Written by: Siphiwe Chris Mathebula
Article source: JOY! Magazine
One of the things God dislikes and treats as an abomination is dishonest scales. That means extortion, perversion of justice through bribes, and preying on the vulnerable through corruption are an affront to humanity. We all want to rise in life, to make profit, and to be respected and esteemed – these are legitimate desires.
The question therefore is: At what cost? Wealth accumulated at the expense of the poor, gullible, and vulnerable may taste sweet for a season, but one day it will leave a bitter taste in the mouth of the consumer or the seller. Good institutions are not only driven by profit, but also by upholding business ethics and acting with integrity.
Profits, ethics, integrity
Justice is very important as it helps us to be law-abiding citizens, but fairness is, by virtue of its intrinsic value, more important than justice. Justice is about doing the right thing; fairness is about doing something right. We oftentimes emphasise legal rights that we are entitled to, by virtue of the operation of the laws of the land, but we also need to emphasise the moral rights that are based on ethics. We need to treat people as invaluable because people matter to God. People are not just pawns used to achieve a greater selfish goal.
Business
Those in business should strive to use sound business principles where there is fairness in pricing, honesty in marketing, no shortcut in product development, and consumer-mindedness.
Government
Those in government should be good stewards of public resources through the proper implementation of the Public Finance Management Act No. 1 of 1999 (PFMA), which regulates the management of finances in national and provincial government. This act sets out the procedures for efficient and effective management of all revenue, expenditure, assets, and liabilities.
Politics
The same also applies to politicians. Once elected, they must be of service to their constituents, whether they belong to their party or another. This principle of ethics applies to both political parties and government officials.
Organisations
Organisations run by devoted citizens should strive for gender equality, fairness in restructuring, and promotion. Look around the mining towns or villages and see the deplorable state they are in. There is very little social responsibility from mining firms who are extracting precious minerals worth millions of dollars. They cannot even partner with government and other organisations to build proper schools, hospitals, or roads.
Devoted citizens plough back part of their profits to the communities around them. Even common sense should dictate that we must service what serves us. If we make profits from a particular community, we must also show our gratitude by investing in that community.
Churches
The same applies to churches. They need to ensure that they plough back to the community by empowering the youth through self-help initiatives, ministering to drug-plagued communities, and offering quality affordable schooling for kindergartens and crèches.
Devoted citizens
Devoted citizens do not buy stolen or pirated goods. They understand that all tax-evaders doing business are negatively affecting legitimate businesses. They also understand the effort and hard work that comes with innovation, hence the need for copyrights, so we can all respect the intellectual property of others. If you support the black market that continually injects counterfeit products into the market, you are contributing to the bigger problem that is slowing down economic growth.
The book is available on Amazon, Exclusive Books, Bargain Books, and Protea Books. Bulk orders can be made at info@hrm.org.za
Click here to KEEP UPDATED on the latest news by subscribing to our FREE weekly newsletter.
Date published: 09/08/2023
Feature image: Image for illustrative purposes only. Artwork adapted from www.freepik.com
SIPHIWE CHRISTOPHER MATHEBULA – Lead Pastor: Hope Restoration Ministries. Visit hrm.org.za
DISCLAIMER
JOY! News is a Christian news portal that shares pre-published articles by writers around the world. Each article is sourced and linked to the origin, and each article is credited with the author’s name. Although we do publish many articles that have been written in-house by JOY! journalists, we do not exclusively create our own content. Any views or opinions presented on this website are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the company.
