Faith Dilemmas for Marketplace Christians
A Thumb on the Scale of Justice
Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands.
—Ephesians 4:28
ONE enduring theme of Scripture is compassion for those who need extra help along life’s journey. But one person’s compassion is another’s preferential treatment. This is true in families, in the workplace, and in the judicial system.
Scripture contains numerous illustrations of “preferential treatment,” such as the parable of the lost sheep (Matt. 18:12-14), the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matt. 20:1-16), and the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32).
For those in positions of power, balancing compassion and fairness can be like walking a tightrope. One has to go ahead in faith, counting it “a very small thing [to be] judged by you or by any human court. It is the Lord who judges me” (1 Cor. 4:3-4).
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Sometimes, Ivan thought, the scales of justice needed a little help from the thumb. Like when it came to his expense account.
Ivan felt he’d been unfairly passed over for promotion. He’d invested a lot of time in the company, especially when his children were younger. He had paid his dues and more. He felt he deserved more recognition or perhaps something extra.
That “extra” came on his frequent trips. In some cities he’d stay with friends but charge the firm. He’d take relatives out for luxurious dinners and let the company pay. Once or twice he added an extra leg onto a sales trip so he could visit his daughter at college. He found other ways to divert company money into his own pocket. Since Ivan was trusted, no one ever checked.
Ivan felt the company owed him. At church he looked Evelyn, owner of the firm, straight in the eye without guilt.
Two co-workers were furious when they caught on. Unlike Ivan, they weren’t professing Christians. In fact, they resented the religious talk around the office. They felt Ivan in particular was self-righteous. The spiritual tone of the office sometimes made them feel second-class.
When news of Ivan’s misdeeds found its way to Evelyn, she was livid. She felt betrayed, not only by a trusted employee but also by a fellow believer who had sat with her on church boards. Moreover, the company’s testimony had been compromised and the office atmosphere poisoned.
“My immediate reaction was clear-cut,” Evelyn recalls. “He’s got to go. Ivan has to be made an example of. I felt let down. I thought I’d be perceived as a wimp if I didn’t act decisively.”
However, when she cooled off, Evelyn used a different approach. After meeting with Ivan, she decided not to fire him even though her best business judgment said otherwise.
“Ivan didn’t fully understand why I had passed him over for promotion. In his anger he rationalized his cheating the company. But over the course of our discussions, he was able to see that this wasn’t right even under those circumstances,” Evelyn says.
Ivan agreed to see a Christian counselor. The subject of restitution came up. Was there a way for Ivan to make up for his stealing?
“I didn’t press him,” says Evelyn. “I asked him if he wanted to give something back. He did, though we had no way of knowing how much was really involved.
“But that wasn’t what I was after. I wanted him back, back at work, and back in the community of believers.”
Evelyn’s decision to let Ivan keep his job was not without cost. Ivan’s effectiveness was severely reduced, because he had lost the respect of several key people in the company. Some staff said Evelyn was making a mistake; Ivan would cheat again. They felt she was giving Ivan preferential treatment. They grumbled about Christians not being fair and “taking care of their own.”
Questions to ponder and discuss
1. How widespread is Ivan’s kind of behavior? Would it be tolerated in your workplace? Was his offense clear or hard to assess?
2. Ivan didn’t confess voluntarily. He needed considerable pressure to recognize his wrongdoing. Would you have given him a second chance? Why or why not?
3. To what extent should church and other religious factors influence such workplace decisions as Evelyn’s? Did Ivan’s unchurched co-workers have reason to feel second-class? Would Evelyn’s or your action be different if Ivan had not been a church member?