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As Fran arrives at her office this Tuesday, she just sits down and logs in to her computer when her co-worker walks in, shutting the door behind him. This signals to Fran that something is up, but what?
“Hi, John,” Fran says, “have a seat. What’s up?”
“Yeah, thanks, Fran. Well,” John begins, “this is kinda touchy and I need to ask you to keep this between you and me if you don’t mind—okay?”
“Wow, sounds serious. What is it?” Fran asks.
“Well, you know that proposal you helped me with last week for that commercial real estate company? Well, after you helped me figure out what the bid should be, my boss thought my numbers were too high. So, he told me to cut them by thirty percent because he said we really needed some new accounts to make our numbers this quarter,” John said.
“Goodness!” Fran says. “That’s a huge cut. So, did your manager tell you that the company would support your reduced numbers and you could do the work for those numbers?”
“No, just the opposite. My boss didn’t clear this with anyone else. He said we could come up with some excuses afterwards to explain why we had to raise our prices, but we just had to win this account,” John explains.
“Well, I’m sure the reason he didn’t get it approved is because he knew he wouldn’t get it approved. We trimmed those numbers as much as possible and he knew it,” Fran responds. “Did you agree to do it, John? Tell me you didn’t.”
John hung his head and got very quiet. “I had to, Fran. What could I do? He said if I wasn’t willing to cut the numbers, he’d give the account to someone else. After all I did to get them to let us bid on their account—I wasn’t going to let that happen,” John replied.
“And you’ve already given them that proposal?” Fran asks.
“No, but the presentation is tomorrow and I am really worried. My boss wants to go with me—he’s afraid I will lose the account, I guess. I know this is wrong and it will backfire, but now I just feel trapped. That’s why I wanted to ask you what I should do?”
Fran pauses to take this in. Why does John want her input on this? She recognizes this could get pretty risky, so she quietly sends up an emergency prayer, “Lord, what do you want me to say? Please give me wisdom.”
“John, why did you think I could help you with this? I’m just curious. . .” Fran asks.
“Well, because you are the one person here that I know would do the right thing. . . I mean, you seem to always be confident of what is right and what is not, and I just thought maybe you would have a suggestion of how I could somehow change my boss’s mind and still not lose this account. I mean, I know you’re a really religious person so. . . well, that’s why I asked you.”
Fran thinks about that a moment. She figures this is a time to speak truth in love—in kindness—and not to be afraid of the consequences.
“Well, thanks for that, John. I don’t think of myself as religious so much as I’m just a Christ-follower and I really try to do what Jesus would want me to do. John, first, let me ask you this: Do you think you could get the account with the right numbers?” Fran asks.
“I really think so,” John says. “You and I talked about it and we both felt we were giving them an exceptional value for their project. I think I could sell it honestly, but now—now I don’t know.”
“Okay, well you’ve asked my opinion or advice, so I’ll tell you what I would do if I were in your shoes and then you have to decide if you’re willing to do it. Fair enough?” Fran asks. John nods and she continues. “Doing the right thing is always the right thing to do, John. It pretty much is that simple. So, you have to decide if you’re willing to stand up for what you believe is the right thing. As you have noted, you believe your original proposal is accurate and fair and competitive, right?”
“Yes,” John agrees.
“It’s not like you didn’t do your homework or you aren’t trying your best to win this new account. So, if I were you, I’d go to your boss and say pretty much that. I’d tell him that you are confident you have a very good chance to get the account with the original numbers, but you’re very uncomfortable in presenting numbers you know aren’t realistic. So, you tell him that you’ll make the presentation tomorrow if he agrees to your original proposal, but if not, he’ll have to find someone else.”
“Oh, Fran, he’ll be furious. He’ll probably fire me or something. I don’t know if I can do that,” John is obviously frightened at Fran’s suggestion.
“Okay,” Fran says. “Then you’ve made your choice to do what you believe to be wrong in order not to make your boss angry and perhaps even lose your job. Is that what you’re telling me?”
“Well, I wouldn’t put it that way, Fran. . .” John stammers.
“What way would you put it, John?”
“I don’t know. I just don’t know,” he replies. “You really think I should stand up to him?” John asks again.
“It’s your choice, but maybe he would respect you if you did. I don’t know. You may be right—he could try to fire you. You just have to decide if you’re willing to do the right thing or not,” Fran says. The conversation comes to a close and John says he’ll think about it and leaves her office.
Fran stops to pray: “Lord, I don’t know why John came to me for advice, but I did the best I could. Please give him courage to do what is right and protect him, Lord.” And with that she finishes her work for the day and heads home to be with her kids.
The next day, about mid-morning, John’s boss, Bruce, storms into Fran’s office obviously livid. “Fran, you told John to refuse to do what I told him to do, is that right? Now he says he won’t give the presentation today the way I told him to, and I’m left holding the bag. We’re likely to lose this account because of you, Fran. Who do you think you are, giving advice to John who works for me, telling him to refuse to do what I told him to do? You’re not his manager; he doesn’t report to you. If we lose this account today, Fran, I’m holding you responsible and you will pay the price.”
“Bruce, I didn’t tell him what to do. He asked what I would do and that’s what I told him. I had no idea whether he would take my advice or not,” Fran says.
“Well, evidently he listens to you and not to me, so he’s going to give the presentation his way today. I think it will be a disaster and if it is, you haven’t heard the last of this,” Bruce says and storms out the way he stormed in.
Did Fran do the right thing? As a believer working in a world that doesn’t necessarily value honesty and integrity, should she have just shifted the decision to John and let it go? Was it right for her to offer her advice?
When we declare that we are followers of Jesus Christ, there are times when doing the right thing could be very costly. What would you have done?
This month we’ve been focusing on what it means to walk worthy of the Lord. To the new believers in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul wrote: “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Ephesians 4:1 ESV). Those are our marching orders today as well. And if you go into a secular workplace each day, it can indeed present you with some difficult decisions.
Walking worthy of your calling—walking worthy of the Lord—means you desire to do what Jesus would do. To say what he would say. To respond the way he would respond. And in order to do that—to walk worthy—you have to maintain a very close daily walk with Jesus, right? You have to spend time in his word, time in prayer, and keep your mind focused on walking worthy.
Some time ago a friend of mine faced a “walking worthy” decision. Her manager asked her to lie for her—to tell a client something that was not true. This manager was not easy to work for and was not liked in the organization, but she was smart and she was successful. So my friend, Beth, knew that if she refused to lie, it would not go well. But Beth said there really was no decision; it was clear that she could not lie and that’s what she explained to her manager. She tried to find some alternative way to handle it, but her manager was pretty upset. She made life pretty miserable for Beth for quite awhile but Beth “walked worthy” of the Lord.
Well, we’ll end this episode here, not knowing whether this boomerangs on John and Fran or not. When we act with integrity—when we do what we think Jesus would have us do—when we walk worthy of the Lord, we do so out of obedience and love for Jesus, whether we suffer for it or not. Peter wrote: “But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God” (1 Peter 2:20). So, don’t forget when you face issues of integrity and honesty, it is commendable before God even if you suffer for doing the right thing.
