Don’t Cut Corners
From the Series—The Office
October 17, 2006This evotional begins a new series titled: The Office. The average American will spend 100,000 hours in the workplace over the course of their lifetime. It probably makes sense to make the most of it. Hopefully this series will help you do that.
One Stroke
Bobby Jones is considered one of the history’s greatest golfers. He won thirteen majors before he retired at the age of twenty-eight. And he is the first player to win four majors in one year! But even more than his winning record on the golf course, Bobby Jones is famous for a one-shot penalty at the 1925 U.S. Open. Jones inadvertently touched his golf ball and assessed himself a one stroke penalty, but no one else saw him touch the ball. Not the tournament official. Not his playing partner. Neither of them believed he actually touched the ball.
Bobby Jones could have so easily justified not taking the penalty. No one saw it. It didn’t affect anything. The tournament official said, “Well, Bobby, it is up to you. Do you believe you touched the ball?” To which Bobby responded, “I know that I did.” And he assessed himself a one-stroke penalty.
Bobby Jones lost the 1925 U.S. Open by one stroke!
When reporters tried to interview him about the self-imposed penalty, Bobby Jones forbid them from writing about it. He said it would be inappropriate because there was nothing extraordinary about playing by the rules!
Bobby Jones could have compromised his integrity and won the match, but he chose to lose the match and keep his integrity! He wasn’t willing to compromise one stroke!
That is what I would call epic integrity.
So what does that have to do with the Office?
The golf course was Bobby Jones’ office. That is where he went to work. And it was his integrity, not just his record number of victories, which earned him respect on and off the course. I hope the same can be said of us! What if we exercised that kind of integrity in the workplace? What if we weren’t willing to compromise one stroke?
To be perfectly honest, integrity isn’t one of those issues that elicit a lot of excitement. But it I think integrity is something that should inspire us. That is what the story in I Samuel 24 does for me. David displays epic integrity.
Jealousy Issues
Let me try to put this story in I Samuel 24 in context by giving you a little backstory. We tend to over-simplify stories like this, but there are some relational complexities that you need to take into account. David and Saul have quite a history. It starts when David defeats Goliath. In a sense, David helps Saul save face. After all, Scripture says that Saul was head and shoulders taller than the rest of the Israelites. Shouldn’t he have been the one to fight Goliath?
David saves Saul’s neck and Saul appoints him as a military commander. David experiences a lot of success, but instead of celebrating it, Saul gets jealous. I Samuel 18:8 says:
This made Saul very angry. ‘What’s this?’ he said. ‘They credit David with ten thousands and me with only thousands. Next they’ll be making him their king!’ So from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.
It’s a good thing that jealousy issues only happened during ancient times in ancient offices right? Here’s my advice if you’re wrestling with jealousy issues. Do two things. Number one, pray for that person! Number two, compliment them. It’ll change your perspective!
Benjamin Franklin was totally tactless in his youth, but he developed diplomacy over the years. In fact, he served as the American Ambassador to France. He said his secret was this: “I will speak ill of no man and speak all the good of everybody I know.”
What if we did that in the workplace? Imagine the positive energy! It’s as easy as complimenting and encouraging the people around you.
Unfortunately, Saul went in another direction. Instead of praying for David or complimenting David, he tried to kill David.
I Samuel 18:9 says:
An evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. While David was playing the harp, Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear, but David eluded him as Saul drove the spear into the wall.
I’m no office psychologist, but this is when you know your boss is dysfunctional and your office environment may be a little unhealthy! Incidents like this tend to cause disunity within a staff. It is really tough to trust someone after they try to drive a spear through you! And you thought you had problems with your boss!
Now to further complicate things, Saul isn’t just David’s boss. Saul is David’s father-in-law. Can you say: meet the parents!
This is the man who walked David’s wife down the aisle. I don’t know if David called him “dad” but they went on vacations together, they spent holidays together, and they were on each other’s family and friends cell phone plan. This is family. And you thought you had in-law problems!
And that is where we pick it up in I Samuel 24.
The Crags of the Wild Goats
David is hiding out in caves called the Crags of the Wild Goats. I don’t know why, but I love the name of this place: the Crags of the Wild Goats. If I had lived there I would have gone there all the time just so I could say I’m going to the Crags of the Wild Goats!
So David is hiding and Saul is hunting. Saul has three thousand men with him. And they track David all the way to the Crags of the Wild Goats. And Saul needs to make a little pit stop at a rest stop. I Samuel 24:3 says:
At the place where the road passes some sheepfolds, Saul went into a cave to relieve himself. But as it happened, David and his men were hiding in that very cave!
Now this is where all of my exegetical training in seminary comes into play. This is where I really dive into the text, the original Hebrew, and ask the key questions like: what does the word relieve mean? Did Saul have to go number one or number two?
Would you like to know what most Bible scholars think? I have no idea, but let me share my conclusion based on physical evidence. In my humble exegetical opinion, I think Saul was going number two based on the amount of time he spent in the stall. In fact, I wonder if he had a book with him.
The reason that is important is this. If Saul had made a quick pit stop, David wouldn’t have had much time to think about it. But the fact that Saul is in there for a while makes his integrity all the more incredible. He had plenty of time to kill Saul if he had chosen to do it.
Listen to what his men say in I Samuel 24:4:
Now’s your opportunity! Today is the day the Lord spoke of when he said, “I will certainly put Saul into your power, to do with as you wish.” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of his robe.
First of all, serious props to David. I don’t know if Saul was really focusing on what he was doing or if David was totally stealth, but this is no small accomplishment. I tend to have heightened awareness when I’m in the restroom. You know what I’m saying? It’s hard to sneak up on someone when they’re going to the bathroom. I don’t know how he did it without getting noticed. While we’re at it, serious props to this whole group of guys. If I know anything about men I know that men never outgrow potty humor. These guys had to be ready to bust a gut. You know what I’m saying? Especially if Saul was making noises! Which I’m guessing ancient kings did. How this group of guys kept from revealing their presence by laughing is one the great unresolved mysteries of Scripture. Conscience-Stricken
So David sneaks up on Saul and cuts off a corner of the robe and I Samuel 24:5 says:
But then David’s conscience began bothering him because he had cut Saul’s robe. “The Lord knows I shouldn’t have done it,” he said to his men. “It is a serious thing to attack the Lord’s anointed one, for the Lord himself has chosen him. So David sharply rebuked his men and did not let them kill Saul.
The NIV says that David was conscience-stricken.
Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Hold on a second. This guy is hunting you down and trying to kill you and you’re conscience-stricken because you cut off a corner of his robe?
What’s that about?
If we had been in David’s sandals I think we would have been tempted to justify killing the king. But let me ask you a question: what happens to most kings who become king by killing the king before them? Most of them get killed.
If David had killed Saul I think David would have been looking over his shoulder every time he went to relieve himself. You know what I’m saying? That’s what happens when you compromise your integrity. You always have to look over your shoulder!
I think this is a defining moment for David. I think it ranks right up there with defeating Goliath. Fighting Goliath took epic courage. Not Killing Saul took epic integrity. And I think it may have been harder to not kill Saul than it was to kill Goliath.
His confidants say to David: “Now’s your opportunity!” But here’s the deal. Just because something looks like a God thing, feels like a God thing, and is endorsed by your friends as a God thing doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a God thing.
An opportunity isn’t an opportunity if you have to compromise your integrity! That’s probably worth reading twice.
Just because the planets align doesn’t mean it’s a God thing. This seemed like a golden opportunity, but you can’t judge the will of God by the uniqueness of the circumstances.
The ends don’t justify the means. They never have and never will. I think David could have justified killing Saul. He could have claimed self-defense. But David knew that Saul was the anointed king appointed by God. It was against the law to kill the king! God was the one who put Saul in place and David knew that God was the one who could take him out. So David refused to take matters into his own hands. That’s integrity!
An opportunity isn’t an opportunity if you have to compromise your integrity. David would have had to compromise his integrity to seize the opportunity.
If you have to lie on a resume or withhold something in an interview process then it’s not worth getting the job. If you get the job by compromising then you’ll keep compromising. And you know what. If you are straight up right from the get go, then either your potential employer will respect that and hire you because of it or they’ll do you a favor and not hire you!
The Umbrella of Authority
Take a look at I Samuel 24:11.
This one verse reveals so much about David’s worldview. It is this outlook on life that helps him keep his integrity.
I have not sinned against you, even though you have been hunting for me to kill me. The Lord will decide between us. Perhaps the Lord will punish me for what you are trying to do to me, but I will never harm you.
Then Verse 15 says:
May the Lord judge which of us is right and punish the guilty one. He is my advocate, and He will rescue me from you power!
Here’s the deal: if you live under the umbrella of God’s authority then God will be your advocate. If you don’t He won’t.
That is one reason why I tithe. Not only do I believe God can do more with 90% than I can do with 100%. I’m honestly afraid of living outside the umbrella of God’s authority. I don’t want to forfeit the blessing. I want to make sure God is my advocate!
So what does that have to do with the office?
You can’t control your boss. For that matter, you can’t control your spouse, your professor, your coach, your roommate or your colleague. But you can control you. I don’t care if your boss is hunting you down trying to kill you. You still control you.
Don’t go down the level of whoever is mistreating you. Don’t gossip because they are gossiping. Don’t cheat because they are cheating. Don’t get negative because they are negative! If you don’t trust that God is your advocate then you’re going to live a miserable existence because you’re going to try to get even or take matters into your own hands. Why? Because you are your own advocate! You’ll hold grudges. You’ll let the seed of bitterness take root in your spirit. And here is what will happen. Your boss will not only be your boss at work. He’ll be your boss at home and on vacation. He’s been your boss everywhere all the time.
If David had killed Saul, Saul would have been David’s master forever! But David trusted His advocate! You can’t control the Sauls in your life. But you can control you.
Submit to Authority
Someone has said that integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching. No one was watching. David was in a cave in the middle of nowheresville. You can’t get much further away the Crags of the Wild Goats. It would have been so easy to compromise!
Let me share something I’ve learned: the farther away you are from home the harder it is to keep your integrity intact.
That is why business trips can be so dangerous. That is why some sailors get in trouble in port cities in foreign countries. That is why the transition to college can be dangerous.
You feel less accountable. You feel more invisible. And that is precisely why you are more susceptible! It’s easier to turn to the wrong TV channel or exaggerate reports or shade the truth.
This is terrible, but I can think of half a dozen ways that David could have killed Saul and covered it up. No one had to know. No one had to see. But David knew God would see. And here’s the deal: if God can trust you when you’re in the Crags of the Wild Goats, He can trust you when you’re in Jerusalem on the throne! If you don’t compromise when you’ve in the cave you probably won’t compromise when you’re on the throne.
Let me share an important spiritual truth I’ve learned: if you’re faithful in one place God will often bless you in another place. Faithful here = Blessing there.
Matthew 25:21 says, “You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.”
That principle is huge. God will always test you in small responsibilities before he puts you in charge of large things. So here’s the deal: keep dreaming big dreams but you’ve got to do the small stuff like its big stuff.
I don’t think any of David’s accomplishments in the limelight compare with what he accomplished in the dim light of that cave.
If you’re faithful in the Crags of the Wild Goats, God will bless you in Zion! It’s the law of sowing and reaping. I think David was faithful here in a cave and God saved his kingdom when Absalom rebelled and conspired to steal the crown four decades later! Are those two events related? Absolutely! David’s submission to authority meant that God was his advocate. If you don’t submit to authority you lose your advocate.
How your treat the authorities in your life will determine how you get treated by those you’re in authority over. If you submit to authority God will put you in authority. If you don’t He won’t. I think God honored David as king because David honored Saul. David passed this litmus test.
I don’t know what kind of work environment you find yourself in, but my advice is to submit to authority. And if submitting to authority means compromising your integrity then quit. Quit before compromising, but if you don’t quit then submit.
Trust God’s timing
Let me give you a warning: there will be moments in the workplace where you’ll be tempted to compromise your integrity for the sake of promotion. But you won’t be getting ahead. You’ll end up falling behind. David wanted to be king yesterday, but he trusted God’s timing!
If you don’t make godly pre-decisions you’ll be tempted to compromise in the cave. If you wait till you get in the cave to figure out your values, you’ll do what you do based on the circumstances.
We’re in election season and I think it’s a reminder of something that is such a temptation in the political arena. You can base your decisions on votes or values. Sometimes those things are in alignment. Your values will win you votes. What’s tough is when you know your values are going to lose you votes! Values give you vision in the dim light of a cave. They help you navigate the narrow straights of moral dilemmas. Don’t downgrade your integrity to the level of the people around you. Try to upgrade the people around you. If you refuse to compromise your integrity you have a shot at earning the respect of the people you work with.
Look at the end result in I Samuel 24:16.
Saul wept aloud. And he said to David, ‘You are a better man than I am, for you have repaid me good for evil.
May the Lord reward you well for the kindness you have shown me today. And now I realize that you are surely going to be king, and Israel will flourish under your rule.
The Bible is full of stories about people who refused to cut corners in tough workplace environments, and it set the stage for miracles. If you compromise your integrity you’ll never see the Advocate work miracles in your life. But if you refuse to compromise in the cave anything can happen!
If Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had compromised their integrity and bowed to the ninety-foot idol they would have never been delivered from the fiery furnace. If Daniel had compromised his integrity and stopped praying, he would have never been delivered from the lion’s den. If Joseph had compromised his integrity and slept with Potiphar’s wife, he would have never been thrown in prison and met the cupbearer who eventually introduced him the Pharaoh who appointed him Prime Minister.
Don’t cut corners!