Old Testament
Proverbs 16:11
11 Honest balances and scales are the LORD’s; all the weights in the bag are his work.
Common Good
Ethical Practices in Business
Scripture References
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Ephesians 4:28-32
28 Let him who stole steal no more; but rather let him labour, producing with his hands something that is good, that he may have something to give to him who has need.
29 Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but only what is good for building others up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear.
30 Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
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31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander be put away from you, with all malice.
32 And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.
Thought for the Day
Proverbs speaks of kings and courts, of lips and judgments, and it assumes something bracing: words and decisions matter. A ruler’s mouth can either betray justice or uphold it. Those who hate wickedness make a throne stable. In other words, ethics is not decoration. It is what keeps authority from rotting.
Business life is full of small decisions. How we price, how we pay, how we speak, what we hide, what we excuse as “just how it’s done”. Scripture refuses the split between private piety and public practice.
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Ephesians brings ethics down into ordinary hands. Stop stealing. Start working. Not merely to be respectable, but to have something to share with those in need. Let speech be honest, anger restrained, bitterness put away, kindness practised. The goal is a community that looks like God’s mercy.
Lord, make us people whose work is clean. Give courage to say no to dishonest gain, and creativity to build what is fair. Bless employers and employees, the diligent and the underpaid, the entrepreneur and the cleaner. Let our labour become neighbourly: not extracting life from others, but making room for them to live. And where we have harmed, teach us to confess, to repair, and to begin again.
Prayer Points
Respond- Give integrity in business: fair pay, honest practice, and truthful speech.
- Protect workers from exploitation and theft of wages; grant justice and safe conditions.
- Teach us to share, not hoard; to work for the good of others, not only for ourselves.
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- Heal anger, bitterness, and contempt in workplaces; cultivate kindness and patience.
- Strengthen those resisting unethical pressure; provide courage, support, and alternatives.