Christian Business Review 2022: Pressing On Toward God's Goal

BIBLICAL BUSINESS GOALS
BOOK EXCERPT
“We did this for over a year and got totally out of debt.
Then I began to really feel guilty about what we were doing
and stopped.”
“Didn’t the company have any idea what you were doing?”
I asked.
“I’m sure they did,” he replied, looking at his wife who
nodded her head in agreement. “Since we mixed the product
half-and-half, our orders for their products increased substantially,
and yet our sales to their normal outlets didn’t
change proportionally. I think they knew what we were doing
but turned their heads. After all, it was new business for
them too, and they didn’t have to pay the royalties that made
them noncompetitive in this market.
“Unfortunately, with the oil price increases, the trucking
company again became unprofitable, and we had to restart
the old mixing practice again to bail it out. Now we find that
the business is dependent on that source of income and we
can’t stop.”
I asked if he realized the practice he was engaged in was
not only unethical but probably illegal as well.
“I know it is,” he replied uncomfortably, “be we’re so far
into it now, I just don’t see a way to get out. Over a hundred
employees and their families depend on our business.”
The man was presenting the needs of others as justification
for continuing an unethical practice, often called “offering
a red herring,” which means it is supposed to divert attention
from the primary problem. I realized the decision had to
come from him, not from me. But I did recommend that he go
to the parent company, confess what he had been doing, and
take the consequences whatever they were.
“Eventually something will happen to bring this to light,
and you won’t have the chance to confess it first,” I said.
“Take the opportunity to do so now.” With that our session
broke up, and they returned home.
A few weeks later I received a frantic call from the husband,
saying that one of the employees involved in the illegal
mixing process had been dismissed and, out of anger,
had gone to the parent company and revealed the entire operation.
He also submitted a written report to the board of
directors, who initiated a mandatory audit of the packaging
company.
At the conclusion of the audit, the directors of the parent
company withdrew its contract with this so-called Christian
businessman, demanding that he sell off all his company’s
assets and send them the proceeds. They contended that his
profits had been made at their expense and that they were
the true owners of the asset.
Ultimately, the packaging company survived, because the
parent company was shown to have made substantial profits
from the illegal business. They refused to prosecute because
they wanted to avoid the adverse publicity that a public trial
would have generated. But the real loss in this process was
the loss of credibility on the part of an outspoken Christian
businessman.
REMEMBER: “HE WHO WALKS IN INTEGRITY
WALKS SECURELY, BUT HE WHO PERVERTS HIS
WAYS WILL BE FOUND OUT” (PROVERBS 10:9).
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
LARRY BURKETT (1939-2003)
was born in Winter Park, Florida.
After serving in the U.S. Air Force,
he and his wife, Judy, returned to
central Florida, where he worked
in the space program at Cape Canaveral. While
working at the space center, Larry earned degrees
in marketing and finance at Rollins College in
Winter Park. In 1972, Larry put his trust and faith
in Jesus. In 1973, he joined the staff of Campus
Crusade for Christ as a financial counselor. During
his time there he began an intense study of the
biblical teaching on money and led small groups
around the country through that material. In 1976,
Larry Burkett left CCC to form Christian Financial
Concepts and in September 2000, CFC merged
with Crown Ministries, creating Crown Financial
Ministries. Larry published more than 70 books,
sales of which now exceed 11 million copies and
include several national best-sellers. (Taken from
Moody Publishers: https://www.moodypublishers.
com/authors/b/larry-burkett/).
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CHRISTIAN BUSINESS REVIEW Fall 2022