It Is Written

Living with Integrity

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: John Bradshaw

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Series Code: IIW

Program Code: IIW001383A


01:30 ♪[Theme music]♪
01:40 ♪[Theme music]♪
01:49 >>John Bradshaw: This is It Is Written. I'm John Bradshaw.
01:52 Thanks for joining me today.
01:54 My guest today is Dr. Michael Cafferky,
01:56 an author and a teacher in the area of business ethics.
02:01 He teaches management and business
02:02 at Southern Adventist University in eastern Tennessee.
02:06 He's lectured all around the world
02:07 in a variety of forums on this subject.
02:10 We've spoken together once before,
02:12 and Dr. Cafferky, it's good to have you back.
02:14 Welcome.
02:15 >>Michael: Thank you. Good to be here.
02:16 >>John: Let's start at the very beginning.
02:17 Ethics.
02:18 What is ethics, generally speaking?
02:20 >>Michael: Yeah.
02:21 Well, ethics is the process that you and I and all of us
02:24 go through when we try to decide what to do
02:26 and then take an action based on that.
02:30 Ethics is built upon moral principles.
02:33 But ethics is the use of those principles, then.
02:37 Deciding what is right and wrong,
02:38 sometimes it's complicated, and then taking the action.
02:42 >>John: Now, you teach about ethics in business.
02:43 So what is business ethics?
02:46 >>Michael: Business ethics.
02:47 Well, it's the process of deciding what,
02:49 what is right and wrong,
02:50 when we go about our activities in the marketplace:
02:53 buying and selling, hiring workers,
02:56 managing our relationship with workers,
02:57 or our relationship with our employer,
03:00 and other people in the marketplace,
03:02 and doing business.
03:03 >>John: Does the Bible say much about business ethics?
03:06 >>Michael: The business, the Bible says a lot
03:08 about doing business.
03:09 >>John: Give me a simple example,
03:10 one where people will say, “Ah, yes.”
03:13 >>Michael: Well, the business, the Bible talks about,
03:15 in the Ten Commandments, “Thou shalt not steal.”
03:19 The Bible talks about using, uh,
03:22 weights and measuring system that is true,
03:25 that is not false.
03:27 The scriptures sometimes gives very explicit,
03:29 sometimes a very short and cryptic, uh, direction.
03:33 I'm thinking of one in the book of Leviticus,
03:35 in fact, right now.
03:36 Leviticus, chapter 19, and verse 11, where it says,
03:42 “You shall not steal, nor deal falsely,
03:45 nor lie to one another.”
03:47 Now, all three of those elements
03:49 are really important in business.
03:51 In fact, those three are believed to be
03:54 some of the most fundamental, uh, principles
03:57 upon which the marketplace itself must be founded.
04:01 Don't tell lies.
04:04 Uh, be truth, be faithful when you make a promise.
04:07 And don't defraud other people.
04:10 Now, you can't get more specific than that.
04:12 >>John: What are some key areas?
04:14 Let, let me mention a couple to you and see...
04:16 >>Michael: Okay.
04:17 >>John: ...if we can,
04:18 if we can identify where the Bible talks about these things.
04:20 We're talking about in the context of business,
04:22 but all of us, as individuals, do business.
04:25 We buy,
04:25 we sell,
04:26 we work for someone or have someone working for us.
04:29 We're all confronted with ethical situations.
04:33 >>Michael: Oh yeah.
04:34 >>John: What does the Bible say about greed, for example, and,
04:37 and does this have any impact on us ethically in business?
04:41 >>Michael: Oh, sure.
04:43 The scripture's pretty clear that greed is destructive.
04:48 Greed destroys relationships.
04:51 Greed destroys the very things that we hope to accomplish
04:54 in our buying and selling activities,
04:56 in the scripture point of view.
04:58 Uh, and so the scriptures,
05:00 Jesus talks about greed to His disciples,
05:02 and how dangerous it is to be greedy.
05:05 >>John: Now, I want to see if we can define greed.
05:08 Bill Gates has more money than the nation of Oman.
05:14 Is that, now, I'm not, I'm not,
05:18 well I've used him as an example already,
05:19 so I guess that's out there.
05:21 Is that unethical?
05:24 >>Michael: I, I don't know how he made his money,
05:26 in terms of his behaviors in business and so forth,
05:29 so I can't say.
05:30 Just the fact that a person has a lot of money,
05:33 doesn't, does not indicate that that person is greedy.
05:36 >>John: Okay.
05:37 >>Michael: Greed is an attempt to acquire more
05:41 at the expense of someone else.
05:43 And just, and then continue to get more and more and more,
05:48 never having enough, at the expense of other people.
05:52 >>John: Just for the sake of clarification,
05:55 I'm not trying to have a, have a go at Bill Gates.
05:58 By the way, his stated objective
06:00 is to get rid of 95 percent of his wealth before he dies.
06:03 >>Michael: Yeah, I've heard that.
06:04 >>John: Okay, honesty. Honesty in trade.
06:07 What does the Bible say about that,
06:08 and how does that impact us ethically?
06:10 >>Michael: Well, certainly telling the truth,
06:12 when you represent a product and its quality to someone
06:16 when you're selling,
06:17 or when you represent yourself when you're buying.
06:21 It works both ways, for buyers and sellers. Of course.
06:23 >>John: Okay, and I just asked you,
06:24 I think, a pretty obvious one.
06:25 Uh, is greed, is greed bound up in the idea of business
06:29 and personal ethics.
06:30 Yes.
06:31 Now, can we think on the spot of a situation
06:34 where it may be not black and white,
06:35 but a little bit gray,
06:36 and do you have to apply some sort of ethical metric?
06:39 >>Michael: Oh, yes. It, it requires applying the ethics,
06:43 but in conversation with others the more complicated it gets.
06:46 And I think of a, of an issue that is,
06:49 actually comes up every year
06:51 somewhere in the published media,
06:53 either electronic or published magazines and newspapers.
06:56 Every year for the last, well, at least 12 years, okay?
07:00 And that is, the question about how much money
07:03 do top-level executives earn...
07:05 >>John: Um-hmm.
07:06 >>Michael: ...compared to how much money
07:08 the front-line employee, entry-level employees earn,
07:11 and the disparity in the income.
07:13 And the, there's people on both sides of that,
07:15 having this conversation for, for decades now, actually.
07:18 If you go back in the literature,
07:20 you see it's there for, for decades,
07:22 the conversation about the ethics of that:
07:24 how much chief executives make versus front-line employees.
07:27 >>Michael: Now, it's not really clear.
07:29 Well, to some people it is clear.
07:31 It's wrong for the top-level executive
07:33 to earn that much of a difference.
07:35 And for other people say, well now wait a minute,
07:38 look at what that person does for the organization
07:42 and its relationship to its strategic partners,
07:44 and so forth, and the value that that person brings,
07:47 and the responsibility that person has, and so forth.
07:49 There's another point of view.
07:51 >>John: I saw recently where a young CEO
07:52 felt like it was unethical for him to be earning so much more
07:55 than his, than his staff.
07:57 So he's bringing his own pay level right down to the same as,
08:03 uh, his workaday staff.
08:05 >>Michael: Right.
08:06 >>John: Now, somebody might think,
08:07 well, how very honest and ethical and fair of him.
08:09 >>John: But does that itself,
08:10 could that raise other ethical issues?
08:13 >>Michael: This is the interesting thing
08:14 about business ethics.
08:16 When you do something good,
08:17 like in that, there might be some unintended
08:21 economic consequence for other people in the future.
08:25 And sometimes we cannot predict all of the consequences.
08:28 That was, that was a wonderful story.
08:30 I remember seeing it in the news also.
08:32 And he's also raising the wage of the workers up,
08:36 quite substantially for some of them.
08:39 Uh, down, up to the same level that he's coming down to.
08:43 So they're going to have the same level of pay,
08:44 if I understand the story correctly.
08:46 And he's going to phase it in over
08:47 I think, three-year period of time.
08:49 >>John: Now, that sounds wonderful.
08:52 What are the potential ethical challenges?
08:55 >>Michael: Okay, so what happens
08:56 when he wants to sell his business?
08:59 A lot of entrepreneurs, they build their business up,
09:02 build the book of business, or the revenue stream,
09:05 and then cash out, as we sometimes say,
09:07 sell the business to other investors, or whatever.
09:10 So what happens when he sells his business, and the buyer,
09:12 the new owner wants to bring in a new executive
09:16 who's used to making maybe
09:18 ten, twenty, thirty, a hundred times more?
09:21 Now what's going to happen to the workers?
09:23 Now, of course, now,
09:24 this person that you've referred to has said,
09:27 “We're going to build the business,
09:29 then, so that it can support the wage scale
09:34 that everybody will be brought up to.”
09:37 Now, that's a wonderful thing,
09:38 because I think that's the ethical thing to do.
09:39 Because if he were to sell his business before
09:42 building the economic strength of the business,
09:44 he could potentially jeopardize all of those workers,
09:48 sell his business and have all of them laid off
09:50 and replaced by other people to work at less money.
09:53 >>John: Business ethics, the Bible, and you.
09:57 We'll have more in a moment,
09:58 and in a moment I'm going to ask Dr. Cafferky about ethics
10:02 as demonstrated and exemplified in the life of Jesus,
10:05 the Master Ethicist.
10:07 Don't go away; we'll be right back.
10:08 ♪[Music]♪
10:15 >>John: It may seem that integrity is in short supply.
10:17 But it does not need to be in short supply in your life.
10:21 I'd like you to get today's free offer,
10:23 “Challenged,”
10:24 written by Dr. Michael Cafferky and myself:
10:27 how you can maintain and demonstrate integrity
10:30 in your personal life or in your business life.
10:32 Call us: 800-253-3000.
10:35 800-253-3000.
10:38 Visit us at Itiswritten.com,
10:40 or write to the address on your screen for
10:42 “Challenged.”
10:45 ♪[Music]♪
10:47 >>Announcer: Planning for your financial future
10:49 is a vital aspect of Christian stewardship.
10:53 For this reason,
10:54 It Is Written is pleased to offer free planned giving
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10:58 For information on how we can help you,
11:01 please call 800-992-2219.
11:05 Call today, or visit our website,
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11:16 >>John: This is It Is Written. I'm John Bradshaw.
11:18 Thanks for joining me today.
11:19 Our guest today is Dr. Michael Cafferky,
11:21 who has written extensively about business ethics,
11:23 particularly as relates to the Bible.
11:26 And that impacts us because,
11:28 well, all of us are involved in business in some way or another.
11:31 Some run businesses.
11:33 Everybody does business with somebody,
11:36 and ethical questions arise.
11:38 Is it fair to say, Dr. Cafferky,
11:39 that the Bible is, for the believer,
11:43 the ultimate guide in framing and forming
11:45 our ethical principles?
11:47 >>Michael: Absolutely.
11:48 Yeah, the Bible's clearly portrays itself as the, uh,
11:52 statement of God's will for our life,
11:54 a statement of His character and description of the kind of life
11:58 He desires for us, as an absolute standard,
12:01 not something that's subjective.
12:04 In addition, though, the scripture does say
12:06 there are times when we need to have conversations
12:09 with each other about things that are right and wrong.
12:12 >>John: I wonder, uh, based on what you just said,
12:16 uh, should one company rip off its customers?
12:20 No, the Bible's really clear about that.
12:22 >>Michael: Right.
12:23 >>John: So if you're a believer and you care about
12:24 what this book says, then,
12:26 no, thou shalt not steal, let's say...
12:29 >>Michael: Exactly.
12:29 >>John: ...or bear false witness.
12:30 >>Michael: Exactly.
12:31 >>John: How about some of these situations,
12:32 and perhaps you can even think of one,
12:35 that's not real clear from a biblical point.
12:38 There isn't a “Thou shalt not.”
12:41 What do we do then as believers
12:42 seeking to represent Jesus in the marketplace?
12:45 >>Michael: Exactly.
12:46 That's what makes the business ethics really interesting.
12:49 I am thinking of a situation that occurred
12:51 not too many months ago with an airline organization.
12:54 The airplane at the terminal, at the gate,
12:59 filling up with people.
13:01 One of the, I think, copilots or employees
13:06 did a walk-around outside of the airplane
13:09 and saw something written on the tail cone of the fuselage,
13:13 an image that had been inscribed there by the hand of someone
13:16 who had kind of taken a wet finger and, you know,
13:20 drawn something on the fuselage.
13:23 And he took a picture of it with his phone, telephone,
13:26 and then showed it on the inside of the plane to some employees.
13:29 They were very concerned that that might indicate
13:32 some possible terrorist activity.
13:35 And so they, the flight attendants said,
13:38 “We need to have this plane searched.
13:40 We need to make sure,
13:41 because that, that image could relate to some bad thing.”
13:46 And there was, there was a discussion that ensued
13:48 among the pilots and the operations flight managers
13:51 who were on, off-scene in an office somewhere.
13:54 Eventually the workers, the flight attendants, said,
13:57 “No, we're not comfortable flying on this airplane.”
14:02 And there was an inspection done at the tail cone,
14:05 but the workers said, “No, we're not going to fly.
14:10 We're out of here.”
14:12 They walked off the plane.
14:13 >>John: Was that right or wrong?
14:14 >>Michael: Was that right or wrong that they walk off?
14:16 Was it right or wrong that they should be fired?
14:19 >>John: They were fired.
14:20 >>Michael: They were fired afterwards.
14:21 They were fired for walking off the job.
14:24 >>John: So, help me now.
14:25 As a believer, how do I use this book, the Bible,
14:29 to inform my actions and my decisions
14:31 in situations like that?
14:33 I come to an ethical situation.
14:34 I might say, “I don't feel comfortable.”
14:37 But can I do more than that?
14:38 How do I go to the Bible and say,
14:40 “God is informing me this way”?
14:42 >>Michael: Yeah, this is the wonderful thing about scripture.
14:44 It does, it's not intended to be a business ethics textbook,
14:49 you know.
14:50 It's not a business ethics encyclopedia,
14:52 to cover every single situation.
14:54 But the principles in the scripture are dynamic
14:56 and applicable at, at all times, in history and situations.
15:01 So there are certain principles,
15:04 some call these the elements or the dimensions
15:07 of the character of God that are portrayed in scripture,
15:10 described, sometimes used in stories,
15:13 sometimes commented on by scripture writers,
15:16 that are the, the guidelines for us
15:19 when the scripture doesn't comment on
15:22 walking off an airplane, and so forth.
15:25 These elements of the character of God.
15:27 And I am fascinated by some of these dimensions
15:30 of God's character and how they are applicable to scripture.
15:34 >>John: Where do we see ethics demonstrated,
15:36 exemplified, commented on in the life of Jesus?
15:39 >>Michael: Yeah.
15:41 First of all, you have to remember that for 30 years,
15:46 and I'm thinking about from age 12, maybe a little bit younger,
15:50 until he was 30 years of age, where was he?
15:54 He was in the marketplace,
15:57 in the sense that he was helping his father
16:00 in the carpentry business, doing business.
16:03 In fact, there's someone who wrote a book
16:05 about Jesus the carpenter, looking at it,
16:08 studying from the point of view of business and so forth.
16:11 Uh, so He was acquainted with business activities
16:14 in the marketplace.
16:15 We know this not only because of, uh, His early life,
16:19 but also because some of His teachings depended upon
16:23 using common business situations
16:25 that people were familiar with in his parables,
16:28 for example.
16:29 Now, the parables were not designed,
16:31 I don't believe, to teach business per se.
16:34 They were meant, I think to,
16:35 and I think most scholars would support this,
16:37 they were meant to teach about our relationship with God.
16:40 But our relationship with God is not just a mental,
16:44 ethereal, spiritual thing,
16:46 kind of separated from everything else that we do.
16:50 Our relationship with God is tied to everything
16:53 that we do in society, right?
16:55 So in one way you can say that those examples from business
16:59 are related to business.
17:00 Um, also, when he gave the famous Sermon on the Mount,
17:06 I think it's recorded in Matthew, chapter 5, 6 and 7...
17:10 >>John: That's right.
17:11 >>Michael: ...He restated some of these fundamental principles
17:14 that we've found in the book of Exodus and Deuteronomy.
17:19 So that the people of His day could understand
17:21 in a broader way some of the principles of the
17:24 Ten Commandments, which some people have said,
17:26 this really is the character of God,
17:29 when you think about it.
17:30 The Ten Commandments are a description of God's character:
17:33 what He desires for us and how He relates to us.
17:37 All right, so Jesus spent quite a bit of time focusing on
17:41 the Ten Commandments, restating what they meant,
17:43 applying them to, uh, His day and the situations
17:48 that people He knew, uh, faced every day of their life,
17:52 including some business situations
17:54 and some issues that people in business faith.
17:56 For instance, face.
17:58 For instance, He said,
18:01 “Watch where your treasure is. Where do you put your money?
18:05 It's where you put your money that your heart is.”
18:10 We can always know where a person's heart is,
18:13 or at least God knows where the person's heart is,
18:15 from where the person,
18:16 you can follow the money trail, as we sometimes say in business.
18:19 >>John: Yeah.
18:20 >>Michael: Follow the money.
18:21 You know the rest of the story, right?
18:24 Where your heart is, that's where your treasure will be.
18:27 Clearly Jesus was not just talking about,
18:29 He was talking about, two people who attended synagogue.
18:33 He wasn't just talking about your life in synagogue,
18:35 and giving money as a, as a donation to synagogue.
18:38 He's talking about all of our life.
18:39 Where do we put our financial emphasis?
18:43 That is where our heart is.
18:45 And it turns out that in scripture the idea of heart
18:48 is focusing on the ethical decision-making.
18:52 >>John: I want to talk about that a little more just,
18:53 just ahead.
18:54 Our guest, Dr. Michael Cafferky.
18:56 Business and ethics impacts all of us,
18:59 because in our daily lives we interact with others;
19:01 we're called to make ethical decisions.
19:04 What forms that?
19:04 What frames that, those decisions?
19:07 Surely for the believer in Jesus, that's the word of God.
19:11 We'll have more in just a moment.
19:12 ♪[Music]♪
19:20 >>Announcer: In Matthew 4:4, the Word of God says,
19:23 “It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone,
19:26 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'”
19:29 “Every Word”
19:30 is a one-minute, Bible-based daily devotional
19:33 presented by Pastor John Bradshaw,
19:35 and designed especially for busy people like you.
19:38 Look for Every Word on selected networks,
19:41 or watch it online every day on our website,
19:43 ItIsWritten.com.
19:45 Receive a daily spiritual boost.
19:47 Watch “Every Word.”
19:49 You'll be glad you did.
19:50 Here's a sample.
19:53 ♪[Theme music]♪
19:59 >>John: Looking back, clearly, I was naive.
20:01 I started work for a company and was told that a large part
20:04 of one staff member's job was to go after unpaid bills.
20:08 Huh? I asked.
20:09 You mean, you mean some people just refuse to pay their bills?
20:13 That was new to me.
20:14 Clearly I had some learning to do.
20:16 Deuteronomy 24:15 speaks about how we should
20:18 treat hired servants, saying,
20:21 “Each day you shall give him his wages,
20:23 and not let the sun go down on it,
20:25 for he is poor and has set his heart on it;
20:28 lest he cry out against you to the Lord, and it be sin to you.”
20:31 Simply put, if you owe someone money, you pay it.
20:36 You enter into an agreement.
20:38 You honor it.
20:39 Integrity should characterize the life of a believer
20:42 in the God of heaven.
20:43 If it doesn't,
20:45 it says a lot about the reality of your faith.
20:48 I'm John Bradshaw for It Is Written.
20:50 Let's live today by every word.
20:54 >>John: My guest today is Dr. Michael Cafferky,
20:57 an author and a teacher in the area of business ethics.
21:01 Dr. Cafferky, when it comes to business,
21:04 what's the role, the practical role of the word of God
21:08 in the life of a Christian businessman or businesswoman?
21:13 >>Michael: Well, one of the roles is to provide
21:14 specific guidance about things to not do and things to do
21:19 in response to God's grace to us.
21:22 And, uh, you know, we can consider passages,
21:25 like don't steal, and so forth.
21:27 But then there are other,
21:28 there's another way the scripture helps us,
21:30 and that is by describing the principles or the elements
21:33 of God's character.
21:35 But it, then the scripture says,
21:37 emulate, or imitate, God's character, as His children.
21:41 It says that in the book of Ephesians, I think.
21:43 >>John: Um-hmm.
21:44 >>Michael: So what are we to emu, emulate, right?
21:46 Well, there are several themes of scripture that
21:48 the Bible writers, uh, use in description of God's character.
21:53 And it's interesting to me that these elements
21:55 of God's character also are used in other
21:58 passages to identify Jesus Christ and His work, who He is.
22:05 I'm thinking of one example right now,
22:07 of one of the themes of scripture
22:09 that is also the element of, the dimension of God's character,
22:12 that's also related to business, and that's the idea of wisdom.
22:17 Wisdom.
22:18 Scripture tells us that God created this earth in wisdom.
22:23 That's a part of who He is,
22:26 creating, being able to create in wisdom.
22:28 The Bible also tells us in Proverbs
22:31 that we ought to seek wisdom.
22:34 But look what it says in First Corinthians,
22:36 chapter 1 and verse 24, and then verse 30.
22:42 Verse 24 and verse 30.
22:47 >>John: I'll read verse 24.
22:48 >>Michael: Yeah, read verse 24 first.
22:51 >>John: First Corinthians 1:24.
22:52 “But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks,
22:55 Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.”
23:01 And then verse 30 says,
23:02 “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus,
23:04 who of God is made unto us wisdom,
23:06 and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption."
23:08 >>Michael: Yeah.
23:10 Here's identifying Jesus Himself as the essence of God's wisdom.
23:15 He is made our wisdom, or He is Wisdom.
23:19 We could put a capital W on wisdom
23:21 when we get to that point, right?
23:23 >>John: Um-hmm.
23:24 >>Michael: So here's the identity of Jesus Christ.
23:25 Actually, this idea of wisdom is directly related to scripture,
23:28 and how we go about buying and selling.
23:31 This idea of wisdom is amazing. It's,
23:33 >>John: Let's bring this, bring this into a practical,
23:35 everyday business situation.
23:37 >>Michael: Wisdom in the scripture is not just knowing
23:39 how to sell things to make money.
23:42 Sure, that's part of it.
23:44 Uh, knowing something so well that you
23:46 have insight into how things work.
23:48 That's the scriptural idea of wisdom.
23:50 But the scripture idea of wisdom is something far deeper,
23:54 more fundamental.
23:56 Wisdom in the scripture means,
23:58 how do we act in our marketplace so that we support
24:02 our relationships with God and with each other?
24:05 That is the truly wise person.
24:08 It's not just the person who knows how to make money.
24:10 It's the person who knows how to build economically and,
24:14 through those activities of economic build, wealth building,
24:18 builds relationships with people,
24:20 in a way that is aligned with God's character.
24:23 That is wisdom of the Bible.
24:26 There's a famous verse in Proverbs,
24:27 the, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of what?
24:31 >>John: Wisdom.
24:31 >>Michael: Wisdom, right.
24:32 And that phrase, “the fear of the Lord,”
24:33 really is referring to these principles of relationships:
24:38 relationship with God, and with each other.
24:40 That is, you'd be really smart in the marketplace,
24:43 not just because you know how to make money.
24:46 You're really smart when you know how to build relationships
24:50 and support relationships.
24:51 Part of which involves economic development.
24:55 >>John: For somebody in business,
24:56 how important is it that, that they saturate their mind
25:00 with the principles of the word of God?
25:02 >>Michael: Oh, so important,
25:04 because there are so many things that happen in business
25:06 every day that the scripture doesn't talk about, right?
25:09 And so how are we to be fortified,
25:11 how are we to take the elements of God's character
25:14 with us to the marketplace if we don't steep our,
25:17 like little teabags,
25:19 steep our minds in scripture's thinking,
25:22 so that when we're in the buying and selling situation,
25:25 we naturally think of God's character,
25:28 and what would God do in this kind of a situation.
25:30 What would Jesus do in this kind of situation?
25:33 To emulate God's character, that becomes our guide.
25:38 >>John: The Bible, the guide for life.
25:40 And not everybody thinks about this:
25:43 the Bible, the guide for our business interactions.
25:47 >>Michael: Business life.
25:48 >>John: Our business life and the,
25:50 the ethics we bring to that, the way we conduct ourself.
25:53 Because really, if somebody is a believer in Christ,
25:55 then in business they ought to be,
25:57 seen to be a believer in Christ, isn't that right?
25:59 >>Michael: Sure.
26:00 >>John: And if you are a believer
26:01 and the Bible is your handbook,
26:03 when you're into some business situation,
26:06 those principles ought to be exemplified in the life.
26:08 >>Michael: Right.
26:09 And this is, I think, what the Bible calls us to do.
26:11 Exhibit your faith in your actions, in the marketplace,
26:16 as well as in your home and in leisure activities,
26:18 yes, and in church, of course.
26:20 But if we leave the marketplace out of this,
26:24 then we're going to fragment,
26:25 attempt to fragment something that scripture
26:28 has not intended to be fragmented.
26:30 >>John: Dr. Michael Cafferky, thank you so very much.
26:32 It has been a blessing talking with you today.
26:34 >>Michael: Thank you.
26:35 >>John: The Bible, the basis for our lives,
26:37 and certainly the basis for a person's business life.
26:41 Everyone exercises or brings ethics to any situation.
26:44 The closer you are to Jesus Christ,
26:47 the more likely you are, the closer you are, to,
26:49 to demonstrating God's ethics,
26:52 Christ's own ethics,
26:54 in any given situation.
26:55 ♪[Music]♪
27:02 >>John: It may seem that integrity is in short supply.
27:05 But it does not need to be in short supply in your life.
27:08 I'd like you to get today's free offer,
27:10 “Challenged,”
27:11 written by Dr. Michael Cafferky and myself:
27:14 how you can maintain and demonstrate integrity
27:17 in your personal life or in your business life.
27:20 Call us: 800-253-3000.
27:23 800-253-3000.
27:25 Visit us at Itiswritten.com,
27:27 or write to the address on your screen for
27:29 “Challenged.”
27:32 >>John: Thank you for remembering that It Is Written
27:35 is a faith-based ministry,
27:37 and it's your support that makes it possible
27:39 for us to share God's good news with the entire world.
27:43 Your tax-deductible gift can be sent
27:45 to the address on your screen,
27:47 or through our website, itiswritten.com.
27:51 Thank you for your continued prayerful support.
27:53 Our toll-free number is 800-253-3000.
27:57 800-253-3000.
27:59 Our web address is itiswritten.com
28:03 >>John: The Bible is a great guidebook for our lives,
28:05 particularly our interaction with others,
28:07 our relationship with God,
28:08 but how we,
28:10 how we portray that relationship with God to others.
28:13 When Jesus is the center of our lives,
28:15 dwelling in our heart,
28:17 when we have business dealings with others,
28:20 Jesus' principles will be demonstrated
28:23 in those business dealings.
28:25 I'm glad you've joined me today.
28:26 Before we go, let's pray together, shall we?
28:27 Let's pray.
28:29 Our Father in Heaven,
28:30 we're grateful today for Jesus.
28:33 We're thankful for Your Spirit, who, through Your word,
28:36 will bring to our lives the principles
28:38 by which You want us to live.
28:41 I pray that each of us, as we interact with others,
28:45 would live according to Your high calling on our lives,
28:49 and that we would be living epistles, as the Bible calls us,
28:54 known and read of all with whom we come in contact.
28:57 I pray we'd be people of integrity.
29:00 And give us, uh, a solid ethical framework for our lives,
29:05 which measures with your holy Word.
29:08 We thank You today,
29:10 and we pray in Jesus' name,
29:12 Amen.
29:13 Dr. Cafferky, again, thank you so much.
29:14 A pleasure having you here.
29:17 And it's been good to see you again too.
29:18 I'm glad you've joined us today.
29:20 Looking forward to seeing you again next time.
29:22 Until then, remember:
29:24 It Is Written.
29:25 Man shall not live by bread alone,
29:28 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
29:33 ♪[Theme music]♪


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Revised 2017-09-18