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>>John Bradshaw: This is It
Is Written. I'm John Bradshaw.
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Thanks for joining me today.
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My guest today is
Dr. Michael Cafferky,
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an author and a teacher in
the area of business ethics.
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He teaches
management and business
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at Southern Adventist
University in eastern Tennessee.
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He's lectured
all around the world
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in a variety of
forums on this subject.
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We've spoken
together once before,
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and Dr. Cafferky,
it's good to have you back.
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Welcome.
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>>Michael: Thank
you. Good to be here.
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>>John: Let's start
at the very beginning.
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Ethics.
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What is ethics,
generally speaking?
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>>Michael: Yeah.
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Well, ethics is the process
that you and I and all of us
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go through when we
try to decide what to do
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and then take an
action based on that.
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Ethics is built
upon moral principles.
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But ethics is the use
of those principles, then.
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Deciding what
is right and wrong,
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sometimes it's complicated,
and then taking the action.
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>>John: Now, you teach
about ethics in business.
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So what is business ethics?
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>>Michael: Business ethics.
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Well, it's the
process of deciding what,
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what is right and wrong,
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when we go about our
activities in the marketplace:
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buying and
selling, hiring workers,
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managing our
relationship with workers,
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or our
relationship with our employer,
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and other people
in the marketplace,
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and doing business.
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>>John: Does the Bible say
much about business ethics?
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>>Michael: The
business, the Bible says a lot
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about doing business.
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>>John: Give me
a simple example,
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one where people
will say, “Ah, yes.”
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>>Michael: Well, the
business, the Bible talks about,
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in the Ten Commandments,
“Thou shalt not steal.”
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The Bible talks about using, uh,
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weights and
measuring system that is true,
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that is not false.
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The scriptures
sometimes gives very explicit,
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sometimes a very short
and cryptic, uh, direction.
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I'm thinking of one
in the book of Leviticus,
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in fact, right now.
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Leviticus, chapter 19,
and verse 11, where it says,
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“You shall not
steal, nor deal falsely,
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nor lie to one another.”
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Now, all three of those elements
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are really
important in business.
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In fact, those
three are believed to be
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some of the most
fundamental, uh, principles
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upon which the marketplace
itself must be founded.
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Don't tell lies.
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Uh, be truth, be faithful
when you make a promise.
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And don't defraud other people.
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Now, you can't get
more specific than that.
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>>John: What are some key areas?
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Let, let me mention a
couple to you and see...
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>>Michael: Okay.
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>>John: ...if we can,
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if we can identify where the
Bible talks about these things.
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We're talking about in
the context of business,
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but all of us, as
individuals, do business.
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We buy,
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we sell,
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we work for someone or
have someone working for us.
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We're all confronted
with ethical situations.
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>>Michael: Oh yeah.
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>>John: What does the Bible say
about greed, for example, and,
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and does this have any impact
on us ethically in business?
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>>Michael: Oh, sure.
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The scripture's pretty
clear that greed is destructive.
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Greed destroys relationships.
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Greed destroys the very things
that we hope to accomplish
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in our buying and
selling activities,
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in the scripture point of view.
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Uh, and so the scriptures,
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Jesus talks about
greed to His disciples,
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and how dangerous
it is to be greedy.
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>>John: Now, I want to
see if we can define greed.
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Bill Gates has more
money than the nation of Oman.
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Is that, now, I'm not, I'm not,
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well I've used him
as an example already,
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so I guess that's out there.
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Is that unethical?
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>>Michael: I, I don't
know how he made his money,
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in terms of his behaviors
in business and so forth,
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so I can't say.
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Just the fact that a
person has a lot of money,
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doesn't, does not indicate
that that person is greedy.
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>>John: Okay.
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>>Michael: Greed is an
attempt to acquire more
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at the expense of someone else.
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And just, and then continue
to get more and more and more,
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never having enough, at
the expense of other people.
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>>John: Just for the
sake of clarification,
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I'm not trying to have
a, have a go at Bill Gates.
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By the way, his stated objective
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is to get rid of 95 percent
of his wealth before he dies.
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>>Michael:
Yeah, I've heard that.
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>>John: Okay,
honesty. Honesty in trade.
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What does the
Bible say about that,
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and how does that
impact us ethically?
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>>Michael: Well,
certainly telling the truth,
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when you represent a product
and its quality to someone
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when you're selling,
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or when you represent
yourself when you're buying.
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It works both ways, for
buyers and sellers. Of course.
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>>John: Okay,
and I just asked you,
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I think, a pretty obvious one.
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Uh, is greed, is greed
bound up in the idea of business
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and personal ethics.
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Yes.
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Now, can we think on
the spot of a situation
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where it may be
not black and white,
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but a little bit gray,
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and do you have to apply
some sort of ethical metric?
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>>Michael: Oh, yes. It, it
requires applying the ethics,
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but in conversation with others
the more complicated it gets.
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And I think of a,
of an issue that is,
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actually comes up every year
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somewhere in
the published media,
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either electronic or published
magazines and newspapers.
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Every year for the last,
well, at least 12 years, okay?
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And that is, the
question about how much money
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do top-level executives earn...
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>>John: Um-hmm.
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>>Michael:
...compared to how much money
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the front-line employee,
entry-level employees earn,
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and the disparity in the income.
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And the, there's
people on both sides of that,
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having this conversation
for, for decades now, actually.
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If you go back
in the literature,
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you see it's
there for, for decades,
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the conversation
about the ethics of that:
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how much chief executives make
versus front-line employees.
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>>Michael: Now,
it's not really clear.
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Well, to some
people it is clear.
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It's wrong for the
top-level executive
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to earn that
much of a difference.
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And for other people
say, well now wait a minute,
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look at what that person
does for the organization
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and its relationship
to its strategic partners,
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and so forth, and the
value that that person brings,
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and the responsibility
that person has, and so forth.
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There's another point of view.
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>>John: I saw
recently where a young CEO
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felt like it was unethical for
him to be earning so much more
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than his, than his staff.
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So he's bringing his own pay
level right down to the same as,
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uh, his workaday staff.
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>>Michael: Right.
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>>John: Now,
somebody might think,
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well, how very honest
and ethical and fair of him.
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>>John: But does that itself,
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could that raise
other ethical issues?
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>>Michael: This is
the interesting thing
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about business ethics.
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When you do something good,
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like in that, there
might be some unintended
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economic consequence for
other people in the future.
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And sometimes we cannot
predict all of the consequences.
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That was, that
was a wonderful story.
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I remember seeing
it in the news also.
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And he's also raising
the wage of the workers up,
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quite
substantially for some of them.
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Uh, down, up to the same
level that he's coming down to.
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So they're going to
have the same level of pay,
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if I understand
the story correctly.
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And he's going
to phase it in over
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I think,
three-year period of time.
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>>John: Now,
that sounds wonderful.
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What are the
potential ethical challenges?
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>>Michael: Okay, so what happens
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when he wants to
sell his business?
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A lot of entrepreneurs,
they build their business up,
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build the book of
business, or the revenue stream,
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and then cash out,
as we sometimes say,
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sell the business to
other investors, or whatever.
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So what happens when he sells
his business, and the buyer,
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the new owner wants to
bring in a new executive
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who's used to making maybe
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ten, twenty, thirty,
a hundred times more?
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Now what's going to
happen to the workers?
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Now, of course, now,
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this person that
you've referred to has said,
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“We're going to
build the business,
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then, so that it can
support the wage scale
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that everybody
will be brought up to.”
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Now, that's a wonderful thing,
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because I think that's
the ethical thing to do.
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Because if he were to
sell his business before
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building the economic
strength of the business,
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he could potentially
jeopardize all of those workers,
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sell his business and
have all of them laid off
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and replaced by other
people to work at less money.
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>>John: Business
ethics, the Bible, and you.
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We'll have more in a moment,
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and in a moment I'm going to
ask Dr. Cafferky about ethics
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as demonstrated and exemplified
in the life of Jesus,
00:10:02.00\00:10:05.33
the Master Ethicist.
00:10:05.37\00:10:07.00
Don't go away;
we'll be right back.
00:10:07.04\00:10:08.70
¤[Music]¤
00:10:08.74\00:10:14.31
>>John: It may seem that
integrity is in short supply.
00:10:15.18\00:10:17.81
But it does not need to be
in short supply in your life.
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I'd like you to
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or write to the
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¤[Music]¤
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>>Announcer: Planning
for your financial future
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>>John: This is It Is
Written. I'm John Bradshaw.
00:11:16.27\00:11:18.17
Thanks for joining me today.
00:11:18.21\00:11:19.54
Our guest today is
Dr. Michael Cafferky,
00:11:19.57\00:11:21.44
who has written extensively
about business ethics,
00:11:21.48\00:11:23.81
particularly as
relates to the Bible.
00:11:23.85\00:11:26.38
And that impacts us because,
00:11:26.41\00:11:28.28
well, all of us are involved in
business in some way or another.
00:11:28.32\00:11:31.59
Some run businesses.
00:11:31.62\00:11:33.46
Everybody does
business with somebody,
00:11:33.49\00:11:35.99
and ethical questions arise.
00:11:36.02\00:11:38.29
Is it fair to say, Dr. Cafferky,
00:11:38.33\00:11:39.69
that the Bible
is, for the believer,
00:11:39.73\00:11:43.00
the ultimate guide
in framing and forming
00:11:43.03\00:11:45.03
our ethical principles?
00:11:45.07\00:11:47.34
>>Michael: Absolutely.
00:11:47.37\00:11:48.54
Yeah, the Bible's clearly
portrays itself as the, uh,
00:11:48.57\00:11:52.51
statement of
God's will for our life,
00:11:52.54\00:11:54.74
a statement of His character and
description of the kind of life
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He desires for us,
as an absolute standard,
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not something that's subjective.
00:12:01.62\00:12:04.12
In addition, though,
the scripture does say
00:12:04.15\00:12:06.59
there are times when we
need to have conversations
00:12:06.62\00:12:09.16
with each other about
things that are right and wrong.
00:12:09.19\00:12:12.36
>>John: I wonder, uh,
based on what you just said,
00:12:12.39\00:12:16.60
uh, should one
company rip off its customers?
00:12:16.63\00:12:20.50
No, the Bible's
really clear about that.
00:12:20.54\00:12:22.80
>>Michael: Right.
00:12:22.84\00:12:23.94
>>John: So if you're a
believer and you care about
00:12:23.97\00:12:24.91
what this book says, then,
00:12:24.94\00:12:26.34
no, thou shalt not
steal, let's say...
00:12:26.37\00:12:29.11
>>Michael: Exactly.
00:12:29.14\00:12:29.91
>>John: ...or
bear false witness.
00:12:29.94\00:12:30.45
>>Michael: Exactly.
00:12:30.48\00:12:31.45
>>John: How about
some of these situations,
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and perhaps you
can even think of one,
00:12:32.98\00:12:35.12
that's not real clear
from a biblical point.
00:12:35.15\00:12:38.45
There isn't a “Thou shalt not.”
00:12:38.49\00:12:41.02
What do we do then as believers
00:12:41.06\00:12:42.72
seeking to represent
Jesus in the marketplace?
00:12:42.76\00:12:45.33
>>Michael: Exactly.
00:12:45.36\00:12:46.59
That's what makes the business
ethics really interesting.
00:12:46.63\00:12:49.16
I am thinking of a
situation that occurred
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not too many months ago
with an airline organization.
00:12:51.77\00:12:54.94
The airplane at the
terminal, at the gate,
00:12:54.97\00:12:59.61
filling up with people.
00:12:59.64\00:13:01.94
One of the, I think,
copilots or employees
00:13:01.98\00:13:06.35
did a walk-around
outside of the airplane
00:13:06.38\00:13:09.28
and saw something written on
the tail cone of the fuselage,
00:13:09.32\00:13:12.99
an image that had been inscribed
there by the hand of someone
00:13:13.02\00:13:16.02
who had kind of taken a
wet finger and, you know,
00:13:16.06\00:13:20.33
drawn something on the fuselage.
00:13:20.36\00:13:23.13
And he took a picture of
it with his phone, telephone,
00:13:23.16\00:13:26.30
and then showed it on the inside
of the plane to some employees.
00:13:26.33\00:13:29.57
They were very concerned
that that might indicate
00:13:29.60\00:13:32.84
some possible
terrorist activity.
00:13:32.87\00:13:35.94
And so they, the
flight attendants said,
00:13:35.98\00:13:38.18
“We need to have
this plane searched.
00:13:38.21\00:13:40.78
We need to make sure,
00:13:40.82\00:13:41.95
because that, that image
could relate to some bad thing.”
00:13:41.98\00:13:46.09
And there was, there
was a discussion that ensued
00:13:46.12\00:13:48.02
among the pilots and the
operations flight managers
00:13:48.06\00:13:51.36
who were on, off-scene
in an office somewhere.
00:13:51.39\00:13:54.93
Eventually the workers,
the flight attendants, said,
00:13:54.93\00:13:57.20
“No, we're not comfortable
flying on this airplane.”
00:13:57.23\00:14:02.57
And there was an inspection
done at the tail cone,
00:14:02.60\00:14:05.21
but the workers said,
“No, we're not going to fly.
00:14:05.24\00:14:10.68
We're out of here.”
00:14:10.71\00:14:12.01
They walked off the plane.
00:14:12.05\00:14:13.25
>>John: Was that right or wrong?
00:14:13.28\00:14:14.65
>>Michael: Was that right
or wrong that they walk off?
00:14:14.68\00:14:16.82
Was it right or wrong
that they should be fired?
00:14:16.85\00:14:19.32
>>John: They were fired.
00:14:19.35\00:14:20.19
>>Michael: They
were fired afterwards.
00:14:20.22\00:14:21.89
They were fired for
walking off the job.
00:14:21.92\00:14:24.73
>>John: So, help me now.
00:14:24.76\00:14:25.79
As a believer, how do I
use this book, the Bible,
00:14:25.83\00:14:29.40
to inform my
actions and my decisions
00:14:29.43\00:14:31.93
in situations like that?
00:14:31.97\00:14:33.34
I come to an ethical situation.
00:14:33.37\00:14:34.70
I might say, “I
don't feel comfortable.”
00:14:34.74\00:14:37.61
But can I do more than that?
00:14:37.64\00:14:38.67
How do I go to
the Bible and say,
00:14:38.71\00:14:40.34
“God is informing me this way”?
00:14:40.38\00:14:42.31
>>Michael: Yeah, this is the
wonderful thing about scripture.
00:14:42.34\00:14:44.95
It does, it's not intended to
be a business ethics textbook,
00:14:44.98\00:14:49.28
you know.
00:14:49.32\00:14:50.25
It's not a business
ethics encyclopedia,
00:14:50.29\00:14:52.25
to cover every single situation.
00:14:52.29\00:14:54.52
But the principles in
the scripture are dynamic
00:14:54.56\00:14:56.59
and applicable at, at all times,
in history and situations.
00:14:56.62\00:15:01.23
So there are certain principles,
00:15:01.26\00:15:04.53
some call these the
elements or the dimensions
00:15:04.57\00:15:07.24
of the character of God
that are portrayed in scripture,
00:15:07.27\00:15:10.04
described,
sometimes used in stories,
00:15:10.07\00:15:12.97
sometimes commented
on by scripture writers,
00:15:13.01\00:15:16.71
that are the,
the guidelines for us
00:15:16.75\00:15:19.95
when the
scripture doesn't comment on
00:15:19.98\00:15:22.75
walking off an
airplane, and so forth.
00:15:22.78\00:15:25.25
These elements of
the character of God.
00:15:25.29\00:15:27.06
And I am fascinated by
some of these dimensions
00:15:27.09\00:15:30.59
of God's character and how they
are applicable to scripture.
00:15:30.63\00:15:34.20
>>John: Where do we
see ethics demonstrated,
00:15:34.20\00:15:36.40
exemplified, commented
on in the life of Jesus?
00:15:36.43\00:15:39.87
>>Michael: Yeah.
00:15:39.90\00:15:41.17
First of all, you have to
remember that for 30 years,
00:15:41.20\00:15:46.01
and I'm thinking about from age
12, maybe a little bit younger,
00:15:46.04\00:15:50.35
until he was 30
years of age, where was he?
00:15:50.38\00:15:54.75
He was in the marketplace,
00:15:54.78\00:15:57.19
in the sense that he
was helping his father
00:15:57.22\00:16:00.32
in the carpentry
business, doing business.
00:16:00.36\00:16:03.96
In fact, there's
someone who wrote a book
00:16:03.99\00:16:05.03
about Jesus the
carpenter, looking at it,
00:16:05.06\00:16:08.16
studying from the point of
view of business and so forth.
00:16:08.20\00:16:11.13
Uh, so He was acquainted
with business activities
00:16:11.17\00:16:14.54
in the marketplace.
00:16:14.57\00:16:15.80
We know this not only
because of, uh, His early life,
00:16:15.84\00:16:19.14
but also because some of
His teachings depended upon
00:16:19.17\00:16:23.04
using common business situations
00:16:23.08\00:16:25.55
that people were
familiar with in his parables,
00:16:25.58\00:16:28.18
for example.
00:16:28.22\00:16:29.68
Now, the parables
were not designed,
00:16:29.72\00:16:31.35
I don't believe, to
teach business per se.
00:16:31.39\00:16:34.06
They were meant, I think to,
00:16:34.09\00:16:35.32
and I think most
scholars would support this,
00:16:35.36\00:16:37.53
they were meant to teach
about our relationship with God.
00:16:37.56\00:16:40.93
But our relationship
with God is not just a mental,
00:16:40.96\00:16:44.10
ethereal, spiritual thing,
00:16:44.13\00:16:46.87
kind of separated from
everything else that we do.
00:16:46.90\00:16:50.54
Our relationship with
God is tied to everything
00:16:50.57\00:16:53.31
that we do in society, right?
00:16:53.34\00:16:55.61
So in one way you can say that
those examples from business
00:16:55.64\00:16:59.08
are related to business.
00:16:59.11\00:17:00.65
Um, also, when he gave the
famous Sermon on the Mount,
00:17:00.68\00:17:06.39
I think it's recorded in
Matthew, chapter 5, 6 and 7...
00:17:06.42\00:17:10.19
>>John: That's right.
00:17:10.23\00:17:11.46
>>Michael: ...He restated some
of these fundamental principles
00:17:11.49\00:17:14.36
that we've found in the
book of Exodus and Deuteronomy.
00:17:14.40\00:17:19.27
So that the people of
His day could understand
00:17:19.30\00:17:21.50
in a broader way some
of the principles of the
00:17:21.54\00:17:24.61
Ten Commandments,
which some people have said,
00:17:24.64\00:17:26.11
this really is
the character of God,
00:17:26.14\00:17:29.04
when you think about it.
00:17:29.08\00:17:30.28
The Ten Commandments are a
description of God's character:
00:17:30.31\00:17:33.15
what He desires for us
and how He relates to us.
00:17:33.18\00:17:37.62
All right, so Jesus spent
quite a bit of time focusing on
00:17:37.65\00:17:41.69
the Ten Commandments,
restating what they meant,
00:17:41.72\00:17:43.83
applying them to, uh,
His day and the situations
00:17:43.86\00:17:48.83
that people He knew, uh,
faced every day of their life,
00:17:48.86\00:17:52.63
including some
business situations
00:17:52.67\00:17:54.34
and some issues that
people in business faith.
00:17:54.37\00:17:56.40
For instance, face.
00:17:56.44\00:17:58.01
For instance, He said,
00:17:58.04\00:18:01.11
“Watch where your treasure
is. Where do you put your money?
00:18:01.14\00:18:05.55
It's where you put your
money that your heart is.”
00:18:05.58\00:18:10.95
We can always know
where a person's heart is,
00:18:10.99\00:18:13.62
or at least God knows
where the person's heart is,
00:18:13.66\00:18:15.56
from where the person,
00:18:15.59\00:18:16.96
you can follow the money trail,
as we sometimes say in business.
00:18:16.99\00:18:19.29
>>John: Yeah.
00:18:19.33\00:18:19.96
>>Michael: Follow the money.
00:18:20.00\00:18:20.96
You know the rest
of the story, right?
00:18:21.00\00:18:24.17
Where your heart is, that's
where your treasure will be.
00:18:24.20\00:18:27.50
Clearly Jesus was
not just talking about,
00:18:27.54\00:18:29.94
He was talking about, two
people who attended synagogue.
00:18:29.97\00:18:32.97
He wasn't just talking
about your life in synagogue,
00:18:33.01\00:18:35.58
and giving money as a,
as a donation to synagogue.
00:18:35.61\00:18:38.05
He's talking
about all of our life.
00:18:38.08\00:18:39.25
Where do we put
our financial emphasis?
00:18:39.28\00:18:43.65
That is where our heart is.
00:18:43.69\00:18:45.75
And it turns out that in
scripture the idea of heart
00:18:45.79\00:18:48.76
is focusing on the
ethical decision-making.
00:18:48.79\00:18:52.49
>>John: I want to talk
about that a little more just,
00:18:52.53\00:18:53.90
just ahead.
00:18:53.93\00:18:54.93
Our guest, Dr. Michael Cafferky.
00:18:54.93\00:18:56.53
Business and
ethics impacts all of us,
00:18:56.56\00:18:59.50
because in our daily
lives we interact with others;
00:18:59.53\00:19:01.74
we're called to
make ethical decisions.
00:19:01.77\00:19:04.11
What forms that?
00:19:04.14\00:19:04.91
What frames
that, those decisions?
00:19:04.94\00:19:07.34
Surely for the believer in
Jesus, that's the word of God.
00:19:07.38\00:19:11.01
We'll have more
in just a moment.
00:19:11.05\00:19:12.28
¤[Music]¤
00:19:12.31\00:19:18.15
>>Announcer: In Matthew
4:4, the Word of God says,
00:19:20.46\00:19:23.12
“It is written, 'Man
shall not live by bread alone,
00:19:23.16\00:19:26.26
but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.'”
00:19:26.29\00:19:29.90
“Every Word”
00:19:29.93\00:19:30.87
is a one-minute,
Bible-based daily devotional
00:19:30.90\00:19:33.34
presented by
Pastor John Bradshaw,
00:19:33.37\00:19:35.40
and designed especially
for busy people like you.
00:19:35.44\00:19:38.44
Look for Every Word
on selected networks,
00:19:38.47\00:19:41.21
or watch it online
every day on our website,
00:19:41.24\00:19:43.65
ItIsWritten.com.
00:19:43.68\00:19:45.68
Receive a daily spiritual boost.
00:19:45.71\00:19:47.85
Watch “Every Word.”
00:19:47.88\00:19:49.15
You'll be glad you did.
00:19:49.18\00:19:50.75
Here's a sample.
00:19:50.79\00:19:53.36
¤[Theme music]¤
00:19:53.92\00:19:59.66
>>John: Looking
back, clearly, I was naive.
00:19:59.69\00:20:01.86
I started work for a company
and was told that a large part
00:20:01.90\00:20:04.57
of one staff member's job
was to go after unpaid bills.
00:20:04.60\00:20:08.47
Huh? I asked.
00:20:08.50\00:20:09.74
You mean, you mean some people
just refuse to pay their bills?
00:20:09.77\00:20:13.14
That was new to me.
00:20:13.17\00:20:14.48
Clearly I had
some learning to do.
00:20:14.51\00:20:16.11
Deuteronomy 24:15
speaks about how we should
00:20:16.14\00:20:18.78
treat hired servants, saying,
00:20:18.81\00:20:21.18
“Each day you
shall give him his wages,
00:20:21.22\00:20:23.35
and not let the
sun go down on it,
00:20:23.39\00:20:25.79
for he is poor and
has set his heart on it;
00:20:25.82\00:20:28.69
lest he cry out against you to
the Lord, and it be sin to you.”
00:20:28.72\00:20:31.69
Simply put, if you owe
someone money, you pay it.
00:20:31.73\00:20:36.33
You enter into an agreement.
00:20:36.36\00:20:38.00
You honor it.
00:20:38.03\00:20:39.43
Integrity should characterize
the life of a believer
00:20:39.47\00:20:42.64
in the God of heaven.
00:20:42.67\00:20:43.71
If it doesn't,
00:20:43.74\00:20:45.37
it says a lot about
the reality of your faith.
00:20:45.41\00:20:48.48
I'm John Bradshaw
for It Is Written.
00:20:48.51\00:20:50.05
Let's live today by every word.
00:20:50.08\00:20:52.38
>>John: My guest today
is Dr. Michael Cafferky,
00:20:54.72\00:20:56.99
an author and a teacher in
the area of business ethics.
00:20:57.02\00:21:01.82
Dr. Cafferky, when
it comes to business,
00:21:01.86\00:21:04.26
what's the role, the practical
role of the word of God
00:21:04.29\00:21:08.20
in the life of a Christian
businessman or businesswoman?
00:21:08.23\00:21:12.97
>>Michael: Well, one
of the roles is to provide
00:21:13.00\00:21:14.57
specific guidance about things
to not do and things to do
00:21:14.60\00:21:19.17
in response to
God's grace to us.
00:21:19.21\00:21:22.68
And, uh, you know, we
can consider passages,
00:21:22.71\00:21:25.25
like don't steal, and so forth.
00:21:25.28\00:21:27.15
But then there are other,
00:21:27.18\00:21:28.32
there's another way
the scripture helps us,
00:21:28.35\00:21:30.05
and that is by describing
the principles or the elements
00:21:30.09\00:21:33.72
of God's character.
00:21:33.76\00:21:35.59
But it, then the scripture says,
00:21:35.62\00:21:37.43
emulate, or imitate, God's
character, as His children.
00:21:37.46\00:21:41.73
It says that in the
book of Ephesians, I think.
00:21:41.76\00:21:43.73
>>John: Um-hmm.
00:21:43.77\00:21:44.80
>>Michael: So what are
we to emu, emulate, right?
00:21:44.83\00:21:46.74
Well, there are several
themes of scripture that
00:21:46.77\00:21:48.80
the Bible writers, uh, use in
description of God's character.
00:21:48.84\00:21:53.64
And it's interesting
to me that these elements
00:21:53.68\00:21:55.54
of God's character
also are used in other
00:21:55.58\00:21:58.45
passages to identify Jesus
Christ and His work, who He is.
00:21:58.48\00:22:05.39
I'm thinking of
one example right now,
00:22:05.42\00:22:06.99
of one of the
themes of scripture
00:22:07.02\00:22:09.02
that is also the element of, the
dimension of God's character,
00:22:09.06\00:22:12.79
that's also related to business,
and that's the idea of wisdom.
00:22:12.83\00:22:17.63
Wisdom.
00:22:17.67\00:22:18.87
Scripture tells us that God
created this earth in wisdom.
00:22:18.90\00:22:23.17
That's a part of who He is,
00:22:23.20\00:22:26.01
creating, being
able to create in wisdom.
00:22:26.04\00:22:28.81
The Bible also
tells us in Proverbs
00:22:28.84\00:22:31.25
that we ought to seek wisdom.
00:22:31.28\00:22:34.18
But look what it
says in First Corinthians,
00:22:34.22\00:22:35.98
chapter 1 and verse
24, and then verse 30.
00:22:36.02\00:22:42.89
Verse 24 and verse 30.
00:22:42.92\00:22:47.60
>>John: I'll read verse 24.
00:22:47.60\00:22:48.40
>>Michael: Yeah,
read verse 24 first.
00:22:48.43\00:22:51.00
>>John: First Corinthians 1:24.
00:22:51.03\00:22:52.53
“But unto them which are
called, both Jews and Greeks,
00:22:52.57\00:22:55.87
Christ the power of
God, and the wisdom of God.”
00:22:55.90\00:23:01.28
And then verse 30 says,
00:23:01.31\00:23:02.31
“But of him are
ye in Christ Jesus,
00:23:02.34\00:23:04.08
who of God is
made unto us wisdom,
00:23:04.11\00:23:06.08
and righteousness, and
sanctification, and redemption."
00:23:06.11\00:23:08.85
>>Michael: Yeah.
00:23:08.88\00:23:10.22
Here's identifying Jesus Himself
as the essence of God's wisdom.
00:23:10.25\00:23:15.52
He is made our
wisdom, or He is Wisdom.
00:23:15.56\00:23:19.36
We could put a
capital W on wisdom
00:23:19.39\00:23:21.73
when we get to
that point, right?
00:23:21.76\00:23:23.06
>>John: Um-hmm.
00:23:23.10\00:23:24.20
>>Michael: So here's the
identity of Jesus Christ.
00:23:24.23\00:23:25.47
Actually, this idea of wisdom is
directly related to scripture,
00:23:25.50\00:23:28.74
and how we go
about buying and selling.
00:23:28.77\00:23:31.24
This idea of
wisdom is amazing. It's,
00:23:31.27\00:23:33.64
>>John: Let's bring this,
bring this into a practical,
00:23:33.68\00:23:35.64
everyday business situation.
00:23:35.68\00:23:37.58
>>Michael: Wisdom in the
scripture is not just knowing
00:23:37.61\00:23:39.75
how to sell
things to make money.
00:23:39.78\00:23:42.52
Sure, that's part of it.
00:23:42.55\00:23:44.52
Uh, knowing
something so well that you
00:23:44.55\00:23:46.86
have insight
into how things work.
00:23:46.89\00:23:48.76
That's the
scriptural idea of wisdom.
00:23:48.79\00:23:50.69
But the scripture idea of
wisdom is something far deeper,
00:23:50.73\00:23:54.36
more fundamental.
00:23:54.40\00:23:56.43
Wisdom in the scripture means,
00:23:56.46\00:23:58.40
how do we act in our
marketplace so that we support
00:23:58.43\00:24:02.07
our relationships with
God and with each other?
00:24:02.10\00:24:05.64
That is the truly wise person.
00:24:05.67\00:24:08.74
It's not just the person
who knows how to make money.
00:24:08.78\00:24:10.45
It's the person who knows
how to build economically and,
00:24:10.48\00:24:14.22
through those activities of
economic build, wealth building,
00:24:14.25\00:24:18.45
builds
relationships with people,
00:24:18.49\00:24:20.49
in a way that is
aligned with God's character.
00:24:20.52\00:24:23.66
That is wisdom of the Bible.
00:24:23.69\00:24:26.23
There's a famous
verse in Proverbs,
00:24:26.26\00:24:27.76
the, the fear of the
Lord is the beginning of what?
00:24:27.83\00:24:31.07
>>John: Wisdom.
00:24:31.10\00:24:31.70
>>Michael: Wisdom, right.
00:24:31.73\00:24:32.63
And that phrase,
“the fear of the Lord,”
00:24:32.67\00:24:33.84
really is referring to these
principles of relationships:
00:24:33.87\00:24:38.14
relationship with
God, and with each other.
00:24:38.17\00:24:40.34
That is, you'd be really
smart in the marketplace,
00:24:40.38\00:24:43.88
not just because you
know how to make money.
00:24:43.91\00:24:46.75
You're really smart when you
know how to build relationships
00:24:46.78\00:24:49.98
and support relationships.
00:24:50.02\00:24:51.09
Part of which
involves economic development.
00:24:51.12\00:24:55.22
>>John: For
somebody in business,
00:24:55.26\00:24:56.83
how important is it that,
that they saturate their mind
00:24:56.86\00:25:00.83
with the
principles of the word of God?
00:25:00.86\00:25:02.60
>>Michael: Oh, so important,
00:25:02.63\00:25:04.03
because there are so many
things that happen in business
00:25:04.07\00:25:06.27
every day that the scripture
doesn't talk about, right?
00:25:06.30\00:25:09.60
And so how are
we to be fortified,
00:25:09.64\00:25:11.74
how are we to take the
elements of God's character
00:25:11.77\00:25:14.18
with us to the marketplace
if we don't steep our,
00:25:14.21\00:25:17.78
like little teabags,
00:25:17.81\00:25:19.71
steep our minds in
scripture's thinking,
00:25:19.75\00:25:21.98
so that when we're in the
buying and selling situation,
00:25:22.02\00:25:25.25
we naturally think
of God's character,
00:25:25.29\00:25:28.72
and what would God do in
this kind of a situation.
00:25:28.76\00:25:30.66
What would Jesus do in
this kind of situation?
00:25:30.69\00:25:33.26
To emulate God's character,
that becomes our guide.
00:25:33.29\00:25:38.43
>>John: The Bible,
the guide for life.
00:25:38.47\00:25:40.17
And not everybody
thinks about this:
00:25:40.20\00:25:43.61
the Bible, the guide for
our business interactions.
00:25:43.64\00:25:47.84
>>Michael: Business life.
00:25:47.88\00:25:48.68
>>John: Our
business life and the,
00:25:48.71\00:25:50.28
the ethics we bring to that,
the way we conduct ourself.
00:25:50.31\00:25:52.98
Because really, if somebody
is a believer in Christ,
00:25:53.01\00:25:55.68
then in business
they ought to be,
00:25:55.72\00:25:57.29
seen to be a believer in
Christ, isn't that right?
00:25:57.32\00:25:59.25
>>Michael: Sure.
00:25:59.29\00:26:00.12
>>John: And if
you are a believer
00:26:00.16\00:26:01.02
and the Bible is your handbook,
00:26:01.06\00:26:03.76
when you're into
some business situation,
00:26:03.79\00:26:06.03
those principles ought to
be exemplified in the life.
00:26:06.06\00:26:08.23
>>Michael: Right.
00:26:08.26\00:26:09.36
And this is, I think,
what the Bible calls us to do.
00:26:09.40\00:26:11.83
Exhibit your faith in your
actions, in the marketplace,
00:26:11.87\00:26:16.14
as well as in your home
and in leisure activities,
00:26:16.17\00:26:18.77
yes, and in church, of course.
00:26:18.81\00:26:20.94
But if we leave the
marketplace out of this,
00:26:20.98\00:26:24.01
then we're going to fragment,
00:26:24.05\00:26:25.85
attempt to fragment
something that scripture
00:26:25.88\00:26:28.22
has not intended
to be fragmented.
00:26:28.25\00:26:30.19
>>John: Dr. Michael Cafferky,
thank you so very much.
00:26:30.22\00:26:32.12
It has been a blessing
talking with you today.
00:26:32.15\00:26:34.12
>>Michael: Thank you.
00:26:34.16\00:26:35.59
>>John: The Bible,
the basis for our lives,
00:26:35.62\00:26:37.33
and certainly the basis
for a person's business life.
00:26:37.36\00:26:41.06
Everyone exercises or
brings ethics to any situation.
00:26:41.10\00:26:44.93
The closer you
are to Jesus Christ,
00:26:44.97\00:26:47.20
the more likely you
are, the closer you are, to,
00:26:47.24\00:26:49.80
to demonstrating God's ethics,
00:26:49.84\00:26:52.61
Christ's own ethics,
00:26:52.64\00:26:54.28
in any given situation.
00:26:54.31\00:26:55.68
¤[Music]¤
00:26:55.71\00:27:01.58
>>John: It may seem that
integrity is in short supply.
00:27:02.52\00:27:05.25
But it does not need to be
in short supply in your life.
00:27:05.29\00:27:08.79
I'd like you to
get today's free offer,
00:27:08.82\00:27:10.69
“Challenged,”
00:27:10.73\00:27:11.66
written by Dr.
Michael Cafferky and myself:
00:27:11.69\00:27:14.46
how you can maintain
and demonstrate integrity
00:27:14.50\00:27:17.33
in your personal life
or in your business life.
00:27:17.37\00:27:20.27
Call us: 800-253-3000.
00:27:20.30\00:27:23.17
800-253-3000.
00:27:23.20\00:27:25.44
Visit us at Itiswritten.com,
00:27:25.47\00:27:27.71
or write to the
address on your screen for
00:27:27.74\00:27:29.64
“Challenged.”
00:27:29.68\00:27:32.01
>>John: Thank you for
remembering that It Is Written
00:27:32.78\00:27:35.18
is a faith-based ministry,
00:27:35.22\00:27:37.45
and it's your support
that makes it possible
00:27:37.49\00:27:39.45
for us to share God's good
news with the entire world.
00:27:39.49\00:27:43.69
Your
tax-deductible gift can be sent
00:27:43.73\00:27:45.33
to the address on your screen,
00:27:45.36\00:27:47.03
or through our
website, itiswritten.com.
00:27:47.10\00:27:51.00
Thank you for your
continued prayerful support.
00:27:51.03\00:27:53.77
Our toll-free
number is 800-253-3000.
00:27:53.80\00:27:57.07
800-253-3000.
00:27:57.11\00:27:59.41
Our web address
is itiswritten.com
00:27:59.44\00:28:02.48
>>John: The Bible is a
great guidebook for our lives,
00:28:03.55\00:28:05.88
particularly our
interaction with others,
00:28:05.91\00:28:07.72
our relationship with God,
00:28:07.75\00:28:08.82
but how we,
00:28:08.85\00:28:10.02
how we portray that
relationship with God to others.
00:28:10.05\00:28:13.86
When Jesus is the
center of our lives,
00:28:13.89\00:28:15.79
dwelling in our heart,
00:28:15.82\00:28:17.06
when we have
business dealings with others,
00:28:17.09\00:28:20.13
Jesus' principles
will be demonstrated
00:28:20.16\00:28:22.96
in those business dealings.
00:28:23.00\00:28:25.00
I'm glad you've joined me today.
00:28:25.03\00:28:26.03
Before we go, let's
pray together, shall we?
00:28:26.07\00:28:27.77
Let's pray.
00:28:27.80\00:28:29.10
Our Father in Heaven,
00:28:29.14\00:28:30.67
we're grateful today for Jesus.
00:28:30.71\00:28:33.04
We're thankful for Your
Spirit, who, through Your word,
00:28:33.07\00:28:35.98
will bring to our
lives the principles
00:28:36.01\00:28:38.28
by which You want us to live.
00:28:38.31\00:28:41.18
I pray that each of us,
as we interact with others,
00:28:41.22\00:28:45.22
would live according to
Your high calling on our lives,
00:28:45.25\00:28:49.96
and that we would be living
epistles, as the Bible calls us,
00:28:49.99\00:28:54.20
known and read of all
with whom we come in contact.
00:28:54.23\00:28:57.40
I pray we'd be
people of integrity.
00:28:57.43\00:28:59.93
And give us, uh, a solid
ethical framework for our lives,
00:29:00.04\00:29:05.47
which measures
with your holy Word.
00:29:05.51\00:29:08.64
We thank You today,
00:29:08.68\00:29:10.05
and we pray in Jesus' name,
00:29:10.08\00:29:11.98
Amen.
00:29:12.01\00:29:13.08
Dr. Cafferky,
again, thank you so much.
00:29:13.11\00:29:14.82
A pleasure having you here.
00:29:14.85\00:29:16.99
And it's been good
to see you again too.
00:29:17.02\00:29:18.72
I'm glad you've joined us today.
00:29:18.75\00:29:20.22
Looking forward to
seeing you again next time.
00:29:20.26\00:29:22.52
Until then, remember:
00:29:22.56\00:29:24.46
It Is Written.
00:29:24.49\00:29:25.89
Man shall not
live by bread alone,
00:29:25.93\00:29:28.76
but by every word that
proceeds from the mouth of God.
00:29:28.80\00:29:33.00
¤[Theme music]¤
00:29:33.03\00:29:48.05