The Heart of Ethics

Proverbs 9:10 (NIV) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

A recent study from the IABC found that over 65% of their membership had no training on ethics – and it is this group that advices senior management on ethical decision-making!

It has also been my experience that, for the most cases, those who ran their business with the application of ethics were people who had grounding in the Word. Interestingly, many have rejected Christianity, per se – but all had experienced religious training in school.

Today, ethics training that focuses on company values, internal and external relationships is certainly needed; however, the rules, regulations and process that often flow from that training are generally “head” issues.

For example, how people are treated is an ethical issue. It was Will Tuttle (Ph.D – composer, musician, author) who mused: “Compassion is ethical intelligence.”

Consistent application of ethics is based on a clear understanding of a human's purpose: the verse above points out that our purpose (to be in reverential awe - a healthy fear - of God) - or wisdom - and our understanding (the foundation of ethics) is a heart issue – if the heart is right with God, then the ethics will follow.
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Is your heart “right?”


Copyright ©2009 by P. Griffith Lindell