Seven Deadly Social Sins

I am in SE Asia for almost two weeks, teaching on transformationalbusiness, about being a follower of Jesus in the market place. Transformational Business is about: * real, viable, sustainable and profitable businesses, * with a holistic purpose, perspective and impact, * leading to transformation of people and societies economically, socially, environmentally and morally. These principles derive from God and are implied in the teachings of Jesus – the greatest role model ever. Even here in Indonesia you are reminded – daily – about the effects ofthe global economic crisis. Business is more than making money, atleast it should be.Also according to the "father of capitalism" Adam Smith, businesses exist to serve the general welfare.The computer pioneer Dave Packard said: "Many peopleassume, wrongly, that a company exists simply to make money. While thisis an important result of a company"s existence, we have to go deeperand find the real reasons for our being. People get together and existas a company so that they are able to accomplish something collectivelythat they could not accomplish separately - they make a contribution tosociety."We cannot and must not go on assuming and practising business as usual;neither the extreme Wall Street way, nor the centrally planned sociallyengineered way.Mahatma Gandhi"s seven deadly social sins seem an accurate diagnosis for some of the causes of this crisis:
1. politics without principle
2. wealth without work
3. commerce without morality
4. pleasure without conscience
5. education without character
6. science without humanity
7. worship without sacrificeThe well respected Christian social activist Jim Wallis wrote recently on his blog about the economic crisis: "Howwill this crisis change us?" How will it change the way we think, act,and decide things — how we live, and how we do business? Yes, this is astructural crisis, and one that clearly calls for new socialregulation. But it is also a spiritual crisis, and one that calls fornew self-regulation. We seem to have lost some things and forgottensome things — such as our values.