This week's "thought" was sent to me by a friend. It's basically a lesson in integrity in a world that often lacks it. It came from the blog site: WONDERNEED ( runwonder.com ) and was the post for August 7th. I thought it was a story worth passing on simply for the truth it teaches -- that in a world that has embraced moral relativism, some still look for people of godly character. Enjoy.
How One CEO Taught His Employees a Lesson in Integrity
"A
successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a
successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his
Directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all
the young executives in his company together. He said, “It is time
for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of
you..” The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued: “I
am going to give each one of you a SEED today – one very special SEED… I want
you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with
what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the
plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO.”
One
man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He
went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot,
soil and compost and he planted the seed. Everyday, he would water it and watch
to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives
began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Jim
kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five
weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were talking about
their plants, but Jim didn’t have a plant and he felt like a failure.
Six
months went by — still nothing in Jim’s pot. He just knew he had killed his
seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn’t
say anything to his colleagues, however. He just kept watering and fertilizing
the soil – He so wanted the seed to grow. A year finally went by and
all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for
inspection. Jim told his wife that he wasn’t going to take an empty pot. But
she asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick to his stomach,
it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his
wife was right. He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he
was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were
beautiful — in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and
many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!
When
the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives. Jim
just tried to hide in the back. “My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you
have grown,” said the CEO. “Today one of you will be appointed the next
CEO!” The CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty
pot. He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to the front.
Jim was terrified. He thought, “The CEO knows I’m a failure! Maybe he will have
me fired!” When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened
to his seed – Jim told him the story. The CEO asked everyone to sit down except
Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, “Behold your
next Chief Executive Officer! His name is Jim!” Jim couldn’t believe it.
Jim couldn’t even grow his seed. “How could he be the new CEO?” the others
said.
Then
the CEO said, “One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told
you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I
gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead – it was not possible for them to
grow. All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and
flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another
seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty
to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the
new Chief Executive Officer!”
In a world where we can tend to think that the
road to success is simply a matter anticipating what others want, and then
seeking to give them what we think they want (even if it means violating what
we know to be right and true), this story stands as a helpful corrective. The
honest person, or the person of integrity, as we all know, does not always
"win out" in the end -- from a worldly perspective. Many people
without solid integrity rise to the top, while those who have integrity get
left in the dust. In many cases honesty and truthfulness and a refusal to
do what is wrong can be a problem when it comes to climbing the corporate
ladder. I knew a man who had to step down from a good paying managerial
job because he was asked to change (tell an outright lie) on an employee
accident report where the company was indeed at negligent and at fault, so that
his employer would not be sued by the injured workers for their lost
wages. His honesty resulted in his losing his job, not a promotion.
Yet, that's the choice we must all make.
Do what's expected and wanted, or do what is right. Tell the truth, or
manipulate the truth to our advantage. Do what we are asked (though immoral) or
refuse to do it and accept the consequences -- whether they are good (by the
world's standards) or bad (by the world's standards). Be a person of integrity
because we know that's what God wants, and Christ calls us to, or do whatever
enables us to get ahead in the world. After all, many things that are
legal are not moral, holy, or righteous in the sight of God.
It brings us back to the ultimate
question: "What good is it if we gain the whole world and
lose our soul?" Every twisting of the truth...
every breach of integrity... every overly-inflated charge (like the OT
weighted scales)... chips away at the substance of our character and makes us
less and less of what God wants us to be. As Jesus told his
disciples, "Let your yes be yes and your no be no; whatever is
more than these is of the evil one" (Matthew 5:37). When
confronted by a moral dilemma, our goal should never be,"what will
benefit me (in the worldly sense)," but what honors God the
most? What does honesty and integrity demand? For only then can it
truly be to our benefit.
In the Glad Service of Jesus, Pastor Jeff
