Reminders: What's Your Code of Ethics?
by Ardith Hoff
A defendant in a lawsuit involving large sums of money was talking to his lawyer. “If I lose this case, I’ll be ruined.”
“It’s in the judge’s hands now,” said the lawyer.
“Would it help if I sent the judge a box of cigars?"
“Oh no! This judge is a stickler for ethical behavior. A stunt like that would prejudice him against you. He might even hold you in contempt of court. In fact, you shouldn’t even smile at the judge.”
Eventually, the judge rendered a decision in favor of the defendant. As the defendant left the courthouse, he said to his lawyer, “Thanks for the tip about the cigars. It worked!” "I’m sure we would have lost the case if you had sent them.” said the lawyer. "But, I did send them.” said the defendant.
“What? You did!” said the lawyer, incredulously.
“Yes. That’s how we won the case.”
“I don’t understand,” said the lawyer.
“It’s easy! I sent the cigars to the judge, but enclosed the plaintiff’s business card.” Source: Funnyandjokes.com
When we talk about ethics, we are actually talking about what’s, “right and wrong”. Most of us have to depend on our conscience and what we learned at home and in church and Sunday school to know what is ethical behavior. But in some situations, there are written documents (codes of ethics) that outline what conduct is permissible and what is forbidden. But just as in the joke, there are ways around the rules. That too is unethical, but somehow people think they can get by with it. If they don’t get caught, they think they are justified in doing it. It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that anything goes, as long as we don’t get caught. The fallacy in that kind of reasoning is that we are always “caught”. If our conscience is working properly, we ourselves know that what we are doing is wrong, and God always knows.