The Prodigal God
“A friend who attended a prestigious MBA program once told me about the business ethics course he took there. The professor counseled honest business practices for two reasons. First, if you lie or cheat you may be caught, and that would be bad for business. Second, if people in the company know they are working in an honest business, that will boost morale . . . "Tell the truth--because it's to your own advantage," was the counsel. What happens, however, when you inevitable come to situations in which telling the truth would cost you dearly? What happens when telling a particular lie would be stupendously advantageous to you?”
The above is a quote by Timothy Keller. Doesn't this make you ponder why it is that sometimes telling the truth gets you in more trouble than lying? Have you ever worked in a company that promoted the wrong values? Some companies are all about looking good with no solid foundation. They may say that they believe in ethics and doing the right thing but in reality they only care about looking good and talking the talk because they just don't walk the walk. If so, and you are an ethical person, then get out of there! They will only cause you harm if you stay.
The Prodigal God is a book about the parable of the prodigal son. Most sermons always hone in on the son that ran away from home but the elder son was also in the wrong because his self-righteousness made him a sinner: Kind of like the pharisees in the day of Jesus. They walked around acting all self-righteous because they always did the right thing and gave money to the poor. But this made them prideful in their own conceit. They could not understand the concept of mercy and grace.
If a poor woman gives a nickel to the poor giving all she had and the pharisee gives a thousand dollars knowing he has a million at home. Who gave more? The poor woman because she gave 100 percent of all she had while the pharisee gave only a very small percentage. Something to think about...
