Biblical Ethics: What Does the Bible Say About Right and Wrong?

Introduction 

The application of Biblical ethics in the business world is seen as one of the key expectation of ensuring that businesses are able to deal with some of the underlying issues that they encounter. The Ten Commandments, which are the center to the foundations of Christianity, can be applied to business with the focus being to create a business environment that others would appreciate. Antony (2015) argues that the business world tends to have a close connection to religion; thus, meaning that the adoption of the Ten Commandments would be viewed as a key approach towards creating a positive environment for business performance. Additionally, these commandments are expected to create a business environment that would ensure that the decisions made within businesses reflect on moral positioning rather than focusing on profit making. From that perspective, this report seeks to embark on an in-depth analysis of how the Ten Commandments and other Christian ethics may apply within the business and workplace environment.

Ten Commandments and Business 

The following is an analysis of how each of the Ten Commandments may apply within the business world.

You shall have no other gods before Me 

In this commandment, God sought to highlight the need for having the people of Israel recognize Him as the true God. The application of this commandment in business reflects more on the fact that persons engaging in business must understand the value of religious values, which would act as key determinants of the principles that they adopt. Jacobs & Snijders (2017) argue that this serves as a guide towards ensuring that people would seek to emulate religious principles in every aspect of business that they undertake. Thus, this would mean that they would focus much of their attention towards building a platform through which other people benefit rather than having to focus on areas such as profit, which may lead to engaging in unethical actions or activities.

You shall not make idols 

The focus for this commandment, within the business world, focuses more on personal character, which would act as one of the notable determinants of how people can view themselves from a business standpoint. The commandment seeks to ensure that persons understand that they should not focus on the profits or assets that they buy with the money from the business, as these do not define one’s character. Instead, they should focus on ensuring that they touch other people’s lives through the businesses that they carry out.That would act as a key determinant of the decisions that people make considering that they would be expected to make decisions that are considered as being positive for others within the business environment today.

You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain 

This is viewed as one of the most important commandments that applies within the business world, as it seeks to highlight the importance of promoting respect for other persons regardless of their religions. Friesl, Larty, & Jacobs (2018) point out that the application of this religion, in business, means that persons are expected to avoid profanity with the view that every person in the business environment has his or her own value. Consequently, this creates the need for persons to learn more about the importance of others rather than having to discriminate against them based on issues such as religion. Additionally, this commandment also reflects on the need for having to protect others from religious discrimination within the workplace environment as one of the key expectations.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy 

The application of this commandment in the business world is clear, as it seeks to ensure that persons do not only focus on their work but highlights the importance of having to spare one day, which would be meant for the family. The Ten Commandments seek to ensure that persons live wisely within Christian ethics, which means that every aspect of the commandments aims to make people better. From that perspective, it is clear that this commandment seeks to ensure that people build a close relationship with religion, as well as understand the value of rest. Rest allows persons to shift their focus towards the decisions that they make with the view that this would improve on their moral positioning to allow them make better decisions.

Honor your father and your mother 

In this commandment, God sought to ensure that people would understand the importance of honoring and respecting those that came before them at all times. In that same way, business persons are expected to honor those that came before them within the business environment as a way of trying to make the business world a better place for all (Ali, 2015). The commandment expounds on the need for business persons to come up with a key framework through which to ensure that they embrace the same values and beliefs that those came before them had embraced. That means that one would be expected to project a positive framework through which to impact the society positively with the view that this would act as a source of honor for those that came before.

You shall not murder 

Jacobs & Snijders (2017) reflect on this commandment arguing that the term ‘murder' act as being symbolic to the humiliation of others within the business world. Consequently, its relevance in the business world can be seen from the fact that it seeks to ensure that persons avoid instances where they would promote humiliation of others. The commandment aims to ensure that the people would understand the importance of having to embrace values that would help create a business environment that would accommodate every individual. Additionally, it also highlights the importance of having to nurture talents within the business world as a way of ensuring that more people benefit from such businesses. The expectation is that this would help in establishing a framework for positive influence.

You shall not commit adultery 

The morality of this particular commandment, as it relates to the business world, is that the persons involved in businesses should always understand the importance of showing commitment towards what they do or the businesses that they manage (DDD). The commandment sought to highlight the importance of having to avoid issues such as infidelity, which is likely to occur in cases where one commits to different persons. In that same, way, the commandment reflects more on the idea of trying to create a business environment through which the persons engaging in leadership and management understand the critical role of commitment. Thus, this would mean that the people would only be able to achieve any form of success depending on their ability to remain committed towards their business.

You shall not steal 

This particular commandment is self-explanatory within the business environment, as it seeks to reflect on the importance of ensuring that every individual remains accountable for his or her actions within the business environment (Antony, 2015). Accountability is one of the key expectations for any business person, as it creates a positive avenue through which one is able to achieve set out goals and objectives. In that same way, the commandment sought to build on the understanding that persons were expected to embraces values that would ensure that they avoid involving themselves in issues such as stealing. The expected impact of this particular commandment is that it will help create a positive business environment allowing businesses to achieve some of their set out goals and objectives.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor 

The focus for this commandment reflects more on the area of competition, which is considered as being key towards defining business performance. The relevance of this particular commandment is seen from the fact that business persons are expected to embrace competition on the basis of the quality of products or services that they provide. Thus, this means that they would be expected to avoid providing false information on the products or services offered by their competitors within the business environment. The general expectation that this would have is that it will create a rather positive environment through which businesses are able to compete effectively. Additionally, this would also mean that businesses understand the values and expectations occurring within the business world with the focus being towards making the business world a better place for all.

You shall not covet 

In this commandment, it is clear that one is expected to build his or her own platform for performance with the view that this would help achieve set out goals and objectives. In the business world, the relevance can be seen from the fact that the commandment seeks to ensure that business do not focus their attention on trying to compare themselves to their competitors. Instead, the businesses are expected to adopt effective strategies that would help in their differentiation with the view that this would create a better society for all. The idea of coveting would be avoided in the event that businesses understood the value placed on them, as well as, the strategic expectations for them to achieve positive results.

Ethical Theories 

The three main ethical theories covered during this course are utilitarian, deontological, and communitarian theories. The relationship between utilitarian theory and the commandments discussed is that this theory seeks to ensure that persons weigh in on the consequences of their actions to determine the moral value of a given action or activity. In that same way, the commandments seek to create a general position in which persons are able to focus more on the consequences of their engagement in specific activities. That is expected to create a new structure of performance, which would determine the effectiveness of given activities or actions within the business world.

Christian Ethics 

The main difference that Christian ethics make in the workplace environment is that they seek to establish a framework through which every person is able to focus on positive moral values as a way of defining the quality of set out actions. From a Christian standpoint, one is expected to embrace morality as one of the key expectations towards making the society better in one way or another. In that same way, embracing these ethics within the workplace environment would mean that the quality of decisions made only seek to make the society a better place for all. The differences arising as a result of Christian ethics do not have any major difference when compared to morality considering that both aspects seek to ensure that the workplace is better and improved in one way or another.

References

Ali, A. J. (2015). 10. Power and authority: the Ten Commandments perspective.  Handbook of Research on Islamic Business Ethics , 207.

Antony, J. (2015). The ten commandments of quality: a performance perspective.  International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management ,  64 (5), 723-735.

Friesl, M., Larty, J., & Jacobs, C. (2018). Putting strategy into action–The role of artefacts for business format replication.  European Management Review ,  15 (2), 221-235.

Jacobs, D., & Snijders, H. (2017). The Innovation Decathlon: Ten Commandments for successful innovation.  GSTF Journal on Business Review (GBR) ,  2 (2).