More than ethics

It’s bad news for a company when your board acts in a highly untrusting and unethical manner against other board members. Sounds to me like this company has some serious issues, the sort of issues that usually resonate from the top, down.

Read about the “Phone Scam” at HP here. I guess HP will need to revise the “Governance and ethics” part of their web site.

Leaders are supposed to lead with integrity, something that is far-too-often lacking in American culture (corporate and otherwise).

I actually saw a couple minutes of a recent episode of the TV show, Big Brother: All Stars. “ICK” was my primary reaction to the show. I was reminded of why I rarely watch television. The guy named Will was in a relationship with a woman on the show to try to get himself to the top. He admits this, referring to the relationship as something along the lines of a “faux-lationship”. You can actually watch the show at CBS.com, not that I’m promoting it or anything; in fact, you’d be fine just taking my word for it.

The sad thing is that many people consider it normal to deceive others to get what they want and fulfull their ambitions, if it’s necessary. What’s expedient so often replaces what’s helpful and what will build up others. The problem with today’s culture is that there is little perceived need to be helpful; little perceived need to build up others. Selfishness abounds due to the common belief in the importance of self-happiness and to the desire to make oneself happy.

Ask most American’s what their greatest desire in life is, and they will answer: “To be happy.” That is normal, even for Christians, who so often set themselves apart as holier-than-thou because of the issues for which they choose to fight. The issues, however, are not as important as the people, and this is frequently lost sight of by American Christians in the current politicized environment.

The Bible provides these pertinent remarks:

“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. (ESV).

A great chasm exists between what I can do and what I ought do. American culture lives in the space between those two ends. The understanding that there is an “ought do” still exists in the back of our collective mind, and that end pulls us away from living at the “can do” — but only so long as the “I need to be happy” mentality does not enter the picture. At that point, whatever I can do (to be happy) is what I should do.

An understanding of the gross inadequacy of living to be individually happy, at the expense of whatever needs to be expensed, means focusing not on issues, but on other people. This culturally antithetic outlook is one that Christians, at least, should adopt “for the glory of God.“