For Jesus, what is justice? The ancient Hebrew equivalent for justice most often used in Isaiah is mishpat. This is not a philosophical abstract or a promise of a heavenly future. Mishpat is here and now. It is justice-in-action. The claims of justice are real, and if justice is ignored the consequences – here and how – are serious.
Mishpat is especially concerned with a harmonious web of human relationships. Justice is a community value. The vulnerable should be protected. The powerful should be restrained. The widow and the orphan must be sustained. The rich man should share.
The Ten Commandments are foundational to justice. When a rich young man comes to Jesus asking, “What good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16) Jesus responds by referring to the six commandments focused on social relationships.
The workplace is – or should be – a community. The social relationship of manager to managed, colleague with colleague, and professional to client is the essential reality of commerce. When these relationships are not sufficiently and appropriately nurtured, the enterprise will suffer. The community of work, as with any community, depends primarily on the level of trust that exists between the parties.
In the business context, we might re-phrase the six commandments given to the young man as:
- You shall not kill the career plans or good ideas of another merely to advance yourself,
- You shall not cheat on your colleagues or employer by fooling around with competitors,
- You shall not steal money, ideas, or credit that is due others,
- You shall not bear false witness,
- Honor those who have hired you, supported you, mentored you, and given you professional opportunities,
- You shall love your colleague, your client, and your competitor as yourself.
Behaving consistently with these principles of trust-making and trust-keeping builds the foundation of future success. Persistent failure in maintaining trust will lead to the eventual failure of any business enterprise.
In the same chapter of Isaiah as the Song of the Vineyard we read: “Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood… Woe to those who call evil good and good evil… Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and shrewd in those own sight… Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as dry grass sinks down in flame, so their root will be as rottenness and their blossom go up like dust.”
There are often short-term benefits to bad behavior. But lying, stealing, and breaking trust are rotten and will finally produce nothing but dust.
When employees know they can count on their employer to behave justly and when customers are confident they will be treated justly, such a business enterprise will – over the long-term - enjoy a very substantial strategic advantage.
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