(a Steve Orr scripture reflection)
Google initially summed up its philosophy in 10 golden rules for operating its business. You might be surprised to learn Rule Number 8: Don't be evil. It appeared in Google's Initial Public Offering (“IPO”) prospectus in a letter from Google's founders. The letter stated: "Don't be evil. We believe strongly that, in the long term, we will be better served—as shareholders and in all other ways—by a company that does good things for the world even if we forgo some short-term gains."
I think "Don't Be Evil" could work very well as a personal motto. It ranks right up there with the Hippocratic Oath and Sun Tzu's "The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.” Why fight when it’s not necessary? For all of that, “don’t be evil” is not a new idea. Yes, it is surprising to find a corporation putting it out there for everyone to see (and to judge it by). But the concept has been around a very long time.
We're all weak in one way or another, likely many ways. The Bible states that we all fall short ("sin" means "to miss the target"). Take, for example, this week’s 2 Samuel passage: I feel certain Israel’s King David knew he was not supposed to be evil. He apparently had some weakness when it came to beautiful women, however; e.g., his seduction of Bathsheba and his accumulation of several wives. His weakness led to him sinning.
But there's weakness and then there's evil. When King David should have been leading his soldiers into battle, he elected to stay behind. While they were away fighting and he was at the palace, he seduced Bathsheba and got her pregnant. Then, in an attempt to cover those sins, as bad as they were, David crossed the line into evil.
First, he tried deceit. When that didn’t work, David decided to commit long-distance murder. He sent Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, back to the battle with a message for the commander. The loyal soldier didn’t know he was carrying his own death sentence. David’s order was to place Uriah in the front lines of a battle and then leave him there unprotected. His death was inevitable. That was evil.
Each of us is faced with choices every day. Whether as individuals or as corporate citizens, we must constantly choose how we will conduct ourselves in this life. Sometimes we mess up. None of us is perfect. But there isn’t a scenario where any of us needs to break Rule Number 8.
Don't be evil.
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