Whistle While You Work #9: Love Your Neighbor Through Integrity

As we continue loving our neighbor through our work, the next way is loving your neighbor – doing unto them as you’d like them to do unto you – not before they do it to you. This, too, applies to the world of commerce. I’m out of my element when it comes to business and profit, particularly when it comes to the global impact of economies and the like. But, biblically, profit is not universally evil. It puts some value on the time and effort we put in to something. Furthermore, the Virtuous Woman of Proverbs 31 is commended for her ability to turn a profit.

She sees that her trading is profitable, (Prov. 31.18)

But this area is also where we can be tempted by all kinds of evil (1 Tim. 6.10) in our love for money. When you’re establishing your profit margins, keep in mind that Golden Rule.

Loving your neighbor means fighting greed in your own life and oppression of others. That may mean not taking unfair advantage of superior knowledge or hoarding a scarce or vital resource and then price gouging (gas prices, anyone?).

With corporate scandals as prominent as they seem to be these days, Christians should be leading the charge and setting the bar high (any more clichés to add?) when it comes to integrity in the work place.

Whistle while you work because, when you work with integrity, you are obeying Jesus by loving your neighbor – even if they are your competitor/enemy.

What are the most significant challenges to living with integrity in your work world?