latest list was compiled from nearly 3,000 companies, in 100 countries and 36 industries. Ethisphere has created a proprietary rating system, called Ethics Quotient. Selection is done by reviewing the following:
• Codes of ethics
• Litigation and regulatory infraction history
• Investment and business practices
• Nominations of senior executives for leadership excellence
• How industry peers, suppliers, and customers view the company
As followers of Christ, the companies or ministries you oversee should exemplify places of integrity and good business practice and be viewed as companies worthy of being listed among the world’s most ethical. It should never be said of you or your company that you were unscrupulous. The following Scriptures from Job and Titus clearly teach we are to live lives above reproach:
And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered by servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast to his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” Job 2:3 NIV
Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teachings show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. Titus 2:7-8 NIV
Leadership Reflections:
1. Reflect back through your career. Have you ever seen or been part of any business practice that was dishonest or lacked integrity? Journal about that experience and draw insights into how you found yourself in that situation. What were your actions before, during, and after this bad business scenario?
2. In your journal, write out those things your company does to ensure that business practices are totally above board. Did you discover an area that needs attention? If so, what action will you take to address this bad business practice?
3. Read the following quotes about good and bad business practices and record your thoughts in your journal.
a.“We have to make America the best place in the world to do business.” Dick Cheney
b.“We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly.” Aristotle
c. “At this moment, America’s highest economic need is higher ethical standards—standards enforced by strict laws and upheld by responsible business leaders.” George W. Bush
d. “Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.” Albert Einstein
e. “A business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business.” Henry Ford