He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Thanks for tuning in to GLOBAL REACHOUT. I am Sister Angelie, and starting from November, we have launched the program called the "Kingdom Business Culture". This program is based on the workplace training course by GLOBAL JIREH entitled, "Christ-centred Entrepreneurship". This course was compiled by Pastor Tony TAY Meng Hiang to help brothers and sisters live out Christ in the workplace.

We encourage brothers and sisters to sign up for this course, so that they will not only have the opportunity to communicate directly with the instructors, but also establish long-term and close contacts with the kingdom business operators in the group, learn from each other and encourage one another, and put the theory into practice. Living out Christ in the workplace. For those who are interested, you can refer to the end of the manuscript and register by email.

In today's program, we will learn "the ethics of corporate integration" together. We all know that correct ethics lead to correct values. As Christians, we embrace a biblically-integrated ethics, which is different from the ethics of non-believers; and our behavioral norms and moral standards are also different from those of the world.

Micah 6:8 says, "He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." This verse shows us the ethical concept of integration.

Firstly, our behavior must meet the requirements of "goodness". The word "good" means "good" in the original text of the Bible, but this "goodness" cannot be achieved by man's own strength. Mark 10:17-31 records such an incident - a rich man went to Jesus and asked, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" First, Jesus affirmed that there is no one other than God. There is no goodness. Then Jesus pointed out that the rich man still need to do one good thing: sell everything and give to the poor. The rich man can't do it! Through this incident, the Lord Jesus reminded us that people have no ability to achieve the requirements of "goodness" through works. It is only possible through Christ. We achieve goodness by the power of the Holy Spirit after we meet the requirements of goodness in Christ.

So what is goodness? Micah 6:8 tells us that the good deeds God wants us to do is to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. The integration of these three important elements is the foundation of our ethics. Next, let's first understand these three elements separately, and then look at how the three integrate.

The first thing God instructs us to do is to do justice. This is on the level of kingship, and it is because of this that our lives are manifested in righteousness. Generally speaking, the effort required for product production only accounts for 10% of the total effort; at the same time, 30% of the effort is invested in the institutional framework of the enterprise. We should act justly in the process of business operation, ensure that the system framework operates in accordance with principles, abandon all partial and unfair policies or styles, and let employees know clearly that competition is for more effective cooperation, so that everyone can pursue excellence together. In this way, people will not feel dissatisfied, because everyone knows what the principles of business operation are. Those who perform are blessed, those who violate are hurt, and doing justice is most beneficial to the long-term interests of the public. From this we can also see that the ethical consideration of doing justice is based on the "result". Therefore, it is more appropriate to prioritize "results" when dealing with major ethical dilemmas.

The second thing God instructs us to do is love mercy. This is on the priestly level, and our lives are sanctified because of it. When the heart is filled with the love of God, we seek to live a holy life because sin destroys our relationship with God, with people, and with ourselves. Compassion is the manifestation of a holy life. Compassionate behavior includes tolerating others' substandard behavior, forgiving others' mistakes, and taking the initiative to be kind to others. 30% of the efforts of a business should be in interpersonal relationships. An ethic that emphasizes compassion enables businesses to build healthy relationships and inspires people to engage and commit themselves. In the real world, many people are demotivated at work because of complex office politics, and many are reluctant to devote themselves to work because they feel they are not part of the organization. This makes us realize that the ethical consideration of loving mercy starts with "character". When dealing with moral issues in ordinary daily life, it is more appropriate to give priority to "character".

The third thing God instructs us to do is to walk humbly with the Lord. This is the prophetic dimension that enables our lives to reveal the truth. Whatever God has commanded, we should humbly do it, and demonstrate integrity and righteousness by keeping to the truth, which is the foundation of business ethics. We cannot stand in the holy light of the Lord unless we act in accordance with the truth and conduct ourselves upright (Isaiah 6:1-5). At least 30% of the effort that a business puts in should be spent on building a culture of sincerity in the business. In a work environment full of truth, people will be sincere and willing to speak the truth to each other. This helps the business to be effective, efficient and economical. Here we see that walking humbly with the Lord is based on God's "command".

How do we integrate doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with the Lord (i.e. results, character, and commands)? First of all, we need to walk humbly with the Lord, because keeping the truth is the foundation of doing justice and loving mercy—to do justice where there is no truth, it is like everyone doing what is right in his own eyes; To love mercy in the absence of truth is unprincipled indulgence. But then, doing justice and loving mercy must also be integrated—if you do justice without mercy, the judgment will be too severe; if you love mercy without doing justice, you will inevitably be taking side.

To summarize the above message: To do what is good in God's sight, we need to integrate three ethical elements: doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with the Lord. Doing justice is a consideration at the level of "results", loving mercy is a consideration at the level of "character", and walking humbly with the Lord is a consideration at the level of "command". "Command" is the basis of "result" and "character." When dealing with major moral dilemmas, it is more appropriate to take "results" as the starting point; when dealing with moral problems in daily life, it is more appropriate to take "character" as the starting point. An integrated ethic must begin with "walking humbly with the Lord" and integrate the other two elements on this basis.

Dear friends, this is where we end today's episode. I hope to see you again on the next episode of Kingdom Business Culture!

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Discussion 

1. What do you think is the significance of emphasizing corporate ethics in a business environment where interests are critical?

2. In your enterprise, how do the three elements of doing justice, loving mercy and walking humbly with the Lord affect daily management and operations?

3. Have you ever encountered a situation where these three elements conflicted with each other?